Pram
From their home base in Birmingham, UK, the rag tag musical collective known as PRAM have been captivating anyone caught in their funky swell for nigh on 10 years now. THE MUSEUM OF IMAGINARY ANIMALS represents their 5th proper full length to go along with an assortment of EPs, singles, and compilation appearances.
PRAM got its start in 1990 after a chance meeting between Rosie Cuckston and Sam Owen at a local supermarket's "Single's Night". Their 1992 debut EP GASH, was a bare bones effort featuring only Rosie's soaring vocals paired with the sci-fi whirl of a homemade theramin. The duo soon welcomed other members and the "band" were signed to the now legendary Too Pure label in the UK (Stereolab, PJ Harvey, SeeFeel, Long Fin Kille), and enjoyed an all too brief stint on American Records here in the U.S. Today the band records for Domino in the UK, and we at Merge are proud to release, this, our 2nd full length (following 1998's NORTH POLE RADIO STATION).
What started as a project between two friends has swollen into a musical collective with numerous contributors and collaborators. Throughout their 10 year existence PRAM have managed to keep their sound fresh and unique by combining eclectic musical ideas and instrumentation (theramin, zither, toy piano, glass hammer, glockenspiel, and the infamous hawaiian bubble machine) with a wide range of influences and styles (pop, jazz, dub, hip hop, and rock). At the center of it all are Rosie Cuckston's riveting and hypnotic vocal delivery and a puzzlebox of lyrics. The world evoked is one of fairy tales, dreams and nightmares come to life. Imagine if you will the Brother's Grimm starting up a rock band...that's the closest analogy we can come up with. We think you'll agree that there's no one else out there today quite like PRAM.
THE MUSEUM OF IMAGINARY ANIMALS is a truly magical ride, something we have come to expect and treasure from this wonderful group of musicians.
PRAM = Rosie Cuckston (vocals, keyboards)Sam Owen (flute, clarinet, accordion, keyboards, guitar, bass)
Max Simpson (samples, keyboards)
Matthew Eaton (guitar, bass, keyboards, samples)
Nick Sales (zither, theramin, bass, keyboards, samples)
Alex Clare (trumpet)
Steve Perkins (drums)
