Robin Staps was just a child the first time the ocean tried to kill him. “I was out swimming off the coast of Spain with my dad and I swam into a school of jellyfish,” the German guitarist remembers, reckoning he was only eight or nine years old. “I started panicking and hyperventilating, and I eventually ended up underwater. My dad pulled me up and dragged me out. I had stings all over my body.”
For most people, a near-death experience like that would instil a fear of the sea for life. Robin, however, grew obsessed with the big blue and everything in it. In 2000, the guitarist founded a band called The Ocean, who are currently one of the biggest progressive metal acts in Germany. He has tattoos of marine life, including multiple jellyfish, up both of his arms. Plus, in 2009, he started his own progressive music record label called Pelagic Records (‘pelagic’ being an adjective for anything to do with the open ocean).
It’s a niche form of morbid curiosity, something Robin chalks up to a compelling mixture of fear and awe. Not even nearly drowning a second time in Puerto Rico two years ago, where he was caught in a rip current for hours before being rescued by lifeguards, has put him off.
“It’s what [German philosopher Immanuel] Kant described as ‘the sublime’: a fascination with the beauty of nature while being terrified by what it can do to you,” he says, his calm, authoritative tone never wavering. “It’s like watching a thunderstorm. It’s beautiful, but it’s also scary. It can hurt you.”
Hammer is speaking to Robin at his latest oceanic-named venture, Pelagic Fest 2024. It’s a two-day festival in the otherwise sleepy city of Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands, held at the 1,100-capacity club Muziekgieterij. As its name implies, it largely features bands from the label. Headlining are The Ocean and Emperor mainman Ihsahn. It’s the weekender’s third incarnation but, with the first two being one-dayers in Pelagic Records’ hometown of Berlin in 2013 and 2018, it has little in common with what’s come before. Should the revamped event succeed this year, mainland Europe could have a new annual destination for heavy, forward-thinking sounds.
We arrive at Pelagic Fest as doors open on Saturday, August 24, and the vibe inside Muziekgieterij is like an East London hipster record market. The Pelagic logo – which bears two hammerhead sharks, naturally – hangs from a railing above. Columns and metal beams are bare and industrial-looking, while three of the four walls are coated with various band t-shirts, behind tables covered in vinyl albums.
It’s here that we first see Robin, socialising with attendees and other bandmembers. Through the foyer is a bar with a makeshift stage for the odd acoustic or DJ act, and past that are the venue’s two main stages, handily named the ‘Big Room’ and the ‘Small Room’.
Punky post-rockers Thot (pronounced ‘tot’, and nothing to do with that internet meme) are the opening band. The Belgians released their Pelagic debut, fourth album Delta, in May, and promoted it with single Hüzün. Its music video features the kukeri: Bulgarian men who dress as towering monsters to ward off evil spirits.
“We went to Bulgaria to record with a Bulgarian choir,” explains singer/guitarist Grégoire Fray, who wrote the video treatment, talking to Hammer on the steps leading up to Muziekgieterij after Thot’s set. “I saw photos on Instagram of the kukeri, these people with costumes made out of animals. I got in touch with the photographer and asked him, ‘What’s that?!’ We met them on this hill and shot one of their rituals. It was a wild ride!”
Pelagic’s roster encompasses all manner of esoteric music, from Thot to the apocalyptic post-metal of France’s Year Of No Light and the expansive, experimental indie of Sweden’s Oh Hiroshima. Genre-wise, it’s a broad church, but the bands are united by forward-thinking songwriting and a seeming disinterest in ticking commercial boxes.
That shared spirit has earned Pelagic a fanbase entirely its own, as demonstrated by the turnout this weekend and the label’s subscribers, who pay monthly to receive every album upon release. When we sit down with Robin in Muziekgieterij on Saturday afternoon, we ask if there’s any specific criteria for what makes a good Pelagic signee.
“It’s very subjective,” he answers. “I think, at the end of the day, I’m looking for something that really sticks out about the identity of the band. It’s not just the music, but also the visual representation, even a sense of humour. It’s very individual and it’s impossible to apply a formula.”
