The group, which is made up of Paul Hammond and Ian Cooper, has a distinctively British feel and employs a wide range of instruments and sounds.

Hammond and Cooper first collaborated in the avant-garde band A Primary Industry during the mid-'80s. When that band split, the duo named themselves Ultramarine and recorded Folk in 1990. Their second album, Every Man and Woman Is a Star, appeared in 1992 and earned praise for the duo as one of the first home-listening electronic groups. Sire signed Ultramarine in 1992 and issued their first U.S. release, United Kingdoms, the following year. Despite a high-profile collaboration with Robert Wyatt (and with Kevin Ayers for the accompanying Hymn EP), the album practically disappeared both home and abroad. Nevertheless, Hammond and Cooper continued to record in a quirky electronic folk-pop vein for 1995's Bel Air. Three years later, User's Guide saw Ultramarine's sound approaching the trip-hop/electronica mainstream. After a long break, the duo returned in 2011 with two singles (“Find a Way” and “Acid I Butch”), while 2013 saw the release of their sixth studio album, This Time Last Year. ~ Steve Huey