Though Clams was so cutting edge and ahead of the times, it’s hard to believe that over 5 years since the release of Rainforest, countless collaborations and remixes, we’re granted with his debut album – 32 Levels. The release of three separate Instrumental Mixtape Volumes meant budding rappers could do their own work over his, and his audience could greater appreciate the complexity and individuality of his sound on its lonesome. There’s no denying that tracks like Bass, Wassup and Palace are Rocky’s early best, and while his success took the sound further and out of Clams’ hands, he’s always been the king of the castle. A bunch of collaborations with Lil B led him straight to A$AP Rocky, and consequently, the birth of the cloud rap sound, perhaps made most famous by the enigmatic Lil B. Releasing his first EP, Rainforest, in 2011, Clams quickly became the talk of the underground hip-hop town. While you may not have heard Clams Casino’s name, you’ve definitely heard his style. It’s rare that a producer is able to produce a sound which acts in two different ways – both as its own piece of musical genius, and bringing depth and meaning to the words of another artist. Without dissing, no one is likely to listen back to an Atlanta trap backing track and hear or feel anything other than Atlanta trap. More a showcase of his production wares than an album, this collection still suggests Clams might produce a pearl yet.Though in recent years hip-hop producers like Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin and Mike Will Made It have set themselves apart as their own artists, it’s rare that hip-hop instrumentals do much more than serve as a platform to rap atop. Into the Fire with Mikky Ekko is stultifyingly bland, but Back to You with Kelly Zutrau is a piece of beguiling, enigmatic R&B, while Future Islands’ Samuel T Herring uses the platform provided by Casino’s low tempo to turn out a stab at a 2k16 Tom Waits. More interesting though are new departures into collaboration with singers. Staples in particular with his tricksy, tumbling flow, proves a perfect accompaniment to a track of pipes, birdsong and distorted squelches. There are rappers: Rocky, Vince Staples and, on three different tracks, Lil B.

Four years on and a combination of pan pipes and big beats no longer sound so fresh, so Clams has done what any producer would on his debut album and drafted in features. Coming on like Enya after 15 blunts, all new age melodies and huge woozy drums, Clams (his real name is Michael Volpe) had an interesting sonic aesthetic. As the producer most associated with the emergent talent of A$AP Rocky, Clams Casino had a big 2012.

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