Influences: Ultramarine

 
Music

With a career spanning decades, Ultramarine's influence has quietly permeated through generations of artists interested in the kind of electronic music that engages with intricacy and beauty. In August 2016 the duo 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, and for their new release on Random Spectacular entitled Blackwaterside, a four-track 7" limited to 350 copies, the duo have created two new pieces of music inspired by their time working close to that area. They were written alongside the creation of a lithograph by Glaswegian printmaker Bronwen Sleigh, printed in three colours, which features on the cover. 

Ransom Note managed to track them down to find out what inspired Blackwaterside.


Buy Blackwaterside HERE.

Gabriel Yared - 37°2 Le Matin

For many years we’ve used Gabriel Yared’s soundtrack for the obscure post-apocalypse film ‘Malevil’ as a reference point for a certain sound or mood; that record has been a big influence on us. This is from his classic sultry score for 37.2 Le Matin (Betty Blue).

  • Gabriel Yared - 37°2 Le Matin

    For many years we’ve used Gabriel Yared’s soundtrack for the obscure post-apocalypse film ‘Malevil’ as a reference point for a certain sound or mood; that record has been a big influence on us. This is from his classic sultry score for 37.2 Le Matin (Betty Blue).

  • Anna Domino & Steven Brown - Rythm @ Musik Convoy Germany 1985

    Two of our all-time favourites for the price of one; Anna Domino & Tuxedomoon’s Steven Brown performing ‘Rythm’ on the wonderful 1980’s German carpark show Musik Convoy. We’ve recently had the great pleasure of collaborating with Anna on four songs for our forthcoming album.

  • The Raincoats - Dancing In My Head

    We have been unhealthily obsessed recently with the sound of the woodblock and clave. Months of expensive psychoanalysis have revealed that this all goes back to a deep-seated love for the percussion on The Raincoats’ album ‘Odyshape’.

  • Kate Bush - Delius (Song Of Summer)

    A beautiful hazy, dream-like song of Summer. A perfect minimal palette and arrangement of instruments & voices, underpinned by the gentle ticking of a CR-78 drum machine.

  • Harold Budd & Clive Wright - Improvisation #2

    The pair released three albums of calming contemplative music between 2008 and 2010. Sometimes tentative, sometimes more assertive, it is quietly restrained yet highly expressive. It sounds great in this hot weather. Improvisation #2 was recorded in 2015 and has the same great interplay between the two musicians.

  • Hiroshi Yoshimura - Wet Land [Full Album]

    There has been a resurgence in interest in the minimal, ambient and experimental music of Japan from the 80’s and 90’s. There have been great efforts in unearthing a number of unknown gems. Some have been made commercially available again but most have only surfaced on YouTube and blogs. Hiroshi Yoshimura made wonderful music and is rightly seen as the master of Japanese ambient. It is a joy to now be able to hear his music.

  • Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek - Vague, Yet

    Electronics and prepared vibes are mixed together here to produce a fresh take on the tropics. Taken from their ‘Schaum’ album – a dense and welcoming world of sound. Masayoshi Fujita’s solo albums are all great too.

  • Jon Hassell - Pastorale Vassant

    From his recent ‘Listening to Pictures’ album. This seems to have reconnected with his classic Fourth World releases and added updated electronic treatments. His previous album had a very precise and detached coolness about it but this moves back into the heat and thicker vegetation! Fast becoming a favourite.