Sound Portraits Radio {EP17} Jlin — Sound Portraits Radio

JLIN

EPISODE 17

Jlin is the recording alias of Jerrilynn Patton, an electronic music producer from Gary, Indiana. Initially associated with Chicago’s footwork scene, her music evolved far beyond that style, exploring unheard rhythms and placing her in a category of her own. Her debut album, 2015’s Dark Energy, was filled with twisted, volatile tracks that seemed far more concerned with venting frustration, anger, and depression than providing dancefloor fodder. The album was an immediate, unexpected success, causing her to quit her job as a steel mill worker and pursue music full-time. One of the most acclaimed experimental electronic artists of the 2010s, she has shared the stage or collaborated with artists such as Björk, Ben Frost, and William Basinski. Additionally, she has ventured into contemporary dance, composing the music for Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography, which premiered in 2017. This episode of Sound Portraits Radio is hosted by Doron Sadja and Arian Bozorg.

“Your failures are often more important than your successes. I’m still learning this myself, but I think the way we look at failure is all wrong. The only time you’re messing up is when you’re stagnating – like you’ve made a conscious decision to stop. If you want to make anything, you’ve got to be unafraid of fucking up from time to time.“
Jlin
“I love movement. Not just ballet per say, but all dance. I’ve always been attracted to contemporary dance – I like the way that someone can nod their head, blink their eyes or hold their hands and it can tell a story. I like the way it can be as soft as it is harsh and as harsh as it is soft.”
Jlin
“That’s why I call it Black Origami. All those folds and bends that you go through in your life, that is what folds you into that piece of origami. You start off as this blank sheet of paper, this innocent thing. And then life starts bending and folding, bending and folding. And you become this beautiful thing. I’m still being bended and folded. We all are.”
Jlin
“I’m definitely one of those people that believes for sure that every sound belongs somewhere. And there are certain sounds or certain movements that can strike me so deep and it opens up a totally different world for me. And a lot of that just has to do, that’s spontaneity.”
Jlin
“I don’t conceptualize anything, so I’m very abstract musically. I’m speaking from my core and then pulling that thing out. It’s not really too deep. It’s more an expression of self, what I’m feeling at that moment. I never have a concept, I just go in blank slate all the time. If someone were sitting with me and they said, “Jlin, what is this gonna sound like?” I’m gonna have to tell them I have no idea. I’m just as much in shock as you are once it comes together.”
Jlin
“When an album or song is complete, it is a complete feeling. And that comes with experience and a lot of failing over time. And still failing. It’s just a constant growth, but it’s trusting yourself. You have moments where you definitely doubt yourself, but I know when something is complete; it’s just a feeling.”
Jlin

Sound Portraits is a series of lectures/listening sessions, curated by Doron Sadja, focusing on the work of iconic composers who have paved the way for contemporary electronic music. Started in 2015 as a live event at Spektrum in Berlin, the series quickly grew and exists now as both a live lecture series and a radio show on Cashmere Radio. After an introduction of each artist’s life and work, we listen to a selection of excerpts and complete works from the artist’s repertoire. Besides providing an opportunity to introduce these seminal artists to a new audience, the Sound Portraits series also offers an open forum to engage in group listening in a quiet atmosphere.

Doron Sadja is an American artist, composer, and curator whose work explores modes of perception and the experience of sound, light, and space. Find out more at www.doron.sadja.com

SOUND PORTRAITS JLIN

About Sound Portraits