| Ultima Thule Ambient Music | |
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| Genre | Ambient music |
| Running time | 90 minutes, weekly |
| Country |  Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | 2MBS, Sydney |
| Syndicates | Artsound, 5MBS |
| Host(s) | George Cruickshank Neville Dorrington Marc "Kundalini" Cottee |
| Creator(s) | George Cruickshank |
| Air dates | February 1, 1989 – |
| Website | www.ultimathule.info |
Podcast feed  |
[1] |
Ultima Thule Ambient Music is a long-running, specialist ambient music radio show which has been broadcast on Australian community radio since 1989. It is also available online. It has been described as one of the leading alternative music programmes on Australian radio. [1]
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Show format
Each broadcast - uninterrupted by back-announcing save for near the beginning and end of transmission - consists of a 90-minute musical soundscape created by segue mixing tracks from a number of different artists. The musical content of each show is eclectic and diverse, and can embrace ancient, mediaeval, contemporary classical, ethnic/world, cool jazz, film soundtracks and occasionally even popular idioms, in addition to traditional ambient and electronic music.
History
The project was conceived by George Cruickshank, and the first show aired on February 1st, 1989, from the Narwee studios of 2NBC-FM. In early 1990 the show was moved to Australia's oldest and biggest community station, 2MBS-FM, where it has remained ever since.
Broadcasting and presentation
Ultima Thule is broadcast in Sydney on Sunday evenings between 10.30 and midnight. [2] Since 2001 it has been presented by a roster of three producers on a fortnightly cycle. As of February 2007 these are Cruickshank, Neville Dorrington and Marc "Kundalini" Cottee. Cruickshank presents the show every second week, while Dorrington and Cottee take turns hosting the show in alternate weeks. Cottee joined the show in late 2006 as a replacement for Mike Watson, who ended a five-year period as co-producer at that time [3]. Watson is also known as the creator of the Ambient Music Guide reference website. In June 2003 Ultima Thule was networked to Adelaide by 2MBS' sister station, 5MBS-FM. It is broadcast there on Sunday evenings, also from 10.30pm to midnight. [4] A third station in the Fine Music Network, Artsound FM, Canberra, began to carry the show in November 2006, broadcasting it on Tuesday evenings from 10.00pm. Ultima Thule has also been available as a podcast since May, 2005, and at any given time 8 shows are available for download in MP3 form through the programme's website. The duration of the programme has varied considerably over the years. Initially launched as a 90-minute programme at 2NBC, the duration was expanded progresively at 2MBS to 2, then 3 and finally 4 hours, until settling back into a 90 minute slot from March 2001.
Compilation album
Chasing the Dawn: Ultima Thule Ambient Volume 01, an Ultima Thule-branded compilation album produced by George Cruickshank, was released as a fund-raiser for 2MBS in early 2006. It features original and previously unreleased compositions by thirteen ambient artists, including Steve Roach, Tim Story, Robert Rich, and Numina. The recording reached #42 on the New Age Reporter music chart in August 2006. [5]
See also
- Hearts of Space, an ambient music programme broadcast on NPR in the US since the late 1970s. Hosted by Stephen Hill.
- Musical Starstreams, a US-based commercial radio program produced and hosted by Forest since 1981.
- Echoes, a nightly ambient music show produced by music critic John Diliberto.
- Star's End, a weekly ambient music programme broadcast on public radio in Philadelphia since 1976, hosted by Chuck van Zyl.
References
- Ambient Visions Presents an Interview with George Cruickshank. Ambient Visions.
- Frank Joseph. "In the chillzone", Fine Music, 2005-05-01.
- Judy Adamson. "Ambient anniversary on the airwaves", The Northern Herald, 1997-07-06.
- Marius Webb. "Ultima Thule", The Sydney Morning Herald Guide, 1996-01-29.
- (See here for scans of the 3 articles mentioned, above).
Notes
- ^ Robert Moss. "Download This", The Independent, 2007-08-28, pp. 19.
- ^ 2MBS-FM. 2MBS-FM.
- ^ Ultimathule. Ambient Music Guide.
- ^ 5MBS-FM. 5MBS-FM.
- ^ Top 100 Airwaves Chart - August 2006. New Age Reporter.
