Jonathan Sharp

Jonathan explains, "Following on from the first Divided Time album, which documented the early 70's, we’ve stepped forward from London to 1979. By this point another big trip was on the cards. My Dad was living and working in New York, and in the Summer of that year, the family travelled to visit for several weeks in the summer. These kind of travel experiences are taken for granted now, but as a 12 year old who’s only experience of the US was from film and tv, this was a life changing trip. I’d never even been on a plane before.

"Having found a batch of slides from that summer, it all came flooding back. The vast differences in culture. The scenery from New York’s iconic buildings, the grim state of parts of it, the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The beautiful countryside of upstate New Work and Connecticut. Hot dogs, hamburgers, huge cars. All of this a million miles from the dismal world of Thatcher’s Britain..."

Jonathan again displays his range and authenticity here. He may be more widely recognised as The Heartwood Institute, but this is a much more personal project, utilising his soundtracking and library music expertise. You can almost see the steam rising from the manhole covers, smell the burgers and gasoline. It's a tour de force from one our most original and lauded artists.