''Instrumentals'' (also titled ''Instrumental Mixtape'') is the debut

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

of American record producer Clams Casino. It was self-released as a free digital download on March 7, 2011. It features instrumentals of tracks that he produced for various rappers, including some bonus songs. In July 2011, ''Instrumentals'' was

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

d by Type Records as a physical release.

Music

''Instrumentals'' consists of Clams Casino's reconstructions of backing tracks he originally produced for rappers such as

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), known professionally as Lil B and Lil B The BasedGod, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of the Berkeley, California-based hip hop group the Pack in 2005, who signed wi ...

and

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence with his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That ...

. An

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

mixtape, it features

illbient Illbient is a genre of electronic music and an art movement that originated among hip hop-influenced experimental musicians from New York City in the early 1990s. The word "illbient" combines the hip hop slang term "ill" and "ambient"; DJ Olive a ...

, glitchbeat, and

chillwave Chillwave (originally considered synonymous with glo-fi and hypnagogic pop) is a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized by evoking the popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s while engaging with notions of ...

styles. Some of the mixtape explores a more traditional

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

sound. Its second half touches on bouncy basslines ("She's Hot"),

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

-influenced,

low-end Bass ( ) (also called bottom end) describes tones of low (also called "deep") frequency, pitch and range from 16 to 250 Hz (C0 to middle C4) and bass instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range C2-C4. They belong to different fam ...

grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from Blade#Knife blade profiles .28Patterns.29, blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and ...

("Brainwash by London"), and vocal looping similar to the production of

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

("Cold War"). ''Instrumentals'' appropriates Casino's previous hip hop beats into moody

compositions Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

, which are characterized by melodramatic drum crescendos and melancholic electronic sounds.

Critical reception

In a review for ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

'', Andrew Ryce called ''Instrumentals'' "a collection of aching, blown-out paeans to wonder, sadness and profound joy—music that any of the above could fall in love with." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' critic Brandon Soderberg said Casino's "attention to hip-hop structure ... makes these beats so emotionally devastating." Rory Gibb from ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' felt that, without the rappers they were originally produced for, the instrumentals are "revealed as intricate enough to stand alone in their own right", while sounding "ephemeral and peculiarly of this moment, phantom aggregations of mood and sound that coalesce for brief periods of time before potentially disengaging at some undisclosed point in the future." Sputnikmusic's Conrad Tao felt that, although ''Instrumentals'' sounds occasionally conventional, Casino's approach to sampling is "refreshingly abstract". He went on to write that the mixtape basically serves as "a hugely enticing teaser for what promises to be an illustrious career filled with sumptuous, bittersweet music." Writing for ''

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said Casino's "comfortably disquieting" sound "will grow on you if you give it a chance. And because it's designed to back into your space, providing the chance won't feel all that time-consuming, preoccupied as you'll be with something more engrossing while said time passes." ''Pitchfork'' placed ''Instrumentals'' at number 17 in its top-50 albums of 2011 list. In 2014, the website also placed the album at 100 on its list of "Best Albums of the Decade So Far." It ranked the song "Motivation" number 30 on its list of the Top-100 Tracks of 2011. ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' ranked the mixtape number 21 on its year-end top albums list. ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' named it as one of the best

instrumental hip hop Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "sc ...

mixtapes to come after the release of

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

's ''

Donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franch ...

'' album.

Track listing

Notes * "Numb" would later by used by A$AP Rocky on the song "Demons" from his 2011 mixtape "Live.Love.A$AP".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Debut mixtape albums 2011 mixtape albums Clams Casino albums Instrumental hip-hop albums Electronic albums by American artists Glitch (music) albums Chillwave albums Self-released mixtape albums Albums produced by Clams Casino (musician)