3 Mustaphas 3, Michael Hurley, Natacha Atlas, Brian Eno, The Residents, Ivo Popasov, L. Shankar, Léon Theremin, Boris Karlov, Elvis, Xavier Cugat, Bogomil Font, Transglobal Underground, Fairuz, Raymond Scott, Stephane Grappelli, Laurie Anderson, Gogol Bordello, Lata Mangeshkar, Barbez, Bill Laswell, Cibo Matto, Oingo Boingo, Urban Turban, Tom Waits, Boiled in Lead, Shooglenifty, Paris Combo, Frank Zappa, Erik Satie, Klezmatics, Wild Man Fischer, Udi Hrant, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Robert Fripp, Stuff Smith, Nick Cave, Don Martin, the Zodiac, Peggy Lee, Mehdi Hassan Khan Sahib, Wendy O. Williams, Chrissy Hynde, Primus, Joe Venuti, Felonious Bosch, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, D. Anger, Jon Dichter, Yid Vicious, Monty Python's Flying Circus, U. Srinivas, Led Zeppelin, Fantastic Four, Bollywood, Kronos Quartet, Emiliana Torrini, the Oceans, Nino Rota, XTC, Allman Brothers, King Crimson, The Fugs, Steve Ditko, Tina Turner, Soul Coughing, Ravi Shankar,Janis Joplin, Doctor Doom, Adrian Belew, Macedonian Wedding Bands, Pat Metheny, Angelo Badalamente, Yuri Yunakov, Talking Heads, Kurt Weill, Jimi Hendrix, Prokofiev, Camper Van Beethoven, Texas Lounge Lizards, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Pixies, Esma, Boban Marcovic, Nina Hagen, Django Reinhart, Mita Kundu, The Gomers, Devo, Charlie Christian, Ferus Mustafov, Pink Floyd, Ivo Paposov, Ken Anger, Spiderman, Klaus Schulz, Tangerine Dream, Clarence (TC) Ashley, Doc Watson, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, The Coen Brothers, Klaus Nomi, Gentle Giant, Meena, Van Der Graaf Generator, The Suburbs, Public Enemy, Charlie Daniels, Dumate, Afro Celt Sound System, Fela, Joni Mitchell, John Kruth, Mahavishnu Orchestra,Don Julin, Frank Frazetta, Natty Nation, The Wickerman, Kálmán Balogh, Robert Moog, Savage Aural Hotbed, Dracula, Baris Manço, Taraf De Haïdouks, Honor Among Thieves, Jack Kirby, Manu Chao, the Moon, Khaled, The Bonzo Dog Band, Townes Van Zandt, Legion of Super Heroes, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Popul Vuh, James Brown, Appliances-SFB, Bernie Worrell, Duke Ellington, Amon Düül II, The Pretenders, Velvet Underground, Lacho Drom, Borodin, Spike Jones, Turkish Hora, Steve Lillywhite, Marilyn Monroe, Steve Albini, Jack Davis, Killdozer, Kansas, The Rutles, Mehdi Hassan, Yma Sumac, Sabri Brothers, Dread Zeppelin, Aziz Mian, Distant Suns, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Harry Partch, Tito Puente, Captain Beefheart, Randy Newman, Steve Reich, Richard Thompson, Kangar-Ol Ondar, Steve Tibbets, Lotta Lenya, KRS-One, Thomas Dolby, Esquivel, Nick Drake, Peter Gabriel, Yat-Kha, Os Mutantes, warm rocks.
Sounds Like
The Reptile Palace Orchestra has long been one of Madison, Wisconsin's most inventive, eclectic bands, playing an engaging set of material ranging from torchy lounge to klezmer to Turkish dance songs to Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing." The band takes its time releasing albums, with just six since its 1994 inception, and all of them are fun, weird and worldwide in scope. The most recent is 2003's We Know You Know. "No mammals, fish or reptiles were harmed in the making of this record," claims the band's website, "however some insects and isopods were sacrificed." (The band's puckish sense of humor is also evident in its bio, which includes a quote from David Icke, a well-known British eccentric who believes that the world is secretly ruled by super-intelligent reptiles.) - Twin Cities Onion A/V Club Review, April 2006
Get ready for one of the most exotic and captivating releases you're ever likely to hear... One minute they're rocking up a traditional Assyrian dance tune like the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 21st century, the next it's a sweet mandolin folk duet, the next it's an awesome vocal interpretation by Anna Purnell of the seventies hit "Vehicle" that will leave you gasping... And in between all this they throw in odd electronic looping experiments, just for good measure. - Rick's Cafe
Elvis + Armenia + Funkadelic + Bulgaria = RPO. Sublime Gypsy Rock with mandolin, clarinet, violin, cello, saxophone, trumpet, guitar and vocalist Anna Purnell. The citys favorite pan-ethnic ensemble - Tom Laskin, Isthmus
"musical neotraditionalism at its zaniest" - Dolan, MPLS City Pages
"...seems to be the trademark sound of the Star Wars Cantina Band" - Snyder, MNPLS Revue
"Meant to be danced to. Fast paced trance-inducing fun. Sultry and haunting" - Natasha Kussulke, Madison Newspapers
"The line between reverence and gonzo subversion blurs beautifully" - John Noyd, Maximum Ink
"The more I hear of RPO, the more it sounds like psycho-clown carnival music. As opposed to, well, normal carnival music" - Andrea Norie, Alibi Music
"when RPO played at the CCC, gyrating dance circles immediately appeared in the aisles the crowd laughed and and sang along" - Holly Day, Ink19
"A stunning, transcendental set from Madison, Wisc.'s Reptile Palace Orchestra. Singer Anna Purnell was mesmerizing as the snake-dancing crowd soaked up their alien reptilian mambo."
