{"title":"Ultramarine","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUltramarine is a London and Essex-based UK duo formed in 1989 by Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond. Both members were previously part of the band A Primary Industry. Their early releases were on the Brussels-based label Les Disques du Crépuscule and later on Brainiak Records, closely affiliated with The Brain club in Soho, London. They gained recognition for their second album, which was described as \"pastoral techno\" by Simon Reynolds. Ultramarine has released several albums over the years, including collaborations with Robert Wyatt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2011, after a 13-year hiatus, Ultramarine returned with two new singles followed by their sixth album in 2013. Their music combines elements of acid-house and folk-jazzy ambience to create a unique sound that has captivated audiences worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLTM Publishing (Les Temps Modernes) released a collection of remixes and alternative versions from Ultramarine's early-90s period in 2003. The group's discography also includes reissues of previous albums to cater to fans who have been eagerly awaiting their return.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"send-and-return","title":"Send and Return","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe moods and movements of an English estuary can be heard running through a stunning and deeply intriguing new album from the electronic duo Ultramarine. Flowing and mutating as it transitions from an Essex river into the open sea, the Blackwater Estuary, north of London inspired this beguiling collection of hypnotic jazz, itching electronica and softly dazzling ambient shapes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There’s a very distinctive feel to the Blackwater Estuary, it’s almost Dickensian,” explains Paul Hammond, one half of Ultramarine. “It’s a very quiet, rural area with these mud flats everywhere – I think the river ended up seeping into our music.” Paul and his musical partner Ian Cooper went to school in Maldon, Essex, at the head of the Blackwater Estuary, the stretch of water that inspired their shimmering, mysterious and gently meandering upcoming album \u003ci\u003eSend and Return\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey began making music together in the 80s, releasing Ultramarine’s debut album \u003ci\u003eFolk\u003c\/i\u003e on Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule in 1990. Over the next decade or so, they recorded two John Peel sessions, collaborated with Robert Wyatt, toured the States with Orbital, then Europe with Björk. After a hiatus, they began recording again in Ian’s home studio, overlooking the Blackwater.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blackford Hill","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50435965681995,"sku":"2018642","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Screenshot_2023-03-20_at_11.31.32_e5cff5c7_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1726910337"},{"product_id":"folk","title":"Folk","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor their first outing, new London-based reissue label Foam On A Wave resurface the remarkable debut album from one of the UK’s foremost artists of ‘ambient techno’, Ultramarine’s \u003ci\u003eFolk\u003c\/i\u003e. Like the surrealist collage of the sleeve designed by Benoit Hennebert, Ultramarine weave together unique instrumentation and sonic influences into rich, ethereal soundscapes, now fully remastered for its 30th anniversary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIan Cooper and Paul Hammond admitted they weren't totally sure what they were doing when they signed a record deal with the famously bohemian label Les Disques du Crépuscule and found themselves on their way to Brussels. There, over a two week stint, the Essex duo recorded the album - drawing on a kaleidoscopic palette influenced by both the Canterbury scene's jazz-infused psychedelia, as well as the contemporary Benelux scene, with particular nods to the likes of Benjamin Lew, The Durutti Column and Anna Domino. Conceived at a time when technology began reshaping the process of recording and production, the band's interest in fusing the organic and the electronic is apparent, and one that has remained with them throughout their career.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFolk\u003c\/i\u003e both sits apart from and serves as a precursor to the ‘pastoral techno’ sound Ultramarine’s went on to pioneer. Following a US and European tour alongside Orbital and Bjork, a few more albums and collaborations with the likes of Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers, plus remixes for and by Everything But The Girl, Carl Craig, Luke Slater and more, they folded the project for a number of years. Last year the band returned to their inaugural imprint with the ethereal \u003ci\u003eSignals Into Space.\u003c\/i\u003e Albeit somewhat sparser, more sedate, it is in some ways a coming full-circle to the jazz-laden, analogue sound of their debut, which makes reissuing \u003ci\u003eFolk\u003c\/i\u003e feel all the more timely.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Foam On A Wave","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50435966501195,"sku":"1099192","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/5e1cd79a-4f84-426b-8ce3-c0f26c1c7b0b_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1726910361"},{"product_id":"every-man-and-woman-is-a-star-1","title":"Every Man and Woman Is A Star","description":"\u003cp\u003eRemastered. The 1992 album from the electronic duo that was originally on Rough Trade. Like acid house suffused with the folky jazz ambience of the Canterbury scene. This is a proto ambient classic that was not appreciated first time around. On LTM.