Qolaj On Transformation, Hardgroove And Rebuilding Club Music Through ‘Re-Adoption’
- Undrtone Blog
- Jun 15
- 5 min read
Filipino producer Qolaj approaches club music differently to most. While many artists treat genre as a fixed identity, his latest EP ‘Re-Adoption’ feels more interested in mutation, reconstruction and emotional movement than staying inside neat stylistic lines. Built around hardgroove, techno, breakbeat experimentation and flashes of Jersey club energy, the release uses existing tracks as raw material, reshaping them into something entirely new rather than delivering straightforward remixes.
Released via Angry Dog Records, the EP arrives following Qolaj’s win in Beatport’s 2024 Global Remix Challenge, a breakthrough moment that led to an official release with Warner Music Group and reinforced his instinct to push beyond traditional club frameworks. Across ‘Re-Adoption’, that mindset becomes the entire concept.
“I’ve always been fascinated by transformation,” he explains. “A lot of remix culture focuses on enhancing or updating a track, but with ‘Re-Adoption’, I was more interested in asking what happens when a song is given an entirely new life.”
That idea sits at the centre of the project. Rather than preserving the originals, Qolaj treats them almost like relocated identities, shaped by new environments, emotional contexts and physical energy.
“The original DNA is still there,” he says, “but the context, energy and perspective have changed so much that they become something else entirely.”
The title itself also reflects the way he views artistic growth more broadly.
“I don’t see identity as something fixed,” he explains. “We’re constantly evolving through our experiences, communities and influences. ‘Re-Adoption’ reflects that process of revisiting something familiar and choosing to redefine it rather than simply preserve it.”
That mentality runs through the entire EP, particularly in the way genres collide and overlap. Hardgroove sits alongside breakbeats, techno and rhythmic club mutations without ever feeling forced or disconnected.
“When I’m producing, I’m usually asking myself what the track needs rather than what scene it belongs to,” he says. “Sometimes it needs urgency and bounce. Sometimes it needs unpredictability or momentum.”
For Qolaj, genre blending is less about collecting influences and more about creating dialogue between cultures, communities and different musical languages.
“I think identity comes less from the genres you’re using and more from your perspective,” he says. “I’m consistently drawn to music that feels kinetic, emotionally charged and physically engaging. That’s the thread connecting everything.”
That emotional element is crucial to how he approaches dance music. Despite the aggression and warehouse energy running through the EP, there is also a clear sense of tension, vulnerability and atmosphere underneath the percussion.
“A lot of that comes from my roots in grunge and alternative music,” he explains. “What always resonated with me was the balance between aggression and emotion. The music could be intense and raw while still carrying vulnerability and depth.”
That balance becomes particularly noticeable on the VIP version of ‘Incite Revolution’, rebuilt here into a more spacious and groove-focused version of the original.
“With the VIP version, I wanted to simplify the arrangement and create more space for the groove and energy to breathe,” he says. “At the same time, I wanted to inject a greater sense of joy into the track.”
While the original leaned heavily into urgency and intensity, the new version carries a more celebratory emotional tone.
“The message is still there,” he explains, “but it’s being expressed through a different emotional lens. Instead of pushing forward through tension alone, this version embraces the idea that joy can be a form of revolution too.”
That willingness to trust instinct and push outside expected frameworks has only accelerated following his Beatport Remix Challenge success. More than simply opening doors professionally, the experience validated a deeper creative shift already happening internally.
“The remix was one of the first times I fully leaned into breaks, syncopation and rhythmic structures beyond traditional four-on-the-floor,” he says. “It showed me that taking creative risks and following my own curiosity could resonate with people.”
Interestingly, Qolaj only discovered hardgroove relatively recently, despite now operating comfortably within its growing global resurgence.
“Even a year ago, I wasn’t really listening to hardgroove or some of the faster styles,” he says. “My taste has expanded a lot over the past year.”
What attracts him most is the genre’s physicality and directness.
“It’s unapologetically about movement and momentum,” he says. “I think people are really responding to that again.”
At the same time, he believes the future of hardgroove lies in continued hybridisation.
“People are less attached to strict genre boundaries now,” he explains. “So hardgroove will probably keep merging with other fast-moving styles and evolving into something even more global.”
As a Filipino producer building space within international electronic music, that sense of cultural movement and openness also shapes how he views the wider scene.
“There aren’t always clear pathways or representation in some of the spaces I move through,” he says. “You end up having to carve out space rather than step into it.”
At the same time, that lack of fixed expectations has also become a strength.
“It pushes you to develop a more individual perspective,” he explains. “You don’t rely on existing templates of what an artist in this space is supposed to look or sound like.”
That sense of community and participation sits at the heart of how he views rave culture too. Rather than treating dancefloors purely as escapism, he sees them as collective environments built around connection, learning and shared energy.
“My first major moment was Coachella 2017,” he says. “That was when I was properly introduced to electronic music and the wider scene.”
More recently, his involvement with Dance Music Initiative has reinforced that philosophy further.
“It reminds me that this culture is not just about performance,” he says. “It’s about sharing knowledge, building access and creating spaces where people feel included.”
Even while optimistic about the openness of modern dance music, he remains cautious about how quickly underground sounds can become commercialised once they gain traction.
“There’s a subtle gentrification happening in certain scenes,” he explains. “Sometimes the aesthetic gets prioritised over the roots and communities that created the culture.”
Rather than allowing that to make him cynical, though, it has simply sharpened his focus on experimentation, authenticity and cultural awareness within his own work.
When listeners finally reach the closing moments of ‘Re-Adoption’, there is one feeling he hopes remains after the intensity fades away.
“The EP starts with urgency and momentum and gradually moves toward something more grounded,” he says. “By the end, there’s a sense of contentment or peace that emerges.”
Ultimately, that emotional arc feels like the real core of the project. Beneath the warehouse energy, rhythmic aggression and genre mutation, ‘Re-Adoption’ is less about destruction and more about rebuilding.
“I hope people leave the experience feeling a bit more settled than when they entered it,” he says.
