Funk | Soul Used Vinyl 53 Items

CDs and DVD.

Promo.

Box cover has shelf wear but artwork looks great. Includes all original inner sleves. All records are in great condition, with only minimal superficial and inaudible marks

Sticker residue on front.

hand stamped white label is close to NM

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case.
All booklets included.

Creole poetry, folk mysticism and heavy-grooving cosmic synths combine on this unprecedented survey of spiritual Martinique polymath Gratien Midonet’s first four albums.



“I always broke free from the rules, from codes being too narrow,” says poet, musician and sonic shaman Gratien Midonet. “I have always had this sense of peaceful knowledge that there is no separation between genres, beings and universal things.”



For Midonet, pushing musical boundaries was less a choice than an extension of his spirit. A self-taught guitarist and composer,



drawing on his childhood memories of bélé and beguine rhythms, Midonet’s musical life developed in parallel to his academic and spiritual pursuits. Studying philosophy and psychopedagogy in France, it was his fascination with pan-Africanism and animism which fuelled the transcendent energy of his music. Although Midonet honed his sound in France, the four albums he released during the



late ‘70s and ‘80s were heavily inspired by diasporic nostalgia, or what he describes as the “smells and colours… subliminal noises… fruity notes, the memories of funeral wakes, the bombastic organ of the cathedral and the gasps of the drums” of his childhood home on the Caribbean island of Martinique.



Fittingly, it’s there that Midonet achieved cult status for the title track of his 1979 debut, Van An Lévè, which became a protest anthem for the island’s independence movement, and was briefly censored by the French authorities. Look no further than ‘Mari Rhont Ouve La Pot’, which opens this collection, to hear the propulsive mix of cosmic synths, acoustic folk, and Creole lyricism that became the essence of Midonet’s sound. Released on Martinique label Touloulou, Van An Lévè was followed in 1980 by L’inité, whose tropical acid folk (‘M’en ka Monté Mon’) and majestic, violin-led melodies (‘Kannaval Sakré Pou Tout Z’Heb Poussé’) confirmed Midonet’s unique and intuitive approach to composition.



Not content to skip effortlessly between genres and influences, Midonet also began pushing the boundaries of the album form itself. His third album, Bourg La Folie, released in 1984, was a soundtrack for a lost film about the mysticisms of carnival, while his fourth, Fô Ou Tchimbé, took the form of a ‘conte musical’ (a narrated story accompanied by music) presented at the Pompidou Centre, and spoke to Midonet’s literary prowess as a fierce proponent of the Creole language.

Cover with slightly bent corner and light creasing.

Cover and vinyl are close to NM Original inner sleeves. tiny wear.

Vinyl is close to NM. Original inner sleeves. tiny wear.

Vinyl close to VG+

Limited Edition.
Black Vinyl Edition.

Cover as new with a dented corner.
Record is close to VG+.

Clear Vinyl.
Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Cover as new with slightly dented corners.
Includes poster.

cover is missing. White vinyl is close to NM. Writing on label sticker. Limited edition.

All three innersleeves, sleeves and the box have splits at the bottom. Includes 10 monochrome photo prints.

Cover with a slightly bent corner!

Limited edition.

Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Cover with a seam split at the upper edge.

tiny wear. With insert.

Writing on white labels. Vinyl close to VG+

Note: INCOMPLETE!
Record 1: Side A is missing!

Limited edition

Cover and vinyl are close to NM.

Still sealed with hype sticker.

close to NM

Record is close to NM.

Clear w/ Red [Blood] Splattered Vinyl.
Cover with a beginning seam split at the upper edge.
Includes original inner sleeves with small seam splits.

Clear w/ Red [Blood] Splatter Vinyl.
Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Cover with a beginning seam split at the upper edge.
Includes original inner sleeves with seam splits.

Sealed copy with a bumped corner!

Gatefold cover with small, beginning seam split! Records with a few scratches!
Original inner sleeves with seam splits!

bent corner

Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Cover as new with slightly dented corners.
Records are close to NM.

Cover with seam split.
Includes original inner sleeve.

Slightly warped vinyl, but still enjoyable (looks almost unplayed). Still in shrink, but opened

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.

Of the 9 DVDs only one case is open and the disc has some scuffs and hairlines. From 2 other sealed cases it´s possible to hear the loose disc and loose pieces of the damaged DVD holder at the center. The box itself has tear and bumped corners.

Includes bonus 4.72” record.