Clayton’s interdisciplinary practice explores how sound, memory and public space interact, especially at intersections with low-income communities and the global South. He became known for a mix recorded in 2001, entitled Gold Teeth Thief, which later saw a release by Violent Turd in 2002. The mix spans breakcore, Arabic folk music and hip hop, capturing Clayton’s spirit as a “a one-man musical Venn diagram, linking up genres, people, styles, and beats” (New York Magazine). He has collaborated with the likes of Norah Jones, Jem Cohen and Elizabeth Alexander, performed as a solo turntablist with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and has also held artist residencies at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Eyebeam Art + Technology Atelier. His writing has appeared in publications such as Frieze and The Fader, among others.

2012 saw the release of Clayton’s project Sufi Plug-Ins - a free suite of music software based on non-Western sonic traditions and alternative interfaces. In 2016, his site-specific piece Room 21 was performed for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The site-specific, hour-long composition was written for 20 musicians, and responds to art, music and objects that comprise the Barnes collection.