Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
ÒLondonÕs most progressive hip hop act come back to the fore with this superbly produced tale about sex and obsession. Fans of Massive Attack, Mike Ladd and DJ Vadim will love it.Ó
- Dazed & Confused Magazine
ÒMassive Attack meets Mos Def and much more besides. WeÕd bet our PSPs that 2006 is the Year of the Reptiles. Their Hefty WSO remix literally broke our speakers...Ó - Touch magazine
ÒI really LOVE the WSO Reptiles mix... is so unique..Ó
Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC Radio 1) - Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC Radio 1)
"The most startling record I've heard in ages - fresh, atmospheric, English and not quite like anything else I've heard before. Definitely one to watch..."
- Tom Robinson / BBC 6 Music
"It's not very often that something so dark and so beautiful comes along and seduces you into it's malevolent clutches.
I don't know whether to embrace them or avoid them for the sake of my own sanity!"
- DJ Nihal DJ / Radio 1
Arriving on crisp white vinyl. The first offering fron the reptiles' new EP does more than look good. Atmospheric. Jazzy sampless give this the sound of a kind of more hip-hop Portishead and featured vocals from Yarah Bravo )of One Self) are impressive too. "Pioneers of new-wave hip-hop". as the press release says.
(4 Stars) - IDJ Magazine
Amour' is a stunning crush of blasted folk, ambient noise, lambent jazz and vocals slipped into your ears like poison drops. Queerly suggestive of Tricky and Earthling but entirely new - the 'Farmer's Friend' remix is spooked-out avant-electronica, the 'Megson' mix minimal post-rock. On the B 'The Witches Are Coming' with mike Ladd is stunning dub-electro and those Tool/Roy Budd/Patti Smith influences seem entirely sensible. Wonderful.
(4 Stars) - DJ Magazine
Discography
Electric Lovesong 7" (Jazz Fudge Recordings)
The Year Of The Monkey EP (Jazz Fudge Recordings)
Communicating To The Universe Live EP (Liquid Playthings)
Amour EP (Liquid Playthings)
Remixes...
Andre Gurov - Are you Listening (Electro Caramel)
WSO Crew - The Game (Live Recordings)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
REPTILES /// BIOGRAPHY...
What The Reptiles do should be a clichŽ. Many bands before have claimed to draw a straight line from the roots of hip hop to the captain's star log. But few have come anywhere close. Reptiles have the emotional impact like back in the day, yet leave you feeling you've just taken one small head nod for man. If that old adage 'you must know where you came from before you can know where you're going' is true for hip hop, then it's unsurprising that these forward thinkers have been emersed in hip hop for over two decades now. MCs Juice 126 and Rough first met at the Bridlington World Graffiti Championships in 1988, a union that eventually saw the two form part of Graff supergroup; 'Ikonoklast'. Rough went on to rhyme with freestyle live bands before hooking up with DV8. Meanwhile in another part of town, Joseph Barnes was rocking the floorboards of his bedroom, not only with his edge-slicing record collection, but also his own iconoclastic compositions. The two met up through friends and set to work in Joseph's makeshift studio which included an old school Atari and a busted black and white TV set as a monitor. When it came time to record their debut EP, the boys called in Juice to throw down some guest vocals. Knowing they'd hit on something magic, Juice joined as full time member. Their debut EP 'Liquid Playthings' was soon released on US independent imprint Hip Hop Recordings, winning lavish praise from the four corners of the hip hop community. With Rough and Joseph based in London and Juice in Birmingham, the band is a show of geographical solidarity. But the band's real strength is in the different musical worlds each member brings to it. All three share a love of hip hop, but Rough has studied the songwriting skills of Patti Smith and Paul Weller, Juice is a Studio 1 reggae fanatic (but also fiends for Roy Budd and Lalo Schiffrin soundtracks), while Joseph's musical scope runs from off-key guitar gods Tool to the electronic revolution of Warp. The band's music is drenched in hip hop, but The Reptiles are all about evolution. Juice and Rough aren't afraid to touch on the real darkness of human nature. Rough's delivery is full of passionate venom, but Juice's calmer style is just as disturbing. Joseph's production and arrangements lead you by the headphones into a new world bubbling with colour and texture.
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