Amazingly, 32 Levels marks the first time the two had ever worked together in the same recording studio. This led to three joint pieces on B’s 6 Kiss mixtape from 2010, and a few more tracks over the years. The two had first connected when, unsolicited, fledgling producer Volpe had sent off a few beats to the likewise on-the- rise rapper. It’s fitting, even touching, that 32 Levels begins not with the codeine-coma beatwork Clams Casino has built his career around, but the carefree voice of Bay Area rapper Lil B. Perhaps the biggest question behind surrounding the arrival of a proper studio debut from Clams Casino this year isn’t “why hasn’t he yet?”, but rather “why is he doing this now?” A collection that manages to yield some of the soundscaper’s bravest explorations, while also possessing some stale retreads, it’s quizzical, to say the least. Add to that, it’s been a full five years since he first offered up the cloudy Rainforest EP. But, it’s been a good three years since the artist born Michael Volpe delivered his third and most recent mixtape, the adeptly-titled Instrumentals 3. To be fair, there had been a ground swell of activity over the last several years that led to a hefty catalogue of solo material outside of making beats for rappers like A$AP Rocky, Lil B, Mac Miller, Schoolboy Q, and many more.

It seems almost absurd that 32 Levels, New Jersey producer Clams Casino’s just-released album, is his first.

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