Jim Manion, Bloomington Independent
Reptile Palace Orchestra, We Know You Know (Omnium, 2003)
For those of you not herpetologically inclined, an introduction: Reptile Palace Orchestra hail from Madison, Wisconsin and have been infecting listeners with Balkan lounge funk for roughly a decade. The Reptiles return after a four-year recording absence to follow up 1999's Iguana Iguana with We Know You Know, their third album for Omnium. It continues their tradition of blending Balkan folk music, rock, humor, weirdness, and whatever else comes to their minds.
A good example of this tradition is "Apo Laouto." The melody hails from Crete but the performance is all RPO. Layers of sound are piled on top of a plaintive rhythm. Some sitar guitar courtesy of Biff Blumfumgagnge dances around Greg Smith's clarinet as well as cello. As the song slowly meanders along, we get a dash of flute and even didgeridoo which makes for a hypnotizing performance.
The album begins, however, with Anna Purnell's sultry voice cuing Robert Schoville's manic drumming on the opening "Kochari." Although Assyrian in origin, there's plenty of sax and droning guitar to go along with the butt-shaking rhythm. The Reptiles can also make you dance using more conventional means. A cover of the Ides of March's "Vehicle" really moves with Purnell belting out the lyrics while new member Ed Feeny justifies the addition of a bassist to the band. It's the closest they've ever gotten to a straightforward rock song.
The rest of the album is equally varied. Purnell and cellist Seth Blair wrote the vaguely country-inflected "What Do You See." Imagine Ozric Tentacles doing "Far Away Eyes" by the Rolling Stones and you have an idea of what it sounds like. Blair's cello takes over for steel guitar while a cosmic fiddle solo is thrown in for good measure "Bert's Mandotation" is a beautiful, shimmering bit of mandolin written by Blumfumgagnge while "Uranus Sirtez" finds the band in klezmer territory.
On Iguana Iguana the band covered Brian Eno's "Sombre Reptiles." So it is not too surprising that they've included a few minimalist tidbits of their own on We Know You Know. Interspersed among the songs are bite-sized bits of weirdness. Samples of former drummer Siggi Baldursson pounding on the skins are looped while guitarist Bill Feeny and Blumfumgagnge add swirls of feedback and violin. "Earth Lee Julie", a tribute to the actresses who played Catwoman on the old Batman TV series, has a bit of humor with some samples from the show.
"Tune for Ibn Khaldn Part 2" closes the album in Arabic fashion though it begins in a humorous one. A toy cash register begins chiming in parody of Pink Floyd's "Money" before the didgeridoo returns and then percussion. As the song progresses, everything but the kitchen sink is thrown in including pennywhistle and some Archie Shepp-like sax bursts. With its mlange of instruments and rhythms, the song resembles a rave at a Middle Eastern abattoir.
As a bonus, there are 14 mp3s on the CD. "Devil Went Down to Georgia" is transplanted to Plovdiv and there a couple selections from the band's previous Omnium recordings. The bulk of the material, however, is live which is the best way to hear the band. You too can dance as Purnell slithers onstage playing trumpet in a gypsy dance song and Biff culls unearthly noises from his homemade therolin donning a fez all the while.
[John D. Benninghouse] 11.10.03
from http://www.greenmanreview.com/cd/cd_reptilepalace_weknow.html
They broke the mold after they made the Reptile Palace Orchestra. There's absolutely no one like them, able to tread freely, humorously, and with great aplomb, around world music, as comfortable with klezmer, Eastern European rhythms, and Maghrebi melodies as they are with a cover of the jazz-rock classic, "Vehicle." That they do it with such a smile of their faces is the icing on the cake, because underneath is some stunning musicianship, easily heard in pieces like the demanding "Sandankso Horo" or the opener, "Kochari." Even their loops experiments, like Earth Lee Julie" (how many people dedicate a piece to Catwoman?) and "Super Siggi Deluxe" have a great intelligence working behind the wackiness. There's also a huge sense of adventure in the arrangements -- just like to "Apo Laouto," a Cretan melody that offers the unusual pairing of didgeridoo and cello in the band's version. And how many tunes in a tortuous 9/8 time signature have been written to commemorate the building of a sauna deck, as "Sauna Deck Cocek" was? A complex album that keeps revealing more joys with each play. -- Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
REPTILE PALACE ORCHESTRA/We Know You Know: Lots of groups say they defy
classification, but with this one...believe it. One minute you think they
are one thing and within the same tune they turn things on it's head and
surprise you. Best said, if you like expertly played over the top, boundary
less world beat that leaves room for plenty of surprises, this is the place.
A wildly adventurous date that is sure to leave you either speechless or
breathless, but in either case, in a good way. An amazing set that exists
completely in it's own time zone.
2033 (Omnium)
World music that rocks or Balkan lounge funk with violin, saxophone, cello, trumpet, guitars, mandolins, drums, percussion and clarinet. XOPO.1 is mostly Eastern European folkdances, amped up and played with soul & fury, plus fun twists. XOPO means DANCE.
Enchanting folk rock music with world flavors and female vocals. Happy owners of this record mention it’s great for long drives. This is the first installment of The Reptile Palace Orchestra and has an innocence and beauty rich in world folk musics.
REPTILE PALACE ORCHESTRA: On The Wings Of A Skink
Lots of groups say they defy classification, but with this one...believe it. One minute you think they are one thing and within the same tune they turn things on it’s head and surprise you.
I just wanted to thank you guys. You help make Madison such a cool music town! I get a lot of inspiration from RPO's Anna for developing my own performing persona. So outgoing and beautiful and sassy! If you aren't busy next Sat. Mar. 22nd at 8:00, come see me sing in Patchwork Monkey at Escape Coffee Gallery!
