Joe Blog

Emphysema melds soaring vocals, undeniable hooks, and searing guitars into an alt-rock storm that churns above a foundation of immediately engaging melody. Equally suited to the sweatiest of rock club and windows-down late-night cruising, South of Nine crafts the sort of anthemic rock that will have you shouting along in no time. Starting in early 2011, the band turned heads by performing locally in South Africa alongside the likes of Prime Circle, Die Antwoord, Fokofpolisiekar, Arno Carstens, Newtown Knife Gang, Tweak and Johnny Clegg. Versatile yet always compelling, their music was quickly embraced by the weary souls that wanted great alternative rock music to be back at the forefront of the South African Music Industry. No newcomers to music, primary creative David Garbers' (guitar, vocals, lyrics) former band, USED2Bsyris, had taken full advantage of an overseas move to London. After USED2Bsyris parted ways in 2010, Garbers returned to Africa and set out to form a new band. South of Nine was born. On March 3rd, 2015, they released their first album Palindrome. While working on the follow up album Emphysema in 2018, fate stepped in and changed the trajectory of Garbers’ life. After years of trying, he won the United States Green Card lottery. Following his move to Denver in late 2019, he found work a full-time engineer for AEG. A move to Seattle in April 2023 found Garbers with a burgeoning following for his loop-based solo work - and a renewed passion for the Emphysema project. Settling into Robert Lang Studios to complete the project, Garber’s emerged with a record that proves “rock isn’t dead, it never died and never will!”