DOUBLE DETENTE ‘ET AU DELA’
Double Détente are the wolves in rap scene. The French, Tunisian duo of K-DEM and DEM-K brings a full range of lightning and thunder with their latest release Et Au Dela. Taken roots in the golden age of rap in the 90s’, Double Détente brings diversity and their unique take of modernism into a genre known for its unapologetic, crude storytelling.
Dipped in infectious, everlasting backdrops, Double Détente revisits the connectivity and reliability of rap music with deep lyrics and convincing tone. Like watching two fighters claiming their well-deserved statues in rounds of applause, Et Au Dela often times give listeners a blood-boiling, goosebump-evoking thrill. The highs are breath-taking, the lows are tearjerking, but there are also introspective moments like “Seul au monde” (Alone in the World” that makes you see and feel something so different.
The album has an epic opening that is on many levels overwhelming. The top-notch production and highly creative yet efficient songwriting are their strength, but it doesn’t begin to tell how good their music truly is. From the first track, Double Détente manages to impress you as they go. Every track gives you something else, different, unique, personal, communal. It’s quite amazing how much they could accomplish. Double Détente is extraordinary with their craft, there’s no doubt in that.
In their music, listeners could really experience the richness and beauty of a language that they may or may not understand. The words, the lyrics have weights and powers that go beyond the superficial, literal level. In this album, they scream, speak, chant, shout, and sing as they are called to do. Effortless but influential. “Je suis le peuple” (I am the people) explores an epic, grand vision with sensuous light-infused backdrop and evocative lyrics that echoes between four walls and leave something in your heart.
Double Détente is certainly not afraid to step outside the familiar tone of 90s’ rap. They brings cultural and history into it, a deep feeling of beauty and sacredness woven into their sonic vocabulary that conveys and concentrates so much more in its rawest form. While nostalgia serves as a shared memory that instantly bond everyone who has been through it and understand it together. There’s power in both and Double Détente is drawn to both.
“Echec et mat” (I fail with it) has a modest but most impressive backdrop, layers of melodies lurking under the obvious. It’s intriguing, makes you want to explore what’s hidden within the track itself. “Le jeu de ta mort” (The Game of Your Death) combines thumping strings and deep piano with a soulful scrubbing.
