Audiopile Review: At heart, Chicago footwork is a highly functional form of regional dance music. And yet, its frenetic 150bpm+ beats have always seemed inherently avant-garde to many heads. That’s presumably why it caught the ear of Gary, Indiana’s Jerrilynn Patton, aka Jlin. Because nobody has owned the avant aspects of footwork more consciously or more effectively than Jlin. Since 2015, she has been building a reputation as one of the 21st century’s most-cutting edge beatmakers. And she’s also been building a formidable fanbase of influential admirers. The new Jlin album, ‘Akoma’, features collaborations with Bjork, the Kronos Quartet, and Philip Glass. This may seem terribly highbrow, but ‘Akoma’ is essentially a very ambitious IDM album that never strays too far from its roots in functional dance music. Jlin is admirably unafraid to bring the club into the concert hall and vise versa. And then she drags them both out into the street for a fucking dance off. Audacious stuff.

Jlin’s third album ‘Akoma’ sets a new benchmark in her personal road map, not only since the album features guest appearances from Björk, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet but for her continued sonic persistence and resistance. Jlin’s detailed and meticulous exploration of rhythm’s outer reaches has made her one of the most distinctive and recognisable voices within the electronic and classical music worlds. ‘Akoma’ is her next step – all these paths have led to this. We encourage you to tune in.