Photo by Carina Laubscher

Battery9 is one of the very few “Industrial” bands to come from South Africa, and thus far the only one to break out of the sub-culture mold.

Which is surprising: the music is by nature extreme and unsafe. The lyrics (predominantly in Afrikaans and also in English) examine the darker side of the human psyche, driven by distorted vocals, chunky guitars and relentless beats. It contains a fat dose of cynical humour, twisted electronica, and abrasive sounds from industry. Basically, subject matter and sounds the neighbours get upset about. The live act contains unusual aspects like action painting, and is demanding, explosive and equally extreme, and the audiences reflect that.

Yet, since humble beginnings in 1995 with a self-financed album (Protskrog), Battery9 has grown to be one of the bigger acts on the difficult South African music scene, releasing three consecutive albums: Strop (1996), Gris (1997), and Wrok, which was awarded the SAMA (South African Music Award) for 1998’s Best Rock Album. The live act toured extensively around the whole of South Africa, doing the club circuit, as well as performing at most of the major SA music festivals. In 1999, after supporting Prodigy and Faithless on their tour here, they took a well-deserved break from the studio and the media.

In July 2002, after negotiations that lasted more than a year, the next album Sondebok was released by a major record company in July 2002. Fiercely independent, this was the first (and probably the last) time Battery9 signed to a major commercial label, as the agreement turned sour within a few months. Sondebok nevertheless re-established the outfit as a major player in the South African “alternative” music scene and was nominated Best Rock Album in that year’s SAMA awards.

The Battery9 album Straks was released in December 2005 to much critical acclaim. The obligatory live performances followed while Galbraak, Battery9’s seventh release, was being sculpted in One F Studios.