CLAMS CASINO’S RAINFOREST EP
Clams Casino, best as known as the producer behind several rap and hip-hop acts (A$AP Rocky, Lil’ B, Mac Miller), released a five-track EP last year on Tri Angle Records, home of Holy Other, How to Dress Well, and several others of those ghostly electronic artists. Amid all the hype over his two Instrumental Mixtapes, which were quite good, by the way, the Rainforest EP sneaked by us, and we intend to put in our two cents now. We’re kind of ashamed to admit it, but were it not for our Clams Casino Pandora station (which is fucking amazing, by the way), we would have probably never known that Mike Volpe (Clams Casino) even released an EP comprised solely of original works.
The material that makes up the nearly twenty-minute outing is the familiar vocal loops, blistering basslines, and slowed down hip-hop percussion, but the atmosphere is much more atmospheric and lush, kind of like the EP’s title and cover artwork implies. Very much a concept album of sorts, the Rainforest EP is a dark experimental hip-hop ode to raw, untamed nature: lush, thriving biospheres far removed from the footprints of mankind. The above official video for “Natural” features footage from a German 70’s film called “Aguirre, the Wrath of God”, and it perfectly encapsulates the bleak heart and soul of the Rainforest EP. The music evokes a wilderness that is equally beautiful and powerful; a wild, primitive sanctuary that entrances men and subsequently swallows their minds whole. The steaming sheets of synth noise utilized by Clams Casino perfectly recreate the boiling humidity of, say, the Amazon or the Congo. The tribal beats, end-of-the-world basslines, and ethereal chants in “Waterfalls”, the EP’s standout jam, are a perfect manifestation of the heart of darkness that only a bewildering expedition into the wild unknown can uncover. In our collective opinion, this short, concentrated collection of Clams Casino’s experimental hip-hop tunes is his best work to date. Do tha right thing, and grab yourself a copy of his little known Rainforest EP via iTunes, Amazon, or Beatport. Don’t be like us. Be in the know.
