J'AI RIEN COMPRIS MAIS JE SUIS D'ACCORD (2 vinyls)

Description

In boxing there are punchers and technicians, and the same goes for poetry. Fifteen years after its CD release [Digipack], NonStop's second album, 'J'ai rien compris mais je suis d'accord', is finally being pressed for the first time on vinyl [2xLP Gatefold]. Driven by audacity and fervor, this 2009 opus remains a benchmark in experimental Hip-hop. Frédo Roman is a word-hitter, delivering his lyrics like uppercuts. It all began in 2004 when, aided by his brother Richard, former bassist of Diabologum, Frédo Roman achieved a masterstroke with the album 'Road Movie en béquilles', going against everything that was being done in abstract hip-hop in France at the time. It was in 2009 that this awaited sequel arrived, 'J'ai rien compris mais je suis d'accord', hammering the final nail into the coffin of his hope for a dark, explosive, sarcastic experimental hip-hop, with surreal lyrics as impactful in their striking phrases as they were crushed by physical and mental suffering. Arnaud Michniak (who was then navigating equally troubled and not-so-distant waters with Programme) logically features on one track (Robot à la Viande). With a third Diabologum member handling production and mixing (Denis Degioani), this abrasive cast was completed on some tracks by Henning Specht (Hypnolove) on synths and Serge Teyssot-Gay (formerly of Noir Désir but especially Zone Libre), already keen on bridging rock and hip hop. Equally obsessed with the body and what comes out of it, Stéphane Blanquet once again created a striking and perfectly aligned visual. The lyrics constantly refer to the body ('robot, robot à la viande, de la viande de robot' - robot, meat robot, robot meat), to physical and especially mental pain ('plus on me rassure et plus je crie' - the more I'm reassured, the more I scream), and to isolation ('je cherche des regards comme de l'eau sur Mars' - I look for glances like water on Mars). Not storytelling, but rather an inventory, an accumulation of surreal rhymes constructed around a precise theme. The vinyl reissue of 'J'ai rien compris mais je suis d'accord' is therefore a unique opportunity to rediscover this work, which is both brutal and refined. Between incisive slam, industrial hip-hop rhythms, and unbridled rock, each track is a headbutt to the teeth. The lyrics address recurring themes in NonStop's work: dehumanization, physical and mental suffering, sharply criticizing the absurdity of modern society. In 'J'ai rien compris mais je suis d'accord', every word, every rhyme is important and contributes to a coherent and impactful whole.