Jlin - Autobiography (Music from Wayne McGregor's Autobiography)

[KovalainenFanBoy]

 

https://jlin.bandcamp.com/album/autobiography-music-from-wayne-mcgregors-autobiography

https://planetmu.bleepstores.com/release/105082-jlin-autobiography-music-from-wayne-mcgregors-autobiography

 

 

 

 

By now, the story of how Jlin went from working in a steel factory in Gary, Indiana to being one of the most widely appreciated electronic musicians is well known. “Black Origami” was one of the most lauded albums last year. Seriously prolific and seriously hard-working, she has toured constantly since its May 2017 release and despite being involved in a wide range of projects, still manages to find a balance and time to “do some personal healing and growing.”

Here we are over a year later with “Autobiography,” the score for her collaboration with renowned British choreographer Wayne McGregor (a collaboration arranged by Krakow's Unsound). This isn’t technically her third album (that’s due to arrive in 2019 or 2020), but the soundtrack stands up on its own with all the emotional peaks and troughs of a well-sequenced LP.

For Jlin, making music for dance is the fulfillment of one of her lifelong dreams – and remarkably, Company Wayne McGregor’s performance was the first show she’d ever seen. She describes the process of working with Wayne: “We first met face to face in October 2016 in a downtown Chicago hotel, talking for about a solid two hours. Immediately, I saw Wayne was very friendly and energetic. He’s brilliant, witty, and knows exactly what he wants; an absolute gem to work with. Before I even started composing for Autobiography, Wayne told me so gently that he trusts me completely with my direction of creating the score. That was the best feeling in the world. I would wake up at two in the morning and work until six in the evening until I completed all the pieces. We were both very happy with the outcome. Creating the score for an impeccable piece of work such as Autobiography changed my life as an artist.”

“Autobiography” is a highlight in an evolving and growing career. During the last year, Jlin has also become an in-demand remixer, securing her place among a roster of music heavyweights. Unsurprisingly, given her positive and outgoing nature, she also developed friendships with the artists she has remixed such as Björk, Max Richter and Ben Frost.

Jlin will be touring with Company Wayne McGregor performing “Autobiography” this year into next. She's also completed a commission for the Kronos Quartet titled “Little Black Book.” She still approaches every performance “with the same attitude of doing my best to execute a good show, no more, no less. Doing my best is what’s most important to me.” She also still lives in Gary, Indiana, which keeps her grounded. She notes with her typical humility, “The local community is a little more knowledgeable of me now. But I don’t mind my community taking its time.”

 

                                                                                                                           

 

[Bubba69]

damn

[auxien]

I like that track far more than anything else of hers I've heard.

[DavieAddison]

I like that track far more than anything else of hers I've heard.

Weird because it sounds exactly like everything else she’s released

[YangYing]

 

I like that track far more than anything else of hers I've heard.

Weird because it sounds exactly like everything else she’s released

agreed

[dr lopez]

agreed. i do not begrudge her any and all of her success. she deserves it. but i must admit i'm becoming more and more baffled as to why she's doing all this stuff and not other equally excellent footwork / electronic artists. 

[auxien]

 

I like that track far more than anything else of hers I've heard.

Weird because it sounds exactly like everything else she’s released

If that were true then she's getting worse: putting out "exactly" the same thing for years would be pretty weak, eh? To my ears it sounds a bit more refined, dynamic, and grooves better (maybe because it's written for a specific dance piece?). I've heard a few tracks that were okay, but they all seemed to be lacking to me.

[joshuatxuk]

 

 

I like that track far more than anything else of hers I've heard.

Weird because it sounds exactly like everything else she’s released

agreed

 

 

some rehashed samples but I don't mind, kind akin to the way you here the same canon of samples in dub/dancehall, hip-hop, dnb, etc.

 

agreed. i do not begrudge her any and all of her success. she deserves it. but i must admit i'm becoming more and more baffled as to why she's doing all this stuff and not other equally excellent footwork / electronic artists. 

 

IIRC there's still a camp of footwork producers who put out battle tracks and another camp of those putting out music pushing beyond the genre. she falls in the later camp whereas RP Boo, DJ EQ Why, and a lot of the Teklife producers seem to release albums that feel more like compilations of recent tracks and not cohesive albums made with some concept or non-dance battle scope in mind.

[ganus]

 

 

agreed. i do not begrudge her any and all of her success. she deserves it. but i must admit i'm becoming more and more baffled as to why she's doing all this stuff and not other equally excellent footwork / electronic artists.

IIRC there's still a camp of footwork producers who put out battle tracks and another camp of those putting out music pushing beyond the genre. she falls in the later camp whereas RP Boo, DJ EQ Why, and a lot of the Teklife producers seem to release albums that feel more like compilations of recent tracks and not cohesive albums made with some concept or non-dance battle scope in mind.

Don't discount the battle tracks! The dancers and the battles are the reason the genre is the weird, divergent thing it is.

DJ MC is part of a battle tracks group, and he has been adding to the format as much as anyone

https://djmc35.bandcamp.com/album/kill-bill

 

Also, is Teklife even involved with the battle scene much still? AFAIK they're more focused on being an international-focused label, showcasing the more mainstream side of footwork... I am sure folks like Traxman probably still play for battles, but I don't think they're representative of the scene.

[spptrl alt del]

don't really get the hype about Jlin--rhythms / flows are stilted, sounds / samples etc. are remarkable (?) ... maybe i haven't heard enough of it, it's just that i'd much rather listen to something like Muslimgauze, or Lanark Artefax. are those artists not comparable?? 

[auxien]

This is definitely more interesting to me than her other work. The end of many of the tracks are getting into some really interesting rhythms. Often falling a bit into some pretty basic hip hop riffs and melody things, occasionally even nearly pop music feels....perhaps they work well as the backdrop for the dance of course, but alone as just music they feel a bit lacking and cheap almost. The 'water-y & jungle-y' sounds sprinkled in are also pretty fucking weak imo...may be biased, that shit almost always bores me to death. Not terrible but I dunno how much I'd want to listen to this album either. After listening to it once I feel that's pretty much it. Last track was nice enough as an ambient-ish string/vocals thing.

 

Someone talk her into buying some synths or a modular rig or something. :)

[andrd]

Figured I'd put this in the most recent Jlin thread:

 

21 of Jlin's beginner tracks, circa 2009-2011

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/1221832y0s7gw31/320+tracks.rar

 

 

[Lada Laika]

don't really get the hype about Jlin--rhythms / flows are stilted, sounds / samples etc. are remarkable (?) ... maybe i haven't heard enough of it, it's just that i'd much rather listen to something like Muslimgauze, or Lanark Artefax. are those artists not comparable??

Do you mostly listen on headphones? Most of her work is heavily reliant on low end, so listening on a decent monitor system vs cans isn’t really comparable. But yours is not an uncommon opinion to be sure (even though I don’t share it).

[Guest]

revisited this album last night, it really grew on me. She's such a beast! I hope she does more ambient stuff in the future, maybe even more collabs with Basinski. The song "Anamnesis (part 1)" on here really appeals. 

On 9/29/2018 at 9:50 AM, auxien said:

Someone talk her into buying some synths or a modular rig or something.

I agree. I watched the redbull music academy interview with her, and it seems like she just uses Serum and other soft synths. Would be cool to hear how something as simple as an sh101 would work in her musics.