Orelsan et Gringe sont les Casseurs Flowters

Background

After the release of their first mixtape Fantasy : Episode 1 in 2004, Gringe and Orelsan embarked on solo careers before coming together again to record their debut studio album. Gringe released Fantasy Mixtape in 2009, while Orelsan's two studio albums Perdu d'avance and Le chant des sirènes were met with huge success. The former was nominated for a Prix Constantin, while the latter won him the Urban Music Album of the Year award at the 2012 Victoires de la Musique, with songs from the album and Orelsan himself garnering several more accolades and nominations in the process. The two rappers had done the songs "Entre bien et mal" from Perdu d'avance and "Ils sont cools" from Le chant des sirènes, as well as being featured on "C'est beau de rêver" by Taipan from his album Dans le circuit among others before collectively working on their new studio album and releasing tracks as Casseurs Flowters.

Composition

Despite the success of his first two studio albums, Orelsan kept his feet on the ground and never forgot, according to Les Inrocks, the "pact he signed" with his accomplice Gringe. In an interview, Orelsan explains: "In the beginning, we didn't really know what [songwriting] would give, we wrote. [...] and then we told ourselves that we had to find an idea to structure the thing." Waking up at 3:00 in the afternoon to write and spending the night going out before getting back home to sleep at 6:00 in the morning became their daily routine.

This kind of life the two rappers found themselves living became the subject of the album, whose story is told like a film in its totality. They explain that they chose to explore nightclubs for concerts in the company of some friends. Orelsan explains: "We do a bit of anything, we dance in the crowd, which smells like Red Bull and old whiskey and coke. We enjoy ourselves, we take pleasure and later we'll see."

Singles

Orelsan et Gringe sont les Casseurs Flowters has produced 1 single:

Critical reception

Orelsan et Gringe sont les Casseurs Flowters received generally positive reviews from music critics. According to Un jour, une critique ou pas, the Casseurs Flowters "bring a certain freshness that was missing in current hip hop". Republ33k.fr called it "a refreshing concept album whose originality is matched by its quality." They continue: "Gringe and Orel continue their journey with songs with huge potential and which will surely liven up your upcoming events, showing us that they are just as good as a group as they are solo." Pierre Siankowski of Les Inrocks gave the album a positive review, saying: "It's this type of life, where nobody tries to fight the gluten, which is narrated with impressive dexterity by the Casseurs Flowters album. [...] A good listen gives the disc resemblance to 90s albums filled with interludes." Franckie Small of BasketsBlanches showered the album with praise: "The project is fresh, funny, geeky, hip hop, musical and well scripted. OrelSan and Gringe have succeeded in surprising me. I was expecting something original but they went beyond my expectations. [...] Thou shalt understand, Orelsan et Gringe sont les Casseurs Flowters is an album you should buy yourself at all costs."

On the other hand, Goûte mes disques gave the album a mixed review, saying the skits are "not very badly played, even though improvised". They go on to say that in the course of the album, one "can understand the desire to self-parody, to admit a tendency to talk about the same thing from the beginning, and then one perceives a confession of hopelessness." Higher Magazine generally criticised the album, saying: "In general Orelsan et Gringe sont les Casseurs Flowters is an average album and a bit repetitive on the edges. There are no real surprises or slaps similar to the single "Ils sont cools", which left us in suspense while waiting for the first album of the young duo. Apart from some pretty good songs, the rest is a little too mundane; one gets the impression that the Casseurs Flowters are short of inspiration." They continue to say that the album is "a bit too comic on a cartoon level, and this kills a bit of their artistic personality, which above all must be taken seriously. Basically, we have a half good songs and a half bad ones."

Commercial performance

The album entered the French Albums Chart in 8th place on 30 November 2013, and was certified gold in France in 2014, having sold more than 50,000 copies.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Aurélien Cotentin and Guillaume Tranchant.

Personnel

Credits for Orelsan et Gringe sont les Casseurs Flowters adapted from Discogs.