Spacetime Continuum

It’s been over three years since his last full-length record, but Double Fine Zone, the new long player from San Francisco’s Jonah Sharp, aka Spacetime Continuum, is well worth the wait. Since signing to Astralwerks in 1991, Spacetime Continuum has consistently pushed the boundaries of electronic music, making some of the most interesting and challenging music to come out of the ever-growing underground dance music scene. All the while, he has been establishing himself as one of the premier underground dance artists in America alongside his peers Carl Craig, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Josh Wink, and The Hardkiss brothers. Now, with the release of his jazz-tinged new album, Jonah Sharp has upped the stakes.

Double Fine Zone is the most mature and concise Spacetime Continuum record to-date. Influenced by Herbie Hancock, Lalo Schiffrin, Carl Craig, and early 70’s movie soundtracks, the album is a truly organic, fresh sounding record. With it’s combination of early ’70s jazz fusion, the souled-out vibe of Detroit techno, and the beauty of the current west coast electronic sound, Double Fine Zone is one for the ages. Whether it’s recalling the soundtrack to “Taxi Driver” on “The Ring”; the influence of jazz great Max Roach on “Manaka,” or the free jazz nod to Sun Ra on “Beveled Edge,: Double Fine Zone is a jazz album that pushes the boundaries of music much like the classics that have influenced Jonah Sharp. Check out the harmonica on “Micro Jam,” or the electro meets jazz feel on “Biscuit Face” and “Spin Out,” and you will agree that Double Fine Zone is an album of unmatched depth and one that is sure to be looked at as a classic album in years to come.

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, Jonah started his musical career as a drummer. After moving to London, studying jazz and doing the rounds on the jazz club scene, he ended up doing session drumming work for the label Acid Jazz in 1989. Jonah says of this time, “Often an artist friend would stand in for a solo or two. One time the guitarist in the band had a vocalist friend called Chaka Khan who happened to be in town one a world tour and came on stage and blew everyone away!” This is where he met Brian Iddenden, the London-based saxophonist who appears on many tracks on Double Fine Zone.

It was around this time that he also started experimenting with electronics and turntables and began playing in underground clubs in the UK. Jonah explains, “while I was doing this club work I was also doing session work (The Acid Jazz label stuff ) and I was still going down to clubs.” He soon became involved in running some of the first chill out rooms in London where he teamed up with long-time friend, Mixmaster Morris (Irrisistable Force).

Then in 1991, Jonah packed up his things and moved to San Francisco. He quickly immersed himself in working out the blueprint for Spacetime Continuum which resulted in the founding of his label Reflective, with his wife Billee as a place to release this new music. The first release, the “Flouresence” ep, turned a lot of heads worldwide, including Astralwerks, which signed Spacetime Continuum, making him the first Domestic artist signed to the label. The first Spacetime Continuum release for Astralwerks was Alien Dreamtime, a live CD featuring himself and psychedelic guru Terence McKenna. Jonah did more collaborations with the likes of Bill Laswell, Pete Namlock, and Tetsu Inuoe before releasing his debut solo full length album Sea Biscuit, a benchmark ambient album.

Following extensive touring, Jonah Sharp recorded his next Spacetime Continuum album, Emit Ecaps. The album was much more dance-floor oriented, combining Jonah’s love of Detroit techno with a strong west-coast feel. The album was a critical success and put Spacetime Continuum on the map as one of the finest artists in electronic music. To support the record, Jonah hit the road, co-headlining a sold-out American tour with Autechre, followed by an opening slot on the American leg of the Orbital tour. Following this, Jonah compiled Remit Recaps, a collection of remixes of tracks off of Emit Ecaps, by people like Carl Craig, Autechre, and Move D to name a few.