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LTM","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50437063934283,"sku":"151833","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/fbc2b93b-4f6d-487b-acc6-9763bdcdc81f_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726925257"},{"product_id":"companion-every-man-and-woman-is-a-star-versions","title":"Companion (every Man and Woman Is A Star Versions)","description":"\u003cp\u003e'companion' collects together the various remixes released on the us and uk versions of the 1992 ep 'nightfall in sweetleaf' together with alternative versions and previously unreleased tracks from the same session. mixes come from spooky, richard h kirk and coco steel and lovebomb. on ltm.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50437064950091,"sku":"161391","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/af82d9c0-7406-4674-9662-e1ce745517d4_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726925279"},{"product_id":"a-user-s-guide","title":"A User's Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003ea reissue of ultramarine's fifth (and so far final) album 'a user's guide'. originally issued in 1998, the eclectic and intriguing 'a user's guide' marked a welcome return to the independent sector after five years on major label wea\/blanco y negro. largely electronic, the album also marked a return to a sound more akin to the understated ambient-techno of 'every man and woman is a star'. it was recorded and produced by the band (paul hammond and ian cooper) at their own studio (survey) in london during 1997. influences included autechre, carl craig, eric dolphy and scientist. stand out tracks include the opening 'all of a sudden', 'surfacing' and 'what machines want'. on ltm\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50437076386123,"sku":"258658","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7127b723-23fa-483a-b8d0-3394397d7d75_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726925301"},{"product_id":"blackwaterside","title":"Blackwaterside","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn August 2016 Ultramarine created a photo film featuring photographs from Ian Cooper's Survey East website which focuses on a particular stretch of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe film (and accompanying soundtrack) was screened on rotation at the Caught By The River Thames festival at Fulham Palace in London.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor this original Blackwaterside audio\/print project, Ultramarine created two new pieces of music inspired by their time working close to the estuary. Glasgow based printmaker\/sculptor Bronwen Sleigh visited this remote corner of Essex to sketch and draw, using these visual references to create a lithograph, printed in three colours, which features on the cover of the book accompanying the 7\" single.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book features a series of Ian Cooper's original photographs, alongside poetry by the writer Philip Terry, inspired by the Essex coast, taken from his book Quennets.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blackford Hill","offers":[{"title":"Black | 7\"","offer_id":50465076969803,"sku":"1107751","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"signals-into-space","title":"Signals Into Space","description":"\u003cp\u003eLes Disques du Crepuscule presents \u003cem\u003eSignals Into Space\u003c\/em\u003e, a brand new studio album by acclaimed electronic duo \u003cstrong\u003eUltramarine\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSignals Into Space\u003c\/em\u003e is their seventh album, having debuted on Crepuscule back in 1990. The new long player was conceived by Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond over a three-year period and features four songs co-written with North American musician Anna Domino, a firm favorite of the group since her leftfield pop releases on Crepuscule and Factory in the 1980s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSignals Into Space\u003c\/em\u003e also features contributions from saxophonist Iain Ballamy (ECM, Food, Loose Tubes) and percussionist \u0026amp; vibraphone player Ric Elsworth. It was recorded and mixed in London with Andy Ramsay (Stereolab) and mastered by Noel Summerville.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLP - With Download.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Disques Du Crepuscule","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50471795425611,"sku":"1046952","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50471797293387,"sku":"1046951","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4033276a-bab4-4b35-84ae-0fe8cbf78ff9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727411759"},{"product_id":"meditations","title":"Meditations","description":"\u003cp\u003eLovely ambient breezes from Ultramarine, originally issued by their longterm fans at Les Disques Du Crépuscule, and now on vinyl via band member Paul Hammond’s Real Soon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmbedded in warmly atmospheric field recordings of Baha, Brazil, \u003ci\u003eMeditation\u003c\/i\u003e is a truly balmy bounty built from twinkling Kalimba, lilting guitar and floating synth pads executed in a way that suggests, not tells, and leaves loads of room for the listener to construct their own narrative. