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 13 years now. Dark Island represents their 6th full length-proper, alongside 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 Recordings in the U.S. Eventually, the band would record for Domino in the UK and Merge here in the U.S.

What started as a project between two friends evolved into a musical collective with numerous contributors and collaborators. Throughout their 13 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. Despite their long and distinguished history, the seas of fate and fame have never been smooth for Pram. To their devoted following of fans they are a magical mystery to be cherished, but their very uniqueness of vision and style has kept them far below the mainstream’s radar. But no worries, not everyone can be in the mainstream. How boring would that be? The world needs magic and mystery. Pram will humbling forge on providing the perfect soundtrack. Dark Island is a somnambulist’s dance through the netherworlds of escapist imagination. We welcome you along for the ride, please check your realities at the door.

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)

Gash [ep] (AE) 1991
The Stars Are So Big The Earth Is So Small [cd] (Too Pure) 1993
Iron Lung [cd] (Too Pure) 1993
Meshes [ep] (Too Pure) 1994
Helium [cd/lp] (Too Pure) 1994
Sargasso Sea [cd/lp] (Too Pure) 1995
Perambulations [cs] (AE) 1995
Gash [cd] (World Domination) 1997
"Carnival of Souls" on Slow Death in the Metronome Factory comp. [cd] (World Domination) 1997
Music For Your Movies [cd5/ep] (Duophonic) 1997
Music For Your Movies [cd] (?) 1997
Omnichord [7"] (Wurlitzer Jukebox) 1998
Last Astronauts [7"] (Kooky) 1998
North Pole Radio Station [cd] (Merge) 1998
Sleepy Sweet [cd5/ep] (Domino (UK)) 1998
Space Siren [cd5/ep] (Domino (UK)) 1999
song on Will Our Children Thank Us comp. [cd] (Foundry) 1999
Telemetric Melodies [cd/lp] (Merge) 1999
The Museum of Imaginary Animals [cd] (Merge) 2000