Situationism Vinyl & CDs

Review: Here two of Situationism's compilation strands combine on one 12": 2up 2down, which focuses on high-grade deep house, and the In The Bag series of floor-friendly catalogue favourites. There's naturally plenty to get the blood pumping throughout, from the thrillingly off-kilter Afro-house rhythms of Mike Agent X Clark's 'My Journey Thru Africanism', and Javontte's sensational 2021 single 'Soul People', to the liquid jazz-funk/deep house fusion of BRS' fantastic 'A Night To Remember' - all rubbery bass guitar, huggable chords, glistening guitars, fluttering flutes and swinging beats - and the driving, gospel-influenced peak-time brilliance of Laroye's 'Best Girlfriends (Soulful Mix)'. To cite an old cliche, this genuinely is "all killer, no filler".

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks, but otherwise in perfect working order***


Here two of Situationism's compilation strands combine on one 12": 2up 2down, which focuses on high-grade deep house, and the In The Bag series of floor-friendly catalogue favourites. There's naturally plenty to get the blood pumping throughout, from the thrillingly off-kilter Afro-house rhythms of Mike Agent X Clark's 'My Journey Thru Africanism', and Javontte's sensational 2021 single 'Soul People', to the liquid jazz-funk/deep house fusion of BRS' fantastic 'A Night To Remember' - all rubbery bass guitar, huggable chords, glistening guitars, fluttering flutes and swinging beats - and the driving, gospel-influenced peak-time brilliance of Laroye's 'Best Girlfriends (Soulful Mix)'. To cite an old cliche, this genuinely is "all killer, no filler".

Review: Thomas Arroyo AKA 'Laroye' is a respected French DJ and producer who here teams up with Andre Espeut for their own take on Beyond Compare. The track has plenty of classic James Brown overtones and makes for an extravagant funk sound with newly recorded vocals that really hit the spot. The synths are bright and contemporary, the jumbled drums loose but driving and the vibes impossible to ignore. This is Situationism's first funk 7" specially crafted for RSD 2020 and it is a standout one.

Review: West Country heroes Situation have kept it local on their latest EP, which offers up a suite of previously unheard re-rubs of Andre Espeut hook-up "Beyond Compare" by Bristol-based house hero Sean McCabe. The A-side boasts vocal and instrumental interpretations built around warming, mood-enhancing chords, jangly piano riffs, unfussy beats and the kind of slick, ear-catching electronic bassline more associated with Atjazz productions. Over on side B, McCabe offers up a superb "Vocal Reprise" take that sounds a little "fuller" and more energy-packed (thanks in part to his use of more urgent-sounding vocal snippets and grandiose chord sequences), as well as a brilliantly dreamy and locked-in Dub that sounds a little like one of Frankie Knuckles' classic remixes.

Review: Situationism's latest EP is the audio equivalent of an over-stocked buffet where the curly-cornered sandwiches and mediocre vol-au-vents have been replaced by heaps of high-grade caviar and Michelin-starred amuse-bouche. Or, to put it more simply, a killer collection of dancefloor jams. Our pick of the bunch is probably the throbbing nu-disco/Italo-disco fusion of Peza's acid-fired flipside smoker "On It", though George Kelly's warm, horn-heavy dub of Katzuma's summery disco-funk number "All Night" is almost as good. Plenty will opt to spin Dr Packer's on-point remix of Groove Armada offshoot Sugar Daddy's "Hypnotise", while Ashley Beedle's revision of Situation/Andre Espeut jam "You Gotta Move" is a sweet, jazz-funk fuelled chunk of boogie/electro fusion.