Given the time that’s passed and in comparison to the Soundcloud offerings that have followed, the work on the new tape sounds more top-shelf, produced and engineered with a meticulousness that puts the new kids to shame. “Elastic Heart” is a remix of the Sia record of the same name “Stem/Long Stem” is a DJ Shadow remix. Three come from Staples’ Summertime ’06 and two others debuted as Ferg tracks. The 13 beats here-two of them original, the others culled from various projects-are, for the most part, in the mold that made Casino’s name with gaseous, disembodied vocal samples, deep pockets of negative space. To hear a full collection of his recent work, on Instrumental Mixtape 4, is to consider Clams Casino in a new light, as an architect contributing new designs in a city whose skyline he helped shape. He’s a veteran now, and instead of continuing to innovate, he’s chosen to step into the background and refine his sound, collaborating with favorites like Vince Staples and A$AP Ferg, contributing to a diverse array of pop albums, and furthering his own solo career with last year’s debut 32 Levels. But the intervening years have pushed the producer into a different lane. Volpe’s contributions-his skittering layers of drums and bass thump, his oozing samples-have changed the genre for good.
