''Civilisation'' is the fourth studio album by French rapper Orelsan, released on 19 November 2021 through

7th Magnitude 7th Magnitude (french: Septième magnitude) is a record label founded by French record producer Matthieu "Skread" Le Carpentier and co-founder Abdoulaye "Ablaye" Doucouré. The label is known for having signed French rappers Orelsan and Nessbe ...

, 3^e Bureau and

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) northeas ...

. The album was largely produced by long-time collaborator

Skread Matthieu Le Carpentier (; born on September 22, 1981 in Hérouville-Saint-Clair), known professionally as Skread (), is a French hip hop record producer and composer. He is the co-founder in 2006 of the record label 7th Magnitude, with his partn ...

and features guest appearances by

Gringe Guillaume Tranchant (; born 20 February 1980), better known by his stage name Gringe (), is a French rapper, songwriter and actor. He is one half of the French hip hop duo Casseurs Flowters, along with Orelsan, with whom he has released two studio ...

and

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

. It marks his first album release in over four years. The album made a record-breaking debut on the French Albums Chart, moving more units than any other album in 2021.

Background and reception

Prior to its release, Orelsan did not reveal much about the album. According to him, in his mind the record signifies a "deconstruction". In late October 2021, it was announced that physical copies of the album would arrive in 15 different designs. Two vinyl editions of the album were released on 10 December 2021. ''Civilisation'' sees the rapper departing from his "crazed humour" trademark style, instead settling for more "commited and personal tracks", in a soundscape between "drill" and "disco". French publication '' Le Parisien'' called ''Civilisation'' the best French rap album of 2021. However, the record was also criticised for containing too much singing while it was also noted that the rapper took himself too seriously at times.

Commercial performance

In its first three days, ''Civilisation'' sold 94,306 units, beating a record previously held by PNL's '' Deux frères'' (2019). The album arrived atop the

French Albums Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, moving 138,929 units in its first week, 96,615 of which were physical sales. The sum reset the record for the largest opening week in France for an album in 2021, beating

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

's '' 30'' which debuted at number two the same week. The lead single "

L'odeur de l'essence "L'odeur de l'essence" is a song by French rapper Orelsan, released on 17 November 2021, through 7th Magnitude, 3ème Bureau and Wagram Music, as the lead single from his fourth studio album, ''Civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) ...

" reached number one on the

French Singles Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

a week prior. In total, the album spawned two number-one songs. All of the album tracks entered the French Singles Chart in its first week, eight of which reached the top ten.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Orelsan 2021 albums 7th Magnitude albums Albums produced by Skread French-language albums Orelsan albums