Long story short: it comes down to “stuff Robin likes”. The musician is the label’s autocrat, and he holds a similar role in The Ocean. Alongside being their founder and guitarist, he’s their lyricist, lead composer and manager. As of 2023 album Holocene, the band are signed exclusively to Pelagic, effectively making him their A&R, too. Give Robin the chance to fly the plane when The Ocean are touring and he’d probably give it a go.
Robin founded Pelagic to give The Ocean’s debut album, Fluxion (2004), a physical reissue – an idea that then-label Metal Blade wasn’t fussed on. Almost immediately, he started putting out material by other bands, starting with the Sky Disk EP from Swiss sludge metal instrumentalists Nebra in June 2009. Now, he’s leading a company with a nine-person-strong staff that ships records worldwide.
“I had no plans to start a label,” says Robin. “I was thrown into it because of The Ocean, but I quickly discovered that I do very much enjoy this line of work, and I enjoy building bands that I like.”
Pelagic Fest is an extension of that drive to bring niche yet excellent music to as many ears as possible. Not only does the label offer the subscription service; each Pelagic Fest 2024 set is being livestreamed on YouTube for free, while in-house photographer/cameraman Jhovi captures the action for an upcoming documentary.
Day one proceeds without a hitch, capped off by The Ocean blazing through their conceptual magnum opus, 2013’s Pelagial, in full with a staggering light show. When Hammer arrives at Muziekgieterij the next afternoon, however, there’s disastrous news: Ihsahn has pulled out. Strikes affecting Scandinavian airline SAS mean his flight has been cancelled, along with many others. The Ocean, drafted in for a second set after main support act Psychonaut dropped out last week, promote themselves to impromptu headliner. Belgian groove metal crew Cobra The Impaler are added to the bill just hours beforehand to close the Small Room, while many early acts get their sets lengthened.
Norwegian post-rockers Spurv, who receive an additional 15 minutes for their Big Room opening slot, have no idea how they’re getting home from the Netherlands. Nonetheless, guitarist Gustav Jørgen Pedersen seems unflappable and shows solidarity with the strike, led by disgruntled cabin crew members.
“They’ve asked for better pay, two weekends off a month and not having to have their lunch next to the plane toilet,” he shrugs. “I think that’s reasonable.”
Robin is similarly composed, and we find him today as we did yesterday: socialising in the foyer. Later, we spot him boogying during Karin Park’s solo set. He admits to having had a “wild” morning, doing all he can to make up for Ihsahn’s cancellation, yet shows no sign of it.
Irving is a Pelagic Records follower from Mexico City, who’s flown 10 hours to attend the festival. “I think all the bands have something special,” he says, by way of explaining his dedication. “The way that they can express the spectrum of feelings in their music, that’s lovely to me.”
He admits he’s “speechless” over Ihsahn’s withdrawal, but insists he’ll still have a “very good day” with Year Of No Light, post-punks Årabrot and more.
During our chat with Robin on Saturday, he’s coy about the future of Pelagic Fest. “I absolutely want to do it again, and do it again here,” he offers up, but spills no details.
That mystery vanishes the next day. The Ocean’s second set exclusively contains recent songs pulled from last year’s Holocene and 2020’s Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic/Cenozoic, and ends with Robin stepping to the mic. He announces the weekender will return for two more days at this very spot, during the same weekend in 2025. Hours later, Ihsahn and Psychonaut are re-confirmed for next year, to be joined by metalcore savages Bear and post-rockers A Burial At Sea.
Clearly, it’ll take more than the drama of losing a headliner to stop Robin. As for the future of Pelagic as a label, he reveals that the schedule for 2025 is already full, with a release set for every fortnight. There are no commercial aspirations, beyond keeping the label afloat and its staff paid. It seems the only goal is to keep putting out music Robin adores.
“I really like all the records I’ve released, and that’s always been the bottom line,” he says. “I wouldn’t release a record that I don’t stand behind. That wouldn’t be good for the bands. It’s never been a matter of doing it for the money.”
Pelagic Fest returns to Muziekgieterij, Netherlands from August 23 to 24 2025.
