And Volpe’s taking it to the big stage, playing shows across the globe, including this month’s St Jerome’s Laneway Festival. His debut album 32 Levels is an essential catalogue of dreamy instrumentals and lo-fi beats that critics have labelled ‘cloud rap’. Better known for producing records for modern rap icons like A$AP Rocky, the New Jersey-based beatmaker seemed content to settle for the backseat. In the song's verses, over Clams' murky backdrop, Kelela describes a romance on the rocks: 'Why are you complaining? / Keep making a fuss / Like I said, it's built on broken trust.2016 may have been the worst for some but not for super hip hop producer Michael Volpe, aka Clams Casino, whose year was nothing short of exciting. When it comes to subject matter, her realm is the relationship (see Cut 4 Me and the Hallucinogen EP ): the emotions, the intimacy, the sexuality and, very importantly, the vulnerability of lovers. Meanwhile, Kelela brings R&B sensibilities to electronic music, her infusion of soul leaving no room for sterility.

The track 'A Breath Away,' featuring Kelela, is a testament to his growth as a musician and his ability to make a great pop song without sacrificing any of the quirks that make him an interesting electronic and hip-hop producer.Ĭlams' specialty is creating dramatic, minimalist instrumentals that envelop the listener in pure mood. Clams Casino, on the other hand, has gone from bedroom producer to professional musician, lending the experimental production style he developed in a Nutley, N.J., basement to artists like A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Blood Orange, FKA Twigs and Vince Staples.Ĭlams' debut album is appropriately titled 32 Levels, a nod to the song that put him on the map. Nearly seven years after the release of that seminal song, Lil B has gone from internet phenomenon to cultural icon and curser of basketball players - a character who has transcended his own music. Clams Casino and the dreamy sound of the 'cloud rap' subgenre it spawned would influence hip-hop, R&B and even pop music in the 2010s. Welcome to my world.' When rapper Lil B uttered those words on his 2009 track ' I ' m God,' he couldn't have known that the song its producer Michael Volpe, a.k.a.

'The mind is so complex when you're based.

How to clams casino makes music