After experimentations within classical circuits, Jlin returns to incorporate collaborations and various experimentations into her 3rd album. ‘Akoma’ not only embraces the most experimentation in Jlin’s career but does it excitingly, with a lively sense of tone that lets the project glow in its brightest and darkest moments.
‘Akoma’ is Jlin now in a space that she now considers to be her own. After her past few albums in the 2010s that immediately showcased her footwork compositions within the spectrums of tribal textures accompanied by rattling, machine-gun scampering rhythms with measurable results - even if ‘Black Origami’ in particular is a bit less effective project in her discography due to the rhythms just not sticking out as much - it did carve out her space within the IDM and footwork tapestries, where it essentially opens up where she can go towards in the future. Now that would eventually come up around 2023, when ‘Perspectives’ essentially remixes the classical composition of the same name that she did back in 2020, where there is a lot more experimentation with classical directions that enables her IDM and Footwork dimensions to expand even further. An expansion that is now reflected even further with ‘Akoma’, her newest album that she made 7 years since ‘Black Origami’.
Derived after a Ghanan word meaning “Heart”, ‘Akoma’ indeed pulps so many swings and dips into what may as well be Jlin’s varied project to date, as her footwork compositions coil around a lot of forms and textures that offer her rhythms to linger within. As such, it leads to the album going for a lot of fascinating, and instantly ecstatic experimentations. The melodic trudges on ‘Borealis’ scamper a lot of times as Jlin reforms Bjork’s vocals into a harrowing fragment within fidgety rhythms and chopped-up woodwind samples, the metallic clanks and panicked violin bows on ‘Summon’ create a feeling that leers into the ominous and dissonant, ‘Sodalite’ with Kronos Quartet’s violin sections are thrust into Jlin’s percussive dance with all of her bulbous patches of rhythms, and Philip Glass’s glassy ascending piano melodies play catch up on the more shuffling African percussions on ‘The Precision Of Infinity’.
However, amidst all of that eccentric experimentation placed within, Jlin still creates them with a sense of wonder and even playful chuckles that make the compositions come off as naturally lively. The brimming synth patches on both ‘Auset’ and ‘Iris’ add a sense of hypnotic layer to the bustling patterns of the former song and the wondering attitude of the latter, the revving buzzy tones of ‘Open Canvas’ accelerate into a frankly body-shambling experience just before Jlin swerves it into the slinkier keys and bass warbles that keeps the momentum afloat before pulling it back into those buzzy rhythms, ‘Speed Of Darkness’ puts some emphasis on the atmosphere as the layers of rumbling grooves, haunting synth and woodwinds, and manic vocal effects runs altogether to create a scintillating sonic space, and ‘Grannie’s Cherry Pie’ with its chipper key melodies puts a brighter tone to the album. While ‘Eye Am’ and especially ‘Challenge (To Be Continued II)’ don’t exactly have the same creative inputs as the rest of the album, the fleshed-out textures on these African rhythms do still work within the structure of the record, even if they’re not exactly spectacular as a result.
In short, ‘Akoma’ is essentially Jlin’s magnifying album to date, as her brand of footwork and IDM has evolved to a point where she is now able to invest in putting her sound in various textures and tapestries, whether that be classical tapestries, traditional African rhythms, or other stripes of electronica. The result comes off as exorbitantly stunning, where there might be experimentation that comes off phenomenal from front to back, there is still a sense of playfulness within those compositions that keeps the rhythms bouncing around with a lavish sense of flair. Just like a heart that keeps everyone alive, every beat that the project pumps out is filled with confidence to look ahead, signifying a sense to live and embrace the sweep of emotions that lie within all of us.
Favorite Tracks: ‘Borealis’ ft Bjork, ‘Speed Of Darkness’, ‘Summon’, ‘Iris’, ‘Open Canvas’, ‘Auset’, ‘Sodalite’ ft. Kronos Quartet, ‘Grannie’s Cherry Pie’, ‘The Precision Of Infinity’ ft. Philip Glass
Least Favorite Track: ‘Challenged (To Be Continued II)’