“While his style of music draws favor to beat mixers XXYYXX, SangoBeats or SBTRKT, he sounds more like a contender than an admirer.” — Brianna Patterson

Christopher McClenney’s room is filled with contradictions. In a dorm room that doubles as a makeshift studio, posters of Jimi Hendrix and Deadmau5 hang near a Harvard Law School pamphlet; books on music history and theory lie in a stack mixed with LSAT prep books. It’s a combination that sums up the junior music and Spanish major’s work ethic, taste in music and style as a music producer.

“I’m always trying to find something new to build upon whatever I’m doing,” said McClenney, who studies jazz piano performance. “I value my versatility. It gives me [an] advantage.”

Two years ago, McClenney, now 20, began producing music with the music-creation software GarageBand. He started with making simple loops with his guitar and posting them online — now, he is MisterMack, hip-hop/electronic/neo-soul producer with a collective and two EPs, including Infatuation/Heartbreak, which was released this month.

“I learned [how to produce] from playing around; it’s one of those things you have to keep messing with,” McClenney said. “You have to keep exploring and looking into techniques that other people use.”

His SoundCloud account is filled with remixes of popular songs, his own creations and songs produced with collective MackFive, featuring two other student rappers and musicians from this university: Victor Olalekan and Myles Muehlberger.

Listening to a variety of music has helped him build his unique sound, McClenney said. He draws his musical influences from Kanye West and Pharrell Williams to D’Angelo and his musical idol, Herbie Hancock.

As a jazz pianist, guitarist and all-around music buff, McClenney showcases his diversity and training in his music.

“I try not to use ordinary chords in my music,” he said. “So in some of my music I incorporate a lot of electronic keyboard and I use certain chords that might not show up in pop music.”

McClenney released Infatuation/Heartbreak, a concept album about love, on Valentine’s Day.

“Things I’ve tended to do focus on love,” he said. “I guess I’m a mushy guy.”

The EP is clever, creative and moving. The down-tempo vibes and ethereal vocal snippets are hypnotizing, entrancing the listener in an atmosphere of passion.

Opening track “Slowitdown” sets a seductive tone with a trippy vocal sample from Ciara’s “Body Party.” The last song, “Extro/After the Fact,” uses a sample from Miguel’s “Adorn” to create a heavy R&B slow-jam feel and climaxes with a skilled and sultry guitar solo.

McClenney’s most recent musical endeavor is his singing. Aside from a few samples, most of the vocals on Infatuation/Heartbreak are by McClenney.

“Playing instruments, I’ve gotten in the habit of wanting to create rather than have to borrow,” he said.

Another single from the EP, “For You,” momentarily leaves behind the electronica for a piano ballad. The seasoned musician was nervous about the response to his singing even as he uploaded the track to SoundCloud, he said.

It’s easy to capture the essence of emotion with lyrics, but McClenney manages to foreground the vibes of love, lust and admiration in eight tracks with few words.

“This isn’t just a series of beats,” he said. “This is not just a woman’s story or a man’s story; this is just a story about love.”

He set out to make a compilation of relatable and thought-provoking songs, and Infatuation/Heartbreak is a love soundtrack with the right combination of rhythm and sound to unlock a litany of emotions.

McClenney stands out as a producer because his music’s quality is far and above most student work. His music doesn’t sound like it was crafted on a laptop and electronic keyboard under a dorm room’s lofted bed. While his style of music draws favor to beat mixers XXYYXX, SangoBeats or SBTRKT, he sounds more like a contender than an admirer.

And it’s this musicality that has gotten him noticed by important people in the music industry. Though he started out working on music for local artists, his beats have since moved on to artists such as Meek Mill, Sevyn Streeter, Lil Wayne and Fabolous. Earlier this month, he played piano on stage with music legends Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.

“Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s exciting to finally be in the position where I know someone who might know someone in the industry,” McClenney said.

McClenney is talented and he knows it, but the humble savant is not afraid to keep learning and adding to his skill set.

“No person is a master of music; you’re always a student,” he said. “The more you expand your palette, the more you can be creative and think of ways to expand your own music.”

And he plans to one day add a law degree to his resume with the intention of combining the field with music and becoming a music business guru. Though fame is not his goal, success and notoriety are inherent to the hard work and talent McClenney has put in.

“Not a lot of people acknowledged me as a musician,” he said. “I worked hard and it’s really nice seeing some of the hard work pay off.”