Phil Weeks (facebook, myspace, discogs) is relentless. Fresh off the release of his LP Love Affair at the turn of 2011, the French DJ/producer is releasing just a torrent of quality tunes on his Robsoul label.
Check them off with me: Love Affair (reviewed by Oktober Davila here), the Spencer Kincy Tribute EP (reviewed by Frankie J here), Joss Moog's series of "Room #" EPs (#27 reviewed by me here), Phil's single All Day Every Day (reviewed by Lydia Wrobel here)...
Now I work with these folks every month, and for one label to have such a broad base of appeal among such a diverse staff really says something. Now in its 11th year, Robsoul is a strange creature. Originally characterized by Phil's predilection for vintage pads and keys, they're on the cutting edge of the modern, authentic House sound. As someone that fills out the little links in DJ charts and tries to track down a storefront for every record we review, I can say that no label has a better grasp on surviving and maybe even thriving in the digital age. Yet Robsoul still presses vinyl, most likely because the owner still likes it.
So many contradictions and so many questions. The first being...
One thing I've always wanted to ask: What does "Robsoul" mean? I get the "soul" part but who was "Rob"?
When I started the label I was not looking for a name with a special meaning, but just something that sounds great. Now the idea of "Robsoul" came from the bass player Robbie Shakespeare that I use to listen to.
After 10 years of releasing music, what's easier and what's harder than it used to be?
A lot of things have changed threw the last 10 years. Mostly with the "digital revolution". The market for vinyl almost disappeared in term of quantities (300 copies is not so bad these days). It's not easy to not lose money with vinyl on a new release. This is way harder than it used to be. Now the digital is the main market.
On another side, there's way more music and producers these days. The quality of production is lower than it used to be (in general) because you don't need to invest in a studio to make beats anymore. The promotion side is way easier now with all the new social networks.
It's a balance. At the end of the day, the important thing is that I'm still able to release music.
There are trends in Europe that most folks in North America probably aren't aware of (and... most Europeans aren't aware folks in NA aren't aware of). Your sound though has remained pretty consistent over the years. Do you think you pay the price in maintaining a kind of "purist" attitude toward House rather than bending to the latest dancefloor trends?
I can't even start to think like that. I just do and release the music I love and my tastes are still the same since I got into House Music (with some evolution). I don't make any compromises but if the trend is something I like then I will go with it. Until now, not really. I love what I do and I'm happy with what I do.
Phil Weeks -Live at Take A Trip- WMC 2011 by minoritymusic
Joss Moog is now up to "Room 27" of his series of EPs for you. How many "rooms" does he intend to release??
Ahahah, we have no plan yet about that, but you know again music is the main thing for us. And on this side Joss Moog always come super dope. We've known each other since we were kids; we used to play sports together. Then we started to do music in 1998 (all kinds of music).
We are very close friends. A few years after he totally got into House Music and now he's one of the best. He's also a good DJ.

Terry Matthew is the managing editor of 5 Magazine. You can contact him at



