Mr President: The best is yet to come

Originally released a few years ago, a funky piece from Mr President, AKA Bruno Patchworks Hovart, is an appropriate tune for today. 

We featured it in 2011 when it first came out, and as America goes to the final stage of the election process, we can only hope that better things lie ahead.

This Mr President's manifesto is a vote-winning French 21st century take on 70s US funk, soul and vintage disco. A clear poll winner. 

Lyon-based Patchworks has been involved in a variety of projects over the years and has built a solid grassroots support on dancefloors, swaying voters whose affiliations run to disco, funk, soul and fusion.

Patchworks has released three albums under his Mr President nom de funk so far, the latest  One Night was released in September on Favorite Recordings.  

Whoever gets elected in the USA, it's good to know that there's at least one Mr President who delivers on his promises.

Fingers crossed for all our friends in America - and elsewhere -  that the best really is yet to come!

Mr President: The best is yet to come

While this wasn't Barack Obama's official campaign song, it really should have been.

I know I featured this song on the blog before, when it was released last year, but given the US election result there's certainly call for it to get an airing again.

I'm sure some broadcaster will use it for the soundtrack of a montage of scenes of the election night drama.

Mr President is a project by Bruno 'Patchworks' Hovart, exploring vintage funk and soul with an authenticity that belies his French origins.

Favourite Fecordings have release an EP collection of Patchwork's 12' extended remixes, and a compilation of material from the label Favourite All-Stars Vol 4 is released in December featuring the track Left and Right by Mr President.

Mr President: It's Christmas

A great festive tune by Mr President, released following his debut album Number One that came out earluer in 2011.

I already featured the great track The Best Is Yet To Come which was released as a single.

Mr President is a project from Patchworks, also known as Bruno Hovart, who has also worked under the names Uptown Funk Empire, The Dynamics and Metropolitan Jazz Affair.

It's Christmas, but with a great solid heavy funk flavour.

The song's been released in a limited edition by Favourite Recordingd in a suitably retro coloured vinyl seven inch.

The single is released on December 12.

Click on the link below to give it a listen on Soundcloud.

Mr President - It's Christmas Time

Carla Bruni - You've Got The Silver

In light of the birth of France's First Baby, I thought it worth putting on a video of Carla Bruni doing what she used to be known best for in her pre-Sarko days.

I'll leave the politics and the celebrity stuff to other blogs. There's plenty that can be said there and little point in me adding to the debate.

Bruni has been working in music since 1997, her debut album Quelqu'un m'a dit coming out in 2002, having already worked with Julien Leclerc's 200 album Si j'étais elle.

Her second album came out in 2007, featuting the work of leading poets set to music, and her third Comme si de Rien N'était the following year, after she was married to Sarkozy.

Given her track record with classic rock artists a cover version of a Rolling Stones song seemed appropriate and its an interesting take on one of their many great songs hidden in their back catalogue.

Carla's sound is a sophisticated and jazzy one, along the lines of american artists like Norah Jones. It's a smooth and easy listening experience to sooth troubled ears.

I'm sure given the current difficult times, it's exactly the kind of thing that Monsieur le Président needs to chill out to after a hard day at the office.

New : Mr President - The Best is Yet to Come

Mr President is based in Lyon and the single The Best is Yet to Come comes from his first solo album Number One which was released on March 7 2011.

The track features featuring French artists Hawa and Mr Day.

It's a great slice of retro jazz funk that wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack of a '70s Blaxploitation flick. It's soul with a muscular edge, the kind of groove that James Brown or Curtis Mayfield would be proud of.

Mr President is the latest project from Patchworks, also known as Bruno Hovart, who has also worked under the names Uptown Funk Empire, The Dynamics and Metropolitan Jazz Affair.

He has been working as a producer since the mid 90s after playing bass in a number of bands, and has been working to capture the old school rawness of vintage soul using contemporary means.

I'd be very surprised if tracks like the Afrobeat tinged From North to South don't find themselves being used by film or TV producers wanting a flavour of that organic funk vibe.

Sharp-eyed viewers might notice that the video doesn't seem to be set in present-day Lyon...who knew the city looked so much like 70s New York? ;-)

Anyway, to mark the release, Mr President and his label Favourite Recordings have launched a remix competition for The Best is Yet to Come. The three winning remixes will be released as a digital EP by the company. Get more details from the record company's website >