| Every Man and Woman Is a Star | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 70:50(1992 release) | |||
| Label | Brainiak,Rough Trade | |||
| Producer | Ultramarine | |||
| Ultramarine chronology | ||||
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Every Man and Woman Is a Star is the second album by Britishelectronic music duoUltramarine. It was originally released in 1991 by Brainiak Records; a subsequent 1992 reissue onRough Trade featured two additional tracks.
The album has been described as an early classic of theambient techno/house scene.[1][2] Itspastoral sound and incorporation of traditional folk instruments made it a progenitor of thefolktronica genre.[2]
Every Man and Woman Is a Star was recorded in London and mixed in Brussels with assistance from Colin James ofMeat Beat Manifesto.[3] The recording involved collaborations with other musicians, an approach the group later expanded on.[3] According to Ian Cooper, the duo used theAkai S900sampler to create tracks: "to be able to experiment and write loop-based tracks opened new worlds of possibilities for us. We could gather '70s west coast musicians for an acoustic backing track and write synth melodies on top whilst never leaving the bedroom inNew Cross."[4]Hip hop sampling andbleep techno records were inspirations.[3] In a 2015 interview, Paul Hammond recalled the process of recording the original album demos: "it came together so effortlessly. We still feel great warmth for the record and for the period it was made in."[5]
The phrase "Every man and woman is a star" is originally attributed to occultistAleister Crowley and is found inThe Book of the Law.[6][7] Hammond stated that "I think we liked the idea of the all-inclusive slightly hippyish sound of it, but it coming from quite a dark, esoteric source."[3]
After its initial 1991 release on Brainiak, the album was reissued onRough Trade Records in 1992 with additional tracks.[3]
In 2003, a remixed and expanded version of the album entitledCompanion was released. This included alternative mixes (from 1990 to 1993) and live versions of the original album tracks as well as all tracks from the 1992 EPNightfall in Sweetleaf.
The 2015 reissue of the album onRough Trade was prompted by label headGeoff Travis.[5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Mojo |  [8] |
| NME | 9/10[9] |
| Q | [10] |
| Select | 4/5[11] |
| Uncut | [12] |
CriticSimon Reynolds called the album "the first and best stab at that seeming contradiction-in-terms, pastoraltechno," likening it to "acid house suffused with thefolky-jazzy ambience ofRoy Harper,John Martyn, and theCanterbury Scene."[13]AllMusic called it "a warmly melodic LP of home-listeningelectronica produced just before the term was coined" and "an earlyambient-techno classic."[1]PopMatters stated that the album "fit right in with the psychedelic, ethereal 'ambient house' or 'chill out' music of acts likethe Orb,KLF, andAphex Twin," describing the duo as "nature-loving would-behippies who [...] translated that pastoral ethos into music that was full of breezy, midtempo rhythms and shaded in with traditional instruments like violin and harmonica."[2]
The album'spastoral sound and incorporation of traditional folk instruments have led critics to credit it as a progenitor of thefolktronica genre.[2]
