Jlin's Dark Energy is the second footwork album to be included on this list (along with RP Boo's), and justifiably so. It is proof that it's not only the old guard that is continuing to produce innovative and weird music in the genre - its younger generation is comparably capable of pushing it in crazy new directions. Dark Energy may well be the best non-compilation footwork album to date, which is high praise indeed considering that it is Jlin's debut. Most reviewers praised Dark Energy for its lack of samples, reflecting on the fact that it makes it sound very different to the majority of sample-heavy footwork that has dominated the scene to date. While this is notable, what is actually most exciting about Jlin is her ability to fuse the propulsion of footwork's dance sound with the experiments of deconstructive club producers such as M.E.S.H., Lotic, Arca and the like. Her tracks are just as movement-inducing in a bass-heavy club as they are emotive and intricate through one's own headphones. Most producers fall on one side or the other - they are either excellent dance producers that nail it in a club, or they sculpt wonderful experimental soundscapes that push the limits of electronic instrumentation. Jlin does both with absolute ease. She first came to attention on Planet Mu's Bangs & Works compilation releases, with her tracks standing out when lined up alongside the best in the genre despite her effectively just being a "random name on a comp" at the time. Those impressions were nothing compared to the impact that the album would have though. Erotic Heat, which soundtracked a Rick Owens fashion show, is simultaneously utterly sexy and totally mechanical, like bumping and grinding in a jet engine. Weird moments abound, such as the squelchy electronica of Ra (which actually does feature samples prominently, despite reviewers' comments to the contrary) and the intricate Black Diamond, which manages to sound just as beautiful, crystalline, dark and impenetrable as its title suggests. In the case of a young artist it is always tempting to say that they are "one to watch". That would be wrong here - Jlin has proven she not merely one for the future. In fact, she is already one of the best and most gifted producers operating in contemporary electronic music.
