I hear Black Origami and I immediately jump to the conclusion, “Jlin has moved beyond footwork, produced a sort of new dance music that is also very old.” Polyrhythmic, minimal, a rediscovery of the drum machine as drum and drum circle. And I see this video and I see more ground for my jump. I see the dancer Corey Scott-Gilbert moving to the drums, touching each beat and warping with the low frequencies, the body free, but at every moment synched. A body empowers the music, gives it another medium to act through, and what kind of medium is the body?
Both in the song and the choreography there is a sense of improvisation. It’s like the artists discover new rhythms and movements as they go. Dramatic shifts built by Jlin as the MIDI loops roll, triggered, and launching Corey into a burst of new movement and mood, which he shows so impressively in his face. Yet it’s all composed, timed. The camera feels loosest of all, hovering around Corey and whirling to catch up as the music pulls him. Everything all at once, rushing forward, tangled roots shooting up and down and in every direction, but dense and tangled in itself. Dance to it!
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