Club Night: Jlin

Gary, Indiana, is not Chicago. The city where Jerrilynn Patton is from is a steel town—once the heart of American industry. Patton, who goes by the stage name Jlin, actually worked in a steel mill herself before her music reached the world. A myth of origin? Rather, it’s the context for music that doesn’t just use harshness and precision as a gimmick. Jlin comes from the Chicago footwork scene, a fast-paced, hyperrhythmic dance music genre. But she has long since blown the genre apart from the inside. Her principle: “I try to not only express myself, but literally do and not just say.” Her debut, *Dark Energy* (2015), developed its own sonic language, without samples or presets. *Black Origami* (2017) became one of the albums of the decade. *Akoma* (2024) brings together Björk, Philip Glass, and the Kronos Quartet—collaborations that demonstrate the breadth of Jlin’s rhythmic architecture: extending into contemporary composition, dance, and minimalism. She is one of the most important voices in electronic music of the past decade.