Pram

Pram are a band formed in Birmingham, England in 1990. The band originally consisted of Rosie Cuckston and Sam Owen, and their first album "Gash" was self-released and sold by mail order and at gigs. The band attracted the attention of Too Pure Records (already home to Stereolab, Mouse on Mars and PJ Harvey), and between 1993 and 1995 the label released several increasingly sophisticated albums and EPs. Early recordings were a krautrock-influenced blend of rhythmic guitar, keyboards and percussion, with Cuckston's eerie vocals and lyrics dealing with depression, loneliness and the dark side of childhood. A trumpeter (credited only as "the Verdigris Horn") played on several tracks, including the quarter-hour In Dreams You Too Can Fly, on debut album "The Stars Are So Big...". Second album "Helium" (1994) featured increasing use of the sampler, and later recordings show a marked interest in "exotica". In 1995 Pram left Too Pure, and released a cassette compilation of early demos and live recordings, "Perambulations" - some of these recordings were added to the CD reissue of "Gash". Singles and EPs were recorded for a variety of labels (including Stereolab's Duophonic Records), before the band found a new home at Domino Records. The first album for Domino, "North Pole Radio Station", was originally recorded for Wurlitzer Jukebox Records, but the label shut down before it could be released. 1999's "Keep in a dry place and away from children" was the soundtrack to an animated film, and also featured a remix by Mouse on Mars – while never strictly an electronica group, Pram have been remixed by several artists ("Somniloquy" features remixes by fellow Brummie experimentalists Plone and Tele:funken amongst others), and remixed LFO and the Aphex Twin for the Warp Records 10th anniversary compilation. The most recent release by the band is "Prisoner Of The Seven Pines" (2008).