Gratien Midonet – Fô Ou Tchimbi – Decision (1989, Martinique)

As randomly chosen by survey[1] on Mastodon, our next spotlight is on number 718 on The List, submitted by myself (buffyleigh).

At the beginning of this project, after we had amassed a few hundred album titles for The List and started to see where there were gaps, a few of us went searching around for gems that we maybe weren’t all that familiar with, but knew had to be included. This was one such artist I stumbled on, our only artist representing the Caribbean island of Martinique (in the French West Indies/Antilles).

I had a hard time deciding which of Midonet’s four albums to include, and still think maybe I should have picked his first, Ven en Lévé (1979). The title track of that one seems to have been an anthem of sorts for Martinique’s independence movement, and was apparently banned from French radio for 2 years. But then the second and third albums – L’Inité (1980) and Bourg La Folie (1984; a soundtrack to a since lost film by Antillean director Benjamin Jules Rosette) – as well as this one are all excellent, all highlight Midonet’s Creole lyricism, and all have their particular charms. And so, I simply went with the one that I thought would perhaps entice people to go back and check out the rest of the discography.

Anyway, if descriptions like “tropical acid folk”, “cosmic reggae jazz”, “transcendental fusion”, and “psychedelic dance” pique your interest, I would suggest you take a listen through them all. A compilation is also available, for a quick survey. Whichever you choose, it’s a good decision.

Happy listening.

• Bandcamp: Gratien Midonet – Fô Ou Tchimbi – Decision
• Discogs: Gratien Midonet – Fô Ou Tchimbi – Decision

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