Battery 9 an industrial music

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

 project from Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, is the brainchild of Paul Riekert, who writes, plays and records the music in a mixture of English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

. The band name is sometimes written, without a space, as Battery9.

History

Riekert started recording under the name Battery 9 in 1994, bored with the creative constraints of a standard rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band format. A platform to run various projects from, One F Music, was subsequently founded, in the form of an independent record label and a small home studio.

The first Battery 9 album, Protskrog, was released in 1995. Made and backed by little more than a shoestring budget, it sold well enough to warrant a licensing deal with independent record company Tic Tic Bang.

The next release, Strop (1996), saw Battery 9 break through to a wider audience, with the song "Kiss the Machine" receiving daytime airplay and eventually charting on 5FM

5FM

5FM is a South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format and is owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation , South Africa's public broadcaster...

, a major nationwide commercial radio station. For the first time, the major industry took notice and the project received major media coverage, while the live act played for increasingly bigger audiences, culminating in a solo show at the Viper Room in Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

 in 1997 that drew 1200 people. In the same year, the album Gris, featuring remixes, re-interpretations and interactive CD-ROM data, was released.

Wrok was released in 1998 and was awarded Best Rock Album in that year's South African Music Awards

South African Music Awards

The South African Music Awards are an annual award ceremony, run by the Recording Industry of South Africa , where accolades are presented to members of South Africa's music industry. Winners receive a statuette is called a SAMA. The event was established in 1995...

.

After a few major live performances, including supporting The Prodigy

The Prodigy

The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

 and Faithless

Faithless

Faithless were a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs . Faithless recorded six albums. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide...

 on their tour in South Africa, Battery 9 took a break for a couple of months to re-assemble the live act. In December 2000 and January 2001, Battery 9, with the newly formed live act, performed a well received short tour of South Africa. The set included new songs from the album Sondebok which was released in 2002.

After a long break, a sixth album, Straks, was released in late 2005 with almost no marketing or promotion.

The next album, Galbraak, is expected during the second semester of 2008.

Current members

The band has had quite a few members and incarnations over the years, with Paul Riekert and the 6'8" tall Huyser Burger (also known as DJ Fokkolnonsins) remaining as the only two constants from 1995. The current guitarist is Dawid Kahts, who also plays guitar for NuL and Thys Nywerheid. The band currently performs wearing formal black suits, except for Huyser who sometimes goes casual.

Unorthodox instruments

As befits their industrial image, Battery 9 often uses unorthodox instruments on-stage as well as for recording samples. Examples include road signs, oil drums and other pieces of scrap metal. The blade from a bulldozer was included for a time, but it was abandoned because of the hassle involved in transporting it to the venues. DIY electric implements like drills, angle-grinders and jackhammers are also used, with some more for the visual effect than the musical merit of including it.

Albums

• Protskrog — Album — 20 April 1995 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang
• Strop — Album — 23 August 1996 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang
• Strop (Limited Edition) — Album (limited to approximately 300 copies) — 23 August 1996 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang
• Gris — Remix EP — 29 September 1997 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang
• Gris (Limited Edition) — Remix EP — 29 September 1997 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang
• Wrok — Album — 17 October 1998 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang
• Sondebok — Album — 14 July 2002 — One F Music / Gallo Record Company
• Straks — Album — December 2005 — One F Music

Compilations

• "Ocean Culture"
• "My Generation"
• "Oppikoppi Live"
• "Akwa - Pure South African Dance"
• "Oppikoppi Live"
• " Euphoria - Industrial EBM Compilation"
• 'Swerve"
• "Om te Breyten"
• "Essential Indie Vol. 1"
• "Alternatief op sy beste"
• "Mondmusiek - Breyten Breytenbach"
• "Orgazmatracks 3"

Side projects

Paul Riekert and various other members of the band have collaborated on many other musical projects. Examples include the "Breinskade" (Brain damage) album which mainly featured the smashing of anything they could lay their hands on. More recent projects include the General Dealer electronica album, as well as the eerie almost-folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 album "Floukop" by Paul Riekert and Andre van Rensburg

Andre van Rensburg

Andre van Rensburg is a South African avant-garde composer, producer and instrumentalist. Van Rensburg is a prolific artist with dozens of credits as composer, performer and producer. He established himself in South Africa in the mid 90's and has since traveled the world, performing and recording...

(a former Battery 9 guitarist) under the name of "Die Menere".

External links

• www.battery9.co.za — The official Battery 9 website (updated and relaunched 2007.03.01)
• Screaming Machine — An unofficial Battery 9 website
• Myspace — The Official Battery 9 Myspace