Philpot boss Michel Baumann jacks the house on this week's RA podcast.

Michel Baumann is a hard man to pin down. While his entry to the DJing scene came via his passion for hip-hop, exposure to the likes of Larry Heard and Lil' Louis while he was working at a record shop in the early '90s changed his musical outlook irrevocably. His first release came out in 1996 under the name of Jackmate—his more club-oriented project—but he's also maintained his Soulphiction guise, which funnels his hip-hop, jazz and disco influences into a rich deep house style. Michel doesn't always work alone, however, incorporating Suzana Rozkosny's vocals into his Soulphiction live set, and collaborating with Nik Reiff (AKA DJ Phlegmatic) and Benjamin Lieten as Manmade Science.

With releases notched up on Perlon, Poker Flat, Freude Am Tanzen, Playhouse, Sonar Kollektiv and Musik Krause, Baumann is definitely no stranger to sharing his productions, but his main focus for the past decade has been to build up his Philpot imprint, which takes its name from Larry Levan's real surname. Apart from plenty of his own productions, DJ Koze, The Mole, Bruno Pronsato, Reggie Dokes and Move D all have graced the label, while its more synthetic offshoot Phil e celebrated its tenth release earlier this year. This week's RA podcast sees Baumann channel his twenty years of DJing experience into an irresistibly rolling melodic house mix that balances the exclusives with plenty of vintage classics.

What have you been working on recently?

I'm actually finishing the production of the debut album from a band called Feindrehstar. It will be out on Musik Krause in early 2010. I've also done a lot of new stuff with my Missing Linkx project as well as finishing my own album as SoulPhiction.

How and where did you record the mix?

In my studio with the help of two 1210s, two CDJ800s and a Line6 looper. I mostly play vinyl but some tracks in the mix are edits of the original versions, some tracks are unreleased, so yes, I play CDs also...

Can you tell us a little about the idea behind the mix?

It's featuring some new exclusive Philpot stuff as well as some classics. It's more of a radio mix then a club set. Just a set I'd play on Monday morning for those who've been jackin' at the weekend and are now trying to blend in at the office...

What's your take on the deep house revival over the last few years? Do you feel you ever feel schizophrenic, shifting the focus from Jackmate to Soulphiction?

House was always there and the whole revival issue is, well... A media issue? Nearly everybody was still active over the years, the focus was just somewhere else. I simply don´t know if I'm a schizo, and that worries me a lot! Whatever the mood of the moment, I also produce a lot of hip-hop, which avoids running in circles and getting stuck in routines. It's more about the tempo and the different equipment I use for the different projects.

Philpot will soon be celebrating its tenth anniversary. Do you have anything special planned?

We've got some albums from Tim Toh, Ike and Missing Linkx coming up in 2010 and we´ll also celebrate it with a small tour. If everything works out well, we've got a very special compilation planned, something like a huge jam session with only one-takes from all Philpot artists!

What are you up to next?

My SoulPhiction album, the Missing Linkx Live Sessions and a solid NYE in Benztown.