Bleep

One of the most important artists of her generation and arguably responsible for reshaping one of this decade's key underground sounds, Jlin presents “Autobiography,” the score for her collaboration with renowned British choreographer Wayne McGregor. Trust us when we say this one is truly special...

While it shouldn't be viewed as Jlin's third album as such (the follow up to our 2017 album of the year, Black Origami, is due in 2019 or 2020), “Autobiography“ is no less a vital component in the mechanics of the Jlin sound. As a stand-alone recording all the emotional peaks and troughs that it traverses are sure to leave jaws dropping and dancefloors alight. Some of you may label this music as 'footwork' but to our ears, Jlin is operating in a sphere entirely on her own. For those unfamiliar with Wayne McGregor, he has previously worked with Jon Hopkins, Jamie xx, A Winged Victory For The Sullen and also choreographed videos for Radiohead and The Chemical Brothers. Yet the seeds of his collaboration with Jlin were sown when McGregor played one of her tracks on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs show, describing it as “quite rare and so exciting”.

For Jlin, making music for dance is the fulfilment of one of her lifelong dreams – and remarkably, ”Company” Wayne McGregor’s performance was the first show she’d ever seen. Her response to sculpting music that stays true to her musical output while also operating as the backdrop to choreographed dance is sure to be heralded as one of her crowning achievements to date. For the hardcore fans, we have the typical A+ mind-boggling bangers like 'Unorthodox Elements', ' Annotation' (one of our favourite Jlin productions to date bar none) and 'Mutation'. These are tracks that stay true to the role they have been crafted for, while also leaving fellow producers scratching their heads in confusion as to how she actually makes these vibrant, otherworldly rhythms and sounds. While walking the tightrope between choreographed dance and DJ ready dance music with perfect balance, the most mind-warping moments of "Autobiography" come from those where she leaves behind the ball bearing rim snare shots for passages of alien abstraction - we are talking the mix of found sounds and musique concrète on 'First Overture (Spiritual Atom)' and 'Blue i' with its sensational floating chord progression that floats up above the beats and transports us to newly discovered unseen worlds within Jlin's musical universe.

If this is a stop between Black Origami and Jlin’s next album proper, you would be foolish to jump the gap.