Description
The music of Canterbury duo Ultramarine resists easy classification, drawing as it does from electronica, ambient, techno, and folk as well as eclectic ’70s Canterbury prog rock artists such asthe Soft Machine,Caravan, andRobert Wyatt(the latter of whom occasionally performed live with the group and appeared on their 1993 album,United Kingdoms). Though they recorded semi-regularly in the ’90s, the group was absent in the first decade of the 21st century, working on solo projects and production efforts.The duo, made up ofPaul HammondandIan Cooper, delivers a distinctly British feel in their music. In addition to banks of keyboards and samplers, they employ a wide range of acoustic and electric instruments, found sounds, and synthetic yet airy textures in their productions which makes their music simultaneously quirky and readily accessible.
On the rare occasions that Ultramarines story is told, the duos fifth album, 1998s A Users Guide, tends to get omitted from the narrative. Radically different to anything the duo released before or since, it has remained a slept-on, timeless and inherently futurist classic ever since. Unavailable on vinyl since the year it was released in part because the label it originally came out on, New Electronica, folded shortly afterwards A Users Guide was the result of a conscious decision by Ultramarine members Paul Hammond and Ian Cooper to change their working methods and the sound palette that underpinned their work. Out went the partially improvised hybrid electronic/acoustic sounds and the collaborations with guest musicians theyd 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 & bass culture, and nodsaplenty to pioneering music of the period, from the post-rock atmospherics of Tortoise, and the hazy dub techno of Basic Channel, to the tech-jazz of Detroit, the minimalism of Berlin, and the musically expansive warmth of Chicago deep house.
As this first vinyl reissue conclusively proves, the material showcased on A Users Guide 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 All of a Sudden, the queasy, lopsided tech-jazz of Sucker For You, the locked-in beats and mind-mangling motifs of Zombie, the ghostly, out-there electro of Ambush, the Autechre-esque Ghost Routine and the triumphant closing cut What Machines Want, a classic of minimalistic, jazz-flecked techno futurism.Fully remastered from the original DATs by Jason G at Transition Studios, the 2025 vinyl edition of A Users Guide thrusts Ultramarines most overlooked album back into the spotlight. This WRWTFWW edition also features brand new contextualising sleeve notes, complete with new quotes on the production process from Ultramarine. via Label
Label: WRWTFWW
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Remastered
Reissued: 2025
Genre: Electronic
Style: Techno, Downtempo, Dub Techno
File under: Leftfield
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