Ultramarine

Ultramarine is a deep blue color and a pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ultramarinus, literally "beyond the sea", because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afghanistan by Italian traders during the 14th and 15th centuries.

Ultramarine was the finest and most expensive blue used by Renaissance painters. It was often used for the robes of the Virgin Mary, and symbolized holiness and humility. It remained an extremely expensive pigment until a synthetic ultramarine was invented in 1826.

Chemistry

The pigment consists primarily of a zeolite-based mineral containing small amounts of polysulfides. It occurs in nature as a proximate component of lapis lazuli containing a blue cubic mineral called lazurite. The pigment color code is P. Blue 29 77007. The major component of lazurite is a complex sulfur-containing sodium-silicate (Na_8-10Al₆Si₆O₂₄S_2-4) which makes ultramarine the most complex of all mineral pigments. Some chloride is often present in the crystal lattice as well. The blue color of the pigment is due to the S−
3 radical anion, which contains an unpaired electron.

Ultramarine (band)

Ultramarine are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1989 by Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond.

Biography

Cooper and Hammond first worked together in the band A Primary Industry during the mid-1980s. Following the split of that band, they formed Ultramarine and released their debut album Folk in April 1990 on seminal Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule. The duo's second long player, Every Man and Woman is a Star (initially released in 1991 by Brainiak Records and reissued as an expanded version by Rough Trade in 1992), found critical acclaim and was neatly described by music writer Simon Reynolds in his book Energy Flash as:

Perhaps the first and best stab at that seeming contradiction-in-terms, pastoral techno... all sun-ripened, meandering lassitude and undulant dub-sway tempos... like acid-house suffused with the folky-jazzy ambience of the Canterbury scene.

Live appearances during this period included a US tour in 1992 with Meat Beat Manifesto and Orbital and US and European tours in 1993 supporting Björk. The group's collaborative work has included a songwriting & recording partnership with Robert Wyatt, recordings with Kevin Ayers and David McAlmont plus numerous live and studio sessions with members of the London jazz scene, including Lol Coxhill, Iain Ballamy, Elton Dean, Dave Green, Roger Beaujolais, Greg Heath and Jimmy Hastings.

Ultramarine (album)

Ultramarine is the fourth studio album by Young Galaxy, released in April 2013. As with their previous album, it was produced by Dan Lissvik and was released on Paper Bag Records.

The album was named a longlisted nominee for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize on June 13, 2013 and named to the short list on July 16, 2013.

Tracklist

References