Mr President - Number One

As vintage soul has created the template for some of the most exciting sounds of the past three years, the contemporary take on vintage funk hasn't quite kept pace. Mr President - the nom de funk of French producer Patchworks - has, however, made an early bid for single of the year with the Curtis Mayfield-inspired The Best Is Yet To Come.

Mr President's new album, Number One, is a masterclass in blaxploitation soundtracks (the record opens with Mr President Theme), updates its influences with hip hop (Tribute To RZA) and brings a Latin flavour to the mix (Get It Sometime).

Number One could be to 2011 funk what Kings Go Forth's The Outsiders Are Back was to 2010 - the modern classic.