Ben Cardew interviewed Chicago's finest, Jana Rush, at Primavera Sound 2023 to talk footwork, depression, jazz and so much more.

Line Noise Episode 132 (Jana Rush at Primavera Sound 2023)

Ready To Go.

Tune into Ghost Notes Worldwide for that post-twilight sound. Night time music of all strains, with blunted R&B and hip hop instrumentals, neo-downtempo productions, slow jams, and hazy dancefloor sounds. 
https://www.nts.live/shows/impey/episodes/impey-24th-august-2023

Ghost Notes Worldwide w/ billdifferen: Funk Special 240823

For the past few years, RA cover star Jlin has been churning out complex percussion compositions that sit at the intersection of IDM, trap, mutant techno and sound art. Her tracks are tactile and structurally complex, stacked drums interlocking with glistening melodies and heaving basslines on groundbreaking albums like Dark Origami. Her rhythms gracefully crosscut over one another like towering blocks in an architecture sketch for a truly cerebral experience.

Growing up in Gary, Indiana, the former steel factory worker wears many hats. She produces mind-bending club music—usually for Mike Paradinas's label Planet Mu—scores modern dance performances and arranges for instrumental ensembles. Her process of collaboration is deeply symbiotic, as shown on her new EP, Perspective The acoustic version of the record, written for and performed with Chicago's Third Coast Percussion, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize this year, an unprecedented honour for a dance music artist.

Jlin's style is sometimes described as avant-garde, but modernist is a better word. She originally started out making footwork and despite moving away from the genre in recent years, footwork's jittery energy still flows through her productions, a testament to her ability to experiment across styles. Being a math whiz only adds to the angular, carefully calculated feel of her production.
 
In celebration of Jlin's career, Mike Paradinas serves up a 40 minute mix that shows off her range and most importantly, her passion for this music.

@mikep @jlinnarlei

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/903

RA podcast

RA.903 Mike Paradinas (ft. Jlin)

The Precision Of Infinity (ft. Philip Glass)

µ-Ziq - HYPER DADDY (SLIKBACK REMIX)

Gastro

As the popularity of Footwork has continued to soar, the range of sounds within the genre has expanded. From the angular, minimal beats of RP Boo to the widely admired and popular sound of sadly departed DJ Rashad, the genre has lovingly seeped into hearts and feet worldwide whilst continuing to innovate. Until now most of the focus has been on the male DJ/Producers, but that is about to change. Gary based producer Jlin, who some of you might remember for her track “Erotic Heat” (Bangs and Works Vol.2 – Planet Mu 2011), or from her moment in the mainstream light providing music for fashion designer Rick Owens’ FW/14 Paris runway show, is stepping further into the light with a stunning eleven track debut album “Dark Energy” showcasing her unique and bold new sound.

Gary, Indiana, a neighbouring City to Chicago, is one of those towns people overlook or perhaps expect the worst of. It's famous for the Jackson 5 and its Steel Mills, one of which Jlin works long shifts at. She says her sound and “the themes behind my tracks are all based off what my creativity absorbs, whether it be bad or good”, and the music certainly shows that intent. It's forceful, yet ripples with colour; it’s an intense, monolithic sound with rugged rhythms that stop and breathe and roll out in unusual staccato patterns. It’s a sound unlike any other out there, one that’s fiercely unique. 

Her track titles are as evocative as the music is intense and hint at deeper themes – “Black Diamond”, “Guantanamo”, “Abnormal Restriction”. She notes “The titles I chose are based off failing and learning.” Album track ”Expand” also features a vocal from another important female artist - respected experimental West Coast producer Holly Herndon whom Jlin has been quietly collaborating with.

Her album “Dark Energy” is so called because of where it came from and how it came to be; the dark monolith on the cover also perfectly encapsulates it – “This album took my entire life to make. Every moment in my life lead up to this album. My musical sense of expression comes from sadness, and anger. I can't create from a happy place. It seems pointless in my opinion. I don't make the tracks as much as I feel them. Creating for me is about feeling and impact.”

Jlin has been supported by all the key players in the Footwork scene and says she is “thankful to many.” 2015 feels like the year people are ready for a new voice in Footwork and Jlin is a true original with a hard, yet infectious style and an album that showcases it brilliantly.


Dark Energy

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Remix of Goodbye, Goodbye by µ-Ziq. As endorsed by the man himself: https://youtu.be/qlaQpymmVu8?t=5102

μ-Ziq - Goodbye, Goodbye (New City 16 remix)

Welcome to Line Noise. My guest this week is Catherine Backhouse aka DJ Bunnyhausen aka Xylitol, aka the winner of the first ever Line Noise album of the year for her absolutely divine Anemones, released by Planet Mu. And a very worthy winner she is too. We talk about “Gutter Kosmische”, prog jungle, Gesamtkunstwerk, Yugoslav pop culture, the Belgrade Bananarama and everything in between. I hope you enjoy the interview. And do give Anemones a spin. Line Noise is with the support of Cupra.

Line Noise Episode 193  (Album of the year 2024 with Xylitol)

REPAIR AUTHORIZATION REQUEST |

this sopped up hymnal eats birds |

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Planet Mu Records