But his beats, when heard without vocals, become even more interesting and arguably better. Instrumental Mixtape makes it clear that Clams Casino is part of an expanding group of up-and-coming innovative rap producers like Araabmuzik, the Block Beattaz, DJ Burn One, Droop-E, and Lex Luger. Even those few productions that ape established hip-hop styles, like the Bay Area wobblers 'Brainwash by London' and 'She's Hot' maintain this tension between dogged structure and brash experimentation. 'Illest Alive' is an artful slicing and dicing of Bjork's 'Bachelorette' and as revealed in an interview with Pitchfork last week, 'Realist Alive' is Adele's 'Hometown Glory' slowed, slurred, and made well, glorious. For all of their experimental tendencies, these songs are essentially, sample-based loops. And the lingering sense of sadness is communicated when those drums sneak away and all that's left is a layer of whimpering electronic haze. The desperate melodrama comes through in the hesitant build-up and explosive arrival of the drums.

The bird squawks and the keyboard melody are wrapped up in the beat, and it repeats, riding-out for a bit, before abruptly ending with a patch of industrial drone.īut it's Clams' attention to hip-hop structure that makes these beats so emotionally devastating.

When the beat drops the next time around, it's accompanied by some rainy, Blade Runner-style keyboards. Later on, blasts of bass rumble through, and animal noises arrive instead of a breakdown. 'Motivation' begins with a buzz of in-the-red static and a moaning vocal sample, and then suddenly the beat drops and the vocal sample begins eerily humming along. This collection of instrumentals doesn't simply survey Clams' production it turns his rap beats into moody compositions and flips the basic beat-tape concept into an album-like collection of electronic music.Ĭlams Casino productions generally bring together conventional hip-hop drums, a sensitive ear for off-to-the-side melodies, and an overdose of oddly moving atmosphere. It speaks to Clams' rarefied vision that he refuses to find room for an in-demand instrumental on a free download but includes an untitled final track, a bizarre, minute-long footwork-like manipulation of 'Teddy's Jam' from 1980s new jack swing group Guy. 'I'm God' isn't included on Instrumental Mixtape the beats here are even more diffuse, and it wouldn't really fit.

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