DOUBLE DETENTE - ET AU DELA - ALBUM REVIEW

DOUBLE DETENTE

ET AU DELA

Paris, France

Credit - DOUBLE DETENTE

On October 7th, something amazing happened a re-joining of pure talent came together under a new name to provide the world with amazing music. Having collaborated with many names such as; Akhenaton, Freeman, Saian Supa Crew, Kery James, 3rd Eye, K-Reen, Scred Connection, China, Faf LaRage, DSL, Relic, Jeff Le Nerfs, AntilopSA, OGB, Driver and Bouga, under the new name Double Détente this duo have returned to mash up the French rap scene with their latest fourteen track release titled ‘Et Au Dela'.

This epic album flows smoothly from track to track with style and finesse, beginning with a deep intense intro containing a heavy beat with a lot of scenario-based ad-libs. As we move through the album we are introduced to a myriad of amazing instruments, my favourite being the violins present in track two ‘Tenet’. It very much holds a ’90s influence and is carried solidly by the unparalleled flow, which I would say is an important point to keep in mind throughout! Onto track three where things change up, we are introduced to ‘Looper’ a harsher more aggy style delivery, on top of a much more drum and crash-heavy backdrop with the nice added touch of scratching which brings a great layer of variety to rock along to. This chill vibe is slowly brought to an end with the slow and steady build of instruments within the next track ‘Le coeur au bord des lèvres’. This quickly enters back into a similarly smooth and enjoyable flow experienced previously but rather than moving through as many lyrics as possible, here we lean more towards storytelling, where the listener can keep moving with the artist.

As the album progresses, we are introduced to a variety of styles from the dance and even Turkish feeling beats in ‘Bye Bye’ through to the almost Bashment and RnB style present in ‘Seul au monde.’ Fast forward to track number seven, ‘Echec et mat’, where we are back in the 90s with a heavy stop-start beat with the cut-continue flow, pairing perfectly to create a track we can vibe to on the daily.

From higher energy tracks we enter into ‘Je suis le peuple’ a track reminiscent of those Tupac provided to the world, from the beat to the lyrics, I am the people provides the listener with a sense of activism, speaking up for some of the issues in their world. This energy and topic importance is maintained with ‘Le jeu de ta mort’ but with more vigour. The use of violins and the interesting use of piano exasperate the feeling of intensity within the listener. This continues on throughout the next two tracks ‘Les touches’ and ‘Ligne 2 vie’. We then reach back to a solid smooth flow track with ‘Murmur’ which is entirely all about the lyrical talents and less about the instrument intensity. This one is to be listened to word for word and understood.

This flows nicely back into an instrumental, that builds a sense of urgency in the listener, with horns being used like a call to battle. We are waiting with anticipation for the lyrics that never come! What can they do with this? What is that battle call? But instead, this leads us to the final track, ‘Paris Sud’ which is where we can learn more about the artists' locale.

The amount of changes present in this album means there is something for everyone. This is a very unique release that really needs to be heard to be appreciated, especially if you love a nostalgic feel to your music!