Blackwaterside / RS012

In August 2016 Ultramarine created a photo film (RS008) featuring photographs from Ian Cooper’s Survey East website which focuses on a particular stretch of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex.

The film (and accompanying soundtrack) was screened on rotation at the Caught By The River Thames festival at Fulham Palace in London.

For this audio/print project, Ultramarine created two new pieces of music inspired by their time working close to the estuary. Glasgow based printmaker/sculptor Bronwen Sleigh visited this remote corner of Essex to sketch and draw, using these visual references to create a lithograph, printed in three colours, which features on the cover of the book accompanying the 7” single.

The book features a series of Ian Cooper’s original photographs, alongside poetry by the writer Philip Terry, inspired by the Essex coast, taken from his book Quennets.

• 7” vinyl single
• 28-page booklet of photographs and poetry
• Wraparound cover by printmaker Bronwen Sleigh
• Digital download card (including an extra 16 minutes of bonus audio)
• Limited edition of 350 copies

The final copies Blackwaterside will be available from our new record label Blackford Hill in Spring 2020.

This latest vinyl and print project has developed from our previous Random Spectacular project Blackwaterside (RS008), a photo film by Ian Cooper featuring images from his Survey East project with a soundtrack by Ultramarine which was screened on rotation at the Caught By The River Thames festival at Fulham Palace in London on 6th and 7th August 2016. 

The film focuses on a particular stretch of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex. The Blackwater runs from Maldon out to the North Sea and contains two islands: Northey (famous as the site of the 991 Battle of Maldon between the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings) and Osea (famous for its rehab clinic and recording studio). The estuary itself is known for its oysters and sea salt and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.