VOILAAA Vinyl & CDs

Review: Sounds like it came out of Lagos in 1971, actually written and recorded in Lyon in 2015: Voilaaa is the brainchild of Bruno Hovart whose long relationship with Favorite goes way back to his days as Patchworks, Mr President and The Dynamics. Recording on a whole host of vintage machines and calling upon local African singers both cuts have a real authentic sense of realness; "Spies Are Watching Me" drives with big horns and swooning strings which isn't dissimilar to the work of The Movers, while the TY Boys-esque "Le Disco Des Capitales" is a heavier, more concentrated slab of floor-minded disco where the groove takes more of a forefront role. Apparently there's a whole album of this cooking... We can't wait to hear it.

Review: It's a while since we last heard from Bruno 'Patchworks' Hovart's Afro-disco focused Violaaa project, so this surprise set of remixes of back catalogue tracks is more than welcome. Fittingly, three of the versions come from Hovart himself under different aliases. There's a fine, tropical-tinged, sun-splashed Violaaa revision of 'Tu Mens Divant Moi' that doffs a cap to zouk music, and two deep house-tinged Patchworks versions of classic cuts. The mix of the outfit's underground hit 'Spies Are Watching Me' is a brilliant alternative take on a familiar favourite (it certainly breathes new life into the track), while the samba-house-in-Ghana revision of 'Ben Bene La' is brilliant. Throw in a quality J Kriv deep nu-disco version of 'Ku La Foon' and you have an excellent EP of tasteful, club-ready cuts.

Review: Favorite Recordings presents Voiciii, the third album by Voilaaa - the nom de plume of Bruno 'Patchworks' Hovart. It features guest vocalists such as Pat Kalla and Lass who he has worked with previously, but also new ones such as David Walters, Rama Traore and Ayuune Suule. There's also the addition of saxophonist Boris Pokora. The LP is a tribute to major artists of influential African sounds, such as Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango: from the empowering groove of 'Women Can Do', the late night boogie-down antics with a message on 'Water Get No Enemy' to the spiritual life music of LYMYE-A' - a delightful album from start to finish.

Review: Despite Bruno 'Patchworks' Hovart boasting a discography packed to the rafters with successful forays into all sorts of vintage dancefloor styles, many were still surprised at the brilliance of the first Voilaaa album, On Te L'avait Dit. This follow-up is equally as impressive, and features 13 more trips into classic Afro-disco and tropical disco territory. With Clavinets, punchy horns, live percussion and Afrobeat bass to the fore, Hovart and his many collaborators - including a number of French vocalists with African heritage - variously pay tribute to all sorts of late '70s and early '80s dancefloor fusion sounds. The album includes tons of club-ready excursions, including the righteous "Problems", disco-tastic "Kemtane" and sweaty, high octane "Mbele".

Review: Despite boasting a discography packed to the rafters with successful forays into various vintage dancefloor styles, some were still surprised at the brilliance of his first Voilaaa album, On Te L'avait Dit. This follow-up is equally as impressive, and features 13 more trips into classic Afro-funk and tropical disco territory. With addictive Clavinet lines, punchy horns, heavy live percussion and Afrobeat bass to the fore, Hovart and his many collaborators - including a number of French vocalists with African heritage - variously pay tribute to a wealth of late '70s and early '80s dancefloor fusion sounds. The album includes all manner of club-ready workouts, including the righteous "Problems", disco-tastic "Kemtane" and sweaty, high octane "Mbele".

Review: Last year, Patchworks man Bruno Havart indulged his long-held love of Afro-disco via a fine album under the Violaa alias. Here, Africaine 808 and Dimitri From Paris take it in turn to remix tracks from that set. The latter serves up two epic interpretations of album title track "On Te L'avait Dit". There's a full Disco Blend, in which he carefully teases out the track by layering up the original production before unleashing the catchy vocal, and a pleasingly percussive, groove-driven Dub. Interestingly, Africaine 808's mix of previous single "Spies Are Watching Me" sticks fairly close to the original, craftily emphasizing Havart's percussion, punchy horns and rich, Afro-disco bass.