Jlin

Born in Gary, Indiana, Jlin, real name Jerrilynn Patton, has since the late 2000s developed an electronic music rooted at the crossroads of footwork, juke and a more abstract rhythmic writing, often linked to IDM. She appeared in 2011 with the track “Erotic Heat” on the Bangs & Works, Vol. 2 compilation from Planet Mu. Jlin initially situates herself in the Chicago scene’s heritage while soon moving away through work on percussion, discontinuity and non-linear structures. Her first album Dark Energy appeared in 2015, followed the same year by the EP Free Fall, then Black Origami in 2017, a record that further expands her language with occasional collaborations such as William Basinski and Holly Herndon. Alongside club formats, Jlin composes for dance and contemporary music, notably Autobiography in 2018 for Wayne McGregor, then Perspective in 2023, a piece later noted in the field of contemporary composition. Embryo appeared in 2021, before Akoma in 2024, an album where Jlin dialogues with artists like Björk, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet. Between electronic scene, performance and institutional commissions, Jlin circulates an approach to rhythm that is dense, physical and often decentered from the usual club codes.