Nine is an alternative funk infused heavy rock band from Athlone near Cape Town, South Africa. Formed in 1992, the four piece is Farrell Adams (vocals), James Reynard (guitar), Grenville Williams (bass guitar) and Jerome Reynard (drums). As one of South Africa’s pioneering Black rock bands, Nine represents the fusion of Cape, African and international sounds formed in the dying days of Apartheid South Africa. The separation of people, art and ideas defined that system, and Nine aimed to break it down.

In keeping with this desire to fuse different musical forms, the name Nine is not intended to have any specific connotations. It can mean anything and nothing, and reflects the bands’ intention of breaking down barriers between different cultural and musical paradigms. The band’s wide range of influences take in everything from rock, funk and hip hop to dissonant neo-soul, jazz and reggae. Their constant shifting of boundaries means Nine are a band who defy convenient categorisation.

The 90s saw their rise in the South African musical underground scene with the band enjoying critical acclaim on the back of two albums releases: their self-titled debut, 9, and the follow up album, Entropy. Despite their fiercely independent outlook and underground status, 9ine developed a sizable following through their regular appearances at South African festivals like Oppikoppie and Up The Creek. As respected musicians, the 2000s saw band members involved with some of South Africa’s leading music artists like Jack Parrow, Arno Carstens and Godessa.

And now they’re back with the release of their EP, Re-ACTivate. The EP contains re-recordings of three of the bands most popular songs: Last Tear, Not Your Fault and Cancelled.