32 Levels

32 Levels serves as the formal debut studio album from Michael Volpe, better known as Clams Casino, following years of influential mixtape releases. Released in 2016, the album represents a pivotal moment where Volpe's signature 'cloud rap' sound - characterized by heavy reverb, vocal manipulation, and slow-motion tempos - intersected with professional studio polish and high-profile features. The record is essentially a dual-sided project: one half focuses on the gritty, experimental hip-hop that made him a staple for artists like A$AP Rocky and Lil B, while the other half explores 'ethereal pop' and avant-garde song structures. Critics noted that while the album lost some of the raw, lo-fi charm of his early 'Instrumentals' tapes, it gained a new sense of scale and ambition. The inclusion of diverse vocalists like Samuel T. Herring (Future Islands) and Kelela demonstrated Volpe's ability to translate his murky aesthetic into various genres, solidifying his status as a versatile architect of 2010s electronic music.