Oddfellows Casino are an English band based in Brighton. At the helm is singer-songwriter

David Bramwell David Bramwell is a British writer, musician, performer and broadcaster. For BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4, Radio 4, he has made programmes on diverse subjects, including Ivor Cutler, clapping, time travel, and the murmurations of starlings. He i ...

plus an ensemble of long-serving band members and occasional collaborators including

Fujiya & Miyagi Fujiya & Miyagi is a British group formed in Brighton, East Sussex, England, in 2000. The current line-up consists of David Best (vocals and guitar), Stephen Lewis (synths and vocals), Ed Chivers (drums), Ben Adamo and Ben Farestuedt (bass and ...

’s Steve Lewis, former

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetit ...

bassist Simon John’s and

Grasscut Grasscut are a musical group featuring composer/producer Andrew Phillips and musician/writer Marcus O'Dair. Phillips writes and produces all Grasscut music; he also sings and plays various instruments including guitar and keyboards. O'Dair manag ...

’s Andrew Phillips.

Early history

In the mid-1990s, Bramwell recorded his first album with the band Luminous, produced and released by

Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, artists like Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween, Gwar ...

's producer Kramer, before going solo in 2000 and forming Oddfellows Casino. Early releases on Leicester’s

Pickled Egg Records Pickled Egg Records is a UK independent record label founded in Leicester in 1998 by Nigel Turner. Distribution is through Cargo. Artists on Pickled Egg * a.P.A.t.T. * Bablicon * Big Eyes * Butchy Fuego * Chandeliers * The Doozer * The Ev ...

included ''Yellow-Bellied Wonderland'' and ''Winter Creatures'', drawing comparisons with

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

The Beta Band The Beta Band were a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style was described as being "folktronica", although it was mainly a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, experimental rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experimen ...

, Red House Painters and late-period

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk (Talk Talk s ...

. For the band's third album, 2012's ''The Raven's Empire'', Bramwell teamed up with producer and composer Andrew Phillips to create a record that was altogether bigger, darker and more orchestrated than what had come before. Reviews acknowledged a change in direction citing 'bubbling synths and ornate productions.' (Happening Magazine) and 'occult incantation' (Drowned in Sound). The single, "Winter in a Strange Town", was picked up by

BBC 6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

’s

Gideon Coe Gideon Jon Quantrill Coe (born 22 September 1967 in Canterbury, Kent) is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist. Early career He began his broadcasting career in 1976 as a child presenter on the BBC One TV program ...

Lauren Laverne Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...

and

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes and ...

Later history

By the late 2000s, Bramwell was also becoming established as an author and radio presenter, making programmes for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

and

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, and specialising in the weird and bizarre. In 2014, Oddfellows Casino released their fourth studio album, ''The Water Between Us'', followed by a collection of unreleased material, ''Dust'', through At the Helm Records and France's Microcultures. In 2017, their sixth album, ''Oh, Sealand'', included the voice of comic book author

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

, a song written to accompany the book

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...

by author

John Higgs John Higgs is an English writer, novelist, journalist and cultural historian. The work of Higgs has been published in the form of novels (under the pseudonym JMR Higgs), biographies and works of cultural history. In particular, Higgs has writt ...

, and an unofficial national anthem for the independent principality of

Sealand SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...

, in the North Sea. It received positive reviews, making fourth place in the top ten best albums of 2017 in Switzerland's LeTemps newspaper. The

International Times ''International Times'' (''it'' or ''IT'') is the name of various underground newspapers, with the original title founded in London in 1966 and running until October 1973. Editors included John "Hoppy" Hopkins, David Mair ...

described ''Oh, Sealand'' as a ‘mixtures of ghostly folk and eerily urgent song craft. The beauty and elegance of both voice, lyric and melody is exceptional. These are the kind of songs the

WickerMan A wicker man was purportedly a large wicker statue in which the druids (priests of Celtic paganism) sacrificed humans and animals by burning. The main evidence for this practice is a sentence by Roman general Julius Caesar in his '' Commentary o ...

’s Paul Giovanni might have written if he had lived to update his own template.'

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

’s Ben Graham described ''Oh, Sealand'' as ‘joining the dots between Pentangle and

The Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

Basil Kirchin Basil Kirchin (8 August 1927 – 18 June 2005) was an English drummer and composer. His career spanned from playing drums in his father's big band at the age of 13, through scoring films, to electronic music featuring tape manipulation of the so ...

and

British Sea Power Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...

. In 2020, Oddfellows Casino marked their 20th anniversary with the release of three albums over 12 months: a new album of songs, ''Burning! Burning!''; an album and booklet of spoken word and music based on Bramwell's solo show, ''The Cult of Water'', in collaboration with

, Rough Trade Books and illustrator

Pete Fowler Pete Fowler (born 1969 in Cardiff) is a Welsh artist best known for his artwork for the Welsh band Super Furry Animals and his Monsterism toys and goods. He is a freelance illustrator and "monster maker" inspired by animals, music, folklore, my ...

, and ''Music from the Cult of Water.'' They continue to be, ‘a band who 'specialises in a gentle, wistful blend of folk, dream pop, hauntological sounds and maybe a hint of jazz.' (News from Neptune).

Discography

*''Yellow Bellied Wonderland'', Pickled Egg Records, 2002 *''Winter Creatures'', Pickled Egg Records, 2005 *''The Absence of Birds'', Pickled Egg Records, 2008 *''The Raven's Empire'', Nightjar Records 2012 *''The Water Between Us'', At the Helm Records, Microcultures 2012 *''Dust'', At the Helm Records, Microcultures 2015 *''Oh, Sealand'', At the Helm Records, Microcultures 2017 *''Burning! Burning!'' Nightjar Records 2020 *''The Cult of Water'', Nightjar Records 2021 *''Music from The Cult of Water'' Nightjar Records 2021 *''Prince of the Starry Wheel'' Nightjar Records 2022

References

External links

Oddfellows Casino at Pickled Egg Records Official siteDR Bramwell
{{Authority control English indie rock groups