Here, it takes several listens to shed the memories of Vince Staples and Danny Brown respectively, both of whom scribbled compellingly in the blank space of those tracks with their typical hyperactive bars. The beats for “Norf Norf” and “Worth It” were always obvious gems. If anything has changed, it seems to be the producer’s recognition of his own importance to the venture his beats in recent years have been bolder, with their own outsize personalities. 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.

Clams casino vol 3 album cover