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnfolding in two parts, the first drifts from what sounds like a cafe by the coast, to more natural, elemental water rhythms and chiefs and back again via sweetly humid scenes strafed with colourfully plumed animaliculae. The second part picks up in dreamier dimensions with plucked melodies that unspool into duskier scenes lapped by tidal waters and fringed in enchanted synth strokes. There are definite similarities between this album and the waves of reissued Japanese environmental music, and while it’s maybe difficult, or even unnecessary to put a finger on why or how they are different, there’s just something more hypnagogic and balmy about this sound that effortlessly draws eyes to half-mast.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Real Soon","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50488358699339,"sku":"1141902","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/adbe2367-e2a5-4a53-adf4-6bdb19ce5ef5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727629574"},{"product_id":"interiors","title":"Interiors","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eInteriors\u003c\/i\u003e, the title of this new release from Ultramarine, may have a topical resonance for many listeners who have found themselves in involuntary confinement during the past year, but the five tracks on this EP were actually recorded in 2011, and they represent a significant opening out of the duo's evolving musical perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIan Cooper and Paul Hammond, who had become friends while growing up together in the Essex countryside, formed Ultramarine in 1989. Throughout the 90s their distinctive music, an enticing blending of acoustic with electronic instruments, secured a loyal following and won critical acclaim. Then, throughout the whole of the next decade, Ultramarine lay dormant. \u003ci\u003eInteriors\u003c\/i\u003e documents their reawakening, with Cooper and Hammond exploring approaches to music-making made possible by recently developed software, designed specifically with live performance in mind.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFour of the five tracks to be heard here were issued digitally last year. But as Paul Hammond has pointed out, \"with Ultramarine the whole point is to create an artefact, so the form and the look of the finished product is central.\" That's an outlook shared passionately by Simon Lewin's label Blackford Hill, and the music now available on this vinyl record is appropriately enhanced with cover art by printmaker Katherine Jones. Her imagery matches the music neatly in its nuanced interplay of solidity and shadow, line and colour, geometric form and organic growth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blackford Hill","offers":[{"title":"Black | 12\"","offer_id":50516274184523,"sku":"1136377","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b5c1faf6-4620-43a5-8172-a1deab90b1d1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727941297"},{"product_id":"a-users-guide-2","title":"A Users Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003eReissue of revered UK electronic duo \u003cstrong\u003eUltramarine's\u003c\/strong\u003e best-kept secret from their discography, the superb \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e album, available as a limited double LP housed in a beautiful heavyweight sleeve with inside-out printing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn the rare occasions that \u003cstrong\u003eUltramarine's\u003c\/strong\u003e story is told, the duo's fifth album, 1998's \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e, tends to get omitted from the narrative. Radically different from anything the duo released before or since, it has remained a slept-on, timeless, and inherently futurist classic ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnavailable on vinyl since the year it was released – in part because the label it originally came out on, New Electronica, folded shortly afterwards – \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e was the result of a conscious decision by \u003cstrong\u003eUltramarine\u003c\/strong\u003e members Paul Hammond and Ian Cooper to change their working methods and the \"sound palette\" that underpinned their work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOut went the partially improvised hybrid electronic\/acoustic sounds and the collaborations with guest musicians they'd become famous for. They were replaced by painstakingly created electronic sounds and textures, metallic motifs, spaced-out chords, rhythms rooted in contemporary techno and drum \u0026amp; bass culture, and nods aplenty to pioneering music of the period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver a quarter of a century may have passed since it first appeared in record stores, but \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e still sounds fresh and modern – a remarkable achievement given the relatively sparse and basic equipment used in the making of the album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs this first vinyl reissue conclusively proves, the material showcased on \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e has lost none of its sparkle in the 26 years that have passed since its release. For proof, check the head-nodding IDM bubbliness of opener \"\u003cem\u003eAll of a Sudden\u003c\/em\u003e,\" the queasy, lopsided tech-jazz of \"\u003cem\u003eSucker For You\u003c\/em\u003e,\" the locked-in beats and mind-mangling motifs of \"\u003cem\u003eZombie\u003c\/em\u003e,\" the ghostly, out-there electro of \"\u003cem\u003eAmbush\u003c\/em\u003e,\" the Autechre-esque \"\u003cem\u003eGhost Routine\u003c\/em\u003e,\" and the triumphant closing cut \"\u003cem\u003eWhat Machines Want\u003c\/em\u003e,\" a classic of minimalistic, jazz-flecked techno futurism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFully remastered from the original DATs by Jason G at Transition Studios, the 2024 vinyl edition of \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e thrusts \u003cstrong\u003eUltramarine's\u003c\/strong\u003e most overlooked album back into the spotlight. This WRWTFWW edition also features brand new contextualizing sleeve notes, complete with new quotes on the production process from \u003cstrong\u003eUltramarine\u003c\/strong\u003e, by dance music historian Matt Anniss (author of \u003cem\u003eJoin The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music\u003c\/em\u003e, and founder of online electronic music platform Jointhefuture.net).