Ultramarine - Music Artist Band Bio

Biography

A London, England-based progressive dance music duo comprising Paul John Hammond (Born 12 December 1965, Chelmsford, Essex, England; bass/keyboards) and Ian Harvey Cooper (Born 15 August 1966, Derby, England; programming/guitars). Ultramarine took their name from an album by A Primary Industry, who in turn had first seen it used for a Mexican brand of Mescal. Both members of Ultramarine were veterans of the latter band, Hammond having also played with God And The Rest. Previously, both had worked in a variety of professions, Hammond as an orchard worker and in publishing, Cooper as a furniture salesman and insurance clerk.

Influenced by the Canterbury Scene (Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt) and modern dance music (Massive Attack, Orbital, Spooky), Ultramarine made their recording debut in 1989 with "Wyndham Lewis", on Belgian label Les Disques Du Crepescule. After Folk, in 1990, Ultramarine moved on to Brainiak, then Rough Trade Records, before winding up on Blanco y Negro. Their debut album, Every Man And Woman Is A Star, was based on an imaginary canoe journey across America. Song structures were embossed by a dub-heavy backbeat and strong, resonant melodies. By the time of its follow-up, United Kingdoms, their Canterbury influences were beginning to show, and Robert Wyatt was invited to join them in a rendition of a 100-year-old weaver's folk song, "Kingdom", and "Happy Land". Wyatt's old sparring partner Ayers also wrote Ultramarine's double EP, Hymn. Bel Air took as its theme paranoia and anxieties about the approaching millennium, though this time the musical terrain encompassed Latin jazz and ethnic pop without ever being grand or pompous. Song titles such as "Schmaltz" revealed that the band had not lost their self-deprecating sense of humour. The duo made a welcome return to independent label status for the 1997 follow-up, A User's Guide.

Discography:
Folk (Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1990)***, Every Man And Woman Is A Star (Rough Trade 1992)****, United Kingdoms (Blanco y Negro 1993)***, Bel Air (Blanco y Negro 1995)***, A User's Guide (New Electronica 1997)***.



Source: Encyclopedia of Popular Music