Jlin

Jerrilynn Patton, also known as Jlin, is an electronic musician. She was born on July 30, 1987. She started producing music in 2008 and gained early recognition for her track “Erotic Heat” in 2011.

Her debut album, Dark Energy, was released in 2015 and was highly acclaimed. She followed it up with Black Origami in 2017, which also received critical praise.

Jlin grew up in Gary, Indiana, where she was exposed to music by her parents. Her favorite artists were Anita Baker, Rachelle Ferrell, and Sade. She also listened to footwork at an early age. She briefly attended Purdue University as a math major.

As an adult, she worked at a steel mill to support herself, but she claims this didn’t have much influence on her music. Jlin started making her own music in 2008 and was inspired by her mother to pursue a unique sound. She also received encouragement from figures such as DJ Rashad, whom she communicated with online.

Jlin was hesitant to release “Erotic Heat” because it didn’t fit the conventional sound of a footwork song. The track was eventually included on Planet Mu’s Bangs & Works, Vol. 2 compilation in 2011, which showcased Chicago juke and footwork artists and brought Jlin attention. Later, the song was used to accompany a 2014 Rick Owens fashion show. Dark Energy, which was released in 2015, helped to popularize footwork on a global stage and was highly acclaimed.

In 2017, Jlin released Black Origami, her second album. It features collaborations with William Basinski, Holly Herndon, Fawkes, and Dope Saint Jude. The album received universal acclaim and was named among the best albums of the year by various publications. Also in 2017, Jlin was commissioned to compose the score for “AutoBIOgraphy,” a new work by Company Wayne McGregor that premiered at Sadler’s Wells in London in October 2017.

In 2020, Jlin created the new work “Perspectives,” commissioned by the Boulanger Initiative for performance by Third Coast Percussion. In 2022, Jlin launched a course with online music school Soundfly, “Jlin: Rhythm, Variation, & Vulnerability.”