A crucial figure in the recent mutations of footwork, Jerrilyn Patton aka Jlin is perhaps one of the bravest manifestations of the genre. While preserving the original foundation of syncopated rhythms and vertiginous speed, Jlin is nevertheless immediately recognisable in the details. From the approach based on the agglutination of elements to their operative precision, Jlin allows and encourages a speculative nature to her work. The unpredictable way in which he makes everything happen reveals an innate restlessness, but also a primordial exploration of hypotheses and probabilities. There is a kind of umbilical relationship between the artist and maths, as Patton pursued an academic degree in what she considers to be her greatest passion.

Dark Energy set off on an auspicious course, written even in the present day. The challenging expressiveness and the call for dense atmospheres set her apart from the funky or dance-floor-orientated recordings (relatively common in some of her genealogical constellations). More combat boot than trainer, tracks like Guantanamo or Erotic Heat showed her socio-political sensibility. Black Origami arrived almost two years later, strengthening the sonic architecture already in place, but expanding its focus on other allusions, symbologies and equations. When his collaboration with Third Coast Percussion was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Music last year, it highlighted the talent behind the challenge of composing for real instruments in addition to production software. Aside from this, the feeling of vulnerability during the creative process is, as she describes, a driving force behind finding new ways of exposing ideas and sounds.

As Jlin prepares to release her next album, you can already hear two new singles on the usual platforms. Akoma will be Jlin’s third album and will feature serious musicians such as Philip Glass, Bjork, and the Kronos Quartet. This visit to Lisbon is part of her tour that will cross much of Europe. Absolutely unmissable. NA