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records","offers":[{"title":"Black LPx2","offer_id":50976003096907,"sku":"2236292","price":36.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/WRWTFWW093_e72901fc_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1734180812"},{"product_id":"routine-1","title":"Routine","description":"\u003cp\u003eUltramarine is the London and Essex-based electronic duo Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the reissue earlier this year of Ultramarine's 1998 album \u003cem\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/em\u003e by Swiss label WRWTFWW, Blackford Hill present \u003cem\u003eRoutine\u003c\/em\u003e, a collection of thirteen previously unheard tracks recorded between 1996-97.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese tracks are drawn from the daily working practice adopted by the duo at their studio of the time on Coronet Street, behind London's Hoxton Square.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOften the result of a single day's work, these pieces find Ultramarine developing their palette, experimenting with sounds, treatments and techniques. Recorded as live mixes straight to tape, the results have the immediacy of new ideas freshly captured.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blackford Hill","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":52397243269451,"sku":"R3637-4543","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2000x2000bb_a33fdc29-0a5c-4105-a7ca-796dfc0c2373.jpg?v=1750498640"},{"product_id":"so-far-3","title":"So Far","description":"\u003cp\u003eGo back in your musical time machine if you will, to say around the late 80’s early 90’s. A time when ‘indie’ hadn’t really been fully defined as a genre, The Smiths, and their ilk were gone, and a new batch of small bands were vying for a piece of the pop music pie. With Acid House ‘larging it’ all over the country, guitar music was about to get a brand-new set of heroes. ‘The House of Love’ ‘My Bloody Valentine’ and ‘The Sundays’ were the coolest new kids on the block. Manchester, or Madchester was kicking off again with the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, who along with ‘Primal Scream’ were about to launch the indie dance craze ‘baggy’. And a bunch of small venues with new promoters, new record labels and new journos were going to spread the word. Things were thriving. And nestled amongst the list of indie hopefuls were Blur and Suede (with Justine Frischmann later of Elastica on guitar). Big names now, but in those heady times before Britpop (1989 – 1992) just another couple of bands playing the indie circuit like everyone else and looking to get noticed. One of those ‘indie hopefuls’ was ‘Honey Smugglers’. A band whose place in that crazy but pivotal time before Britpop is slowly being revealed thanks to a series of extensive compilations of that era by Cherry Red Records. They’ve featured in 6 of them. Honey Smugglers shared stages with the likes of Blur, Suede, Dodgy and Levitation (Ex House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers’ new band) without sounding like any of them. An uber tight organ driven music machine that mixed pop, groove and a lot of psychedelia into a bunch of catchy, inventive, eclectic and very English songs, they were un-pigeonholable at a time when everyone was looking for a pigeon to hole. A formidable live act, they released a couple of EPs, but sadly never delivered an album. Now, 35 years later we finally have ‘So Far'. The long-lost debut album by Honey Smugglers, collating recordings that never saw the light of day back then. And what comes across is the sheer diversity of their songwriting and performance. There’s the pure slice of melodic English guitar pop of lead track `She Doesn't Know', ‘Greatest Lovers' with its fragile verses and psychedelic freakout ending. You have the dream pop of 'Good Afternoon' and 'Stay' rubbing shoulders with the skewed psychedelia of 'Shake Free' ‘Rocking Horse' and 'No'. 'Sad Parade' 'Mrs C' 'Apple Tree' and 'Blind’ are vivid urban stories worthy of Ray Davies, years before Blur would hitch a ride on that particular wagon. And of course, their best-known song, the 6-minute indie dancefloor filler 'Listen' (heard here for the first time in its original and definitive version). Inventive, melodic, groovy and psychedelic (in the truest sense of the word) the Smugglers were of their time but in many ways ahead of it too, as the arrival of Britpop a few years later would testify.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ultramarine","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":55876238246219,"sku":"R1438-4552","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/HoneySmugglers-SoFar.jpg?v=1762794473"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_36444567_thumbnail_4096_991ef564-9816-4614-afc3-c64b795884c2.jpg?v=1726910317","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/ultramarine.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}