Spacetime Continuum

As a pioneer of ambient techno, Jonah Sharp has issued numerous albums and EPs under the Spacetime Continuum name while helping unify San Francisco’s experimental ambient and techno communities through his Reflective imprint. Originally from London, Sharp worked as an acid jazz drummer and later became a sought-after session player until the demands of club life and the genre’s sentimental datedness prompted him to explore fresh directions. Embracing ambient and techno through his DJ work, he co-founded the intermittent Spacetime events staged inside a London hologram factory that featured early ambient figures such as Mixmaster Morris, David Moufang, and Dr. Atmo. In the early 1990s Sharp relocated to America and settled in San Francisco, where he launched Reflective and produced the majority of his catalog. Although his output has appeared under multiple headings including Emit Ecaps, Alien Community, Reagenz, and Electro Harmonix, the Spacetime Continuum project has remained his most prominent. In 1992 he entered a non-exclusive multi-album agreement with Astralwerks and issued his debut full-length the next year, a live recording documenting a collaboration with author Terrence McKenna and didgeridoo player Stephen Kent. The largely ambient Sea Biscuit arrived in 1994 on Europe’s Fax label, for which Sharp has completed several joint releases. Emit Ecaps, which surfaced in early 1996, revisited his dancefloor origins by blending house, techno, and jungle elements and later generated the remix collection Remit Recaps featuring contributions from Autechre, Plaid, and additional artists. Reflective also put out a range of Sharp-related material, among them the collectible Flurescence EP, along with full-lengths by Subtropic, Velocette, Kid Spatula (aka Mike Paradinas), and Single Cell Orchestra, plus numerous 12-inch singles. Double Fine Zone, the subsequent Spacetime Continuum album, was released in 1999.