- On the face of it, giving Clams Casino a headline show at a cavernous 800-capacity venue felt like a strange decision. But then, the path of the New Jersey-born beatmaker, real name Michael Volpe, has often been unconventional. His breakthrough, in 2011, came at a time when heightened mystique and bedroom amateurism were valued in both electronic and rap circles. He ended up being an unlikely bridge point between fans of Roly Porter and Soulja Boy, satisfying both camps with his brilliant, dense, melancholic instrumentals. Then, silence for three years, until earlier this summer, when he resurfaced with a feature-heavy debut album on a major label. In that time, his appeal appears not have diminished—the dollop show at Village Underground on August 11th sold out almost instantly.
As a key player in Volpe's rise, it was great to see Benji B warming up for the US producer's first London gig. The UK tastemaker pushed many of his earliest records—many of which were released in comically low-bit rate because he simply didn't know better—via his BBC Radio 1 show. On the night, he bent classics old (Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock") into new (Kelela's "Rewind"), before amping up the attitude with sweeping grime instrumentals that matched the oppressive feel of the venue's enormous brick walls and steel beams.
The energy lulled as Volpe got off to an uncertain start. Stood behind a laptop, with hood pulled up, he seemed dwarfed by the surroundings as he bolted through tunes off 32 Levels, leaving no room to breathe. I thought back to seeing Oneohtrix Point Never at the same space last year, where the US star had established a bold presence with impressive visuals and fleshed-out live versions of his productions. As an artist with a similar trajectory, the contrast was telling.
Swift blends of old favourites like "Numb" into new cuts laced with the idiosyncratic voices of Danny Brown and Vince Staples did help get bodies moving. But it took an unlikely guest in the shape of AJ Tracey, an upstart in London's grime scene, to really achieve liftoff. With no collaborations on record with Volpe, it's not clear what brought him to the stage, but his three-track performance—reminiscent of JME's cheeky magnetism—turned the show around. Suddenly a hitherto heads-down affair was sparked into something more celebratory.
From that point on, the atmosphere was one of the best I've seen at a hip-hop show in years. Everything clicked: the dramatic light show above Volpe's head complimented the juddering force of the beats, affording him a sense of grandeur. A medley of his works with A$AP Rocky gave the crowd something to sing back, and "I'm God," still the most durable and beloved of all Clams Casino songs, was rapturously received as the night's final track. It's the only time I've ever seen anyone crowd-surf to an Imogen Heap vocal.