Album of the Month: Akoma by Jlin

Album: Akoma
Artist: Jlin
Release Date: March 22, 2024
Label: Planet Mu
Favorite Tracks:

• “Borealis” (featuring Björk)
• “Speed of Darkness”
• “Open Canvas”
• “Challenge (To Be Continued II)”
• “Eye Am”
• “The Precision of Infinity” (featuring Philip Glass)

Thoughts:

Jlin, birth name Jerrilynn Patton, is a very busy DJ and producer who has found time to return to recording a full studio album for the first time in seven years.  Jlin works in an experimental electronic music style that draws on classical and free jazz as much as it does house music and drum and bass beats.  Jlin comes from the footwork scene, a genre I’ve just learned of that grew out of Chicago’s Black club scene in the 1990s and 2000s.  Collaborators on this album include Björk, Kronos Quartet, and Philip Glass, although they are all buried in the mix of Jlin’s samples, drum breaks, and bass drops.  It’s an aural attack but one that is done with great precision.

Rating: ****