INTERVIEW: Constrict Music presents Unfolding Vol. 1

In Unfolding Vol. 1, Constrict Music traces the emotional landscape of break-based music with remarkable depth. The compilation feels like a journey through dimly lit warehouses, fog-drenched sound systems, and introspective headspaces where bass and emotion coexist in perfect balance.

Leese draws the listener into a world of liquid melancholy; Rat Princess explodes with fractured rhythms and fearless energy; Medok crafts moments that hover between meditation and momentum; while RandomFX embodies the compilation’s ethos — underground, intelligent, and deeply human.

This LP is more than a sonic experiment. It’s a love letter to the breakbeat tradition, renewed and reimagined by a new generation of artists unafraid to stretch the boundaries of the form.

We spoke with the label and this was the result.

• Unfolding Vol. 1” feels like a milestone for Constrict Music. What pushed you to expand beyond pure drum & bass territories this time?

  
  

  It truly is a milestone. I guess our own personal musical universes have evolved over the years, and while we all still enjoy listening to Drum & Bass, we have a much broader vision of electronic music than we used to. Drum & Bass is one category of break music, but we feel every other niche deserves to be explored just as much. 

  
  

• The compilation blends Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Jungle and more — how did you curate such stylistic diversity while keeping the label’s DNA intact?

  
  

  I think things have changed over the past few years in the way bass music is played in the night life and festival context. At the events we find ourselves going to, it's becoming quite rare to witness a DJ set that is 100% of one genre. You often see DJs that are associated to a certain genre actually go beyond. It's especially true with Dubstep in Drum & Bass sets and even more so with Jungle. Jungle is everywhere lately. That doesn't mean the DJs lose their authenticity, I think it's quite the opposite. In my opinion, each genre empowers the other, makes it more impactful. I hope this way of thinking has been achieved with our LP, a diverse yet coherent set of tracks.

  
  

• You describe the release as a turning point. In what ways does this LP redefine Constrict Music’s vision or philosophy?

  
  

  We believe the people who have known us for a while associate us instantly with Drum & Bass. We see this release as a turning point because all of sudden you have tracks of very different styles with only a few actual Drum & Bass tracks in the album. It's a testament to the direction we're taking, being more open towards break music in general. Don't worry though, Drum & Bass is still very much a focus for us!

  
  

• Belgium has a long legacy in underground electronic music. How does that heritage influence your approach to this compilation?

  
  

  I think the LP speaks for itself. It's a 100% Belgian compilation (except for the featurings) and yet each track is very different from the next one. We have people coming from a lot of different corners of the country, of different ages, all influenced by electronic music in a different way. Music in Belgium is extremely diverse and we're happy to celebrate that diversity.

  
  

• Leese, Rat Princess, Medok, and RandomFX — each artist brings a distinct flavor. What connects them under the “Unfolding” concept?

  
  

  The name "Unfolding" came from two things. Firstly we have a few people on the LP that are officially releasing music for the first time, so we see this release as the unfolding of their musical universe. Secondly we see it as the unfolding of Constrict Music as a label, opening itself to new musical horizons as explained earlier.

  
  

• The term “break music” appears in your description. How do you define it, and why is it so central to Constrict’s identity?

  
  

  I usually describe break music as anything that doesn't have the kick time signature of techno music hahah. It basically encompasses all styles of bass music that have that breaky, sort of irregular rhythm, as opposed to the repetitiveness of the techno world. Don't get me wrong though, we're not spitting on techno, but we believe there is an over representation of it in Belgium currently and we want to bring a balance in music. 

  
  

• How do you see the current relationship between underground authenticity and broader musical exposure in 2025?

  
  

  Tough one to answer! A lot of factors make it hard for underground music to survive in the current big picture of music. I think most people that aren't deep in the underground culture already don't make the extra effort to dig for new music. Streaming services make it too easy to stay in whatever style of music you're into and remove the will to learn more about a genre or an artist. Like, people listen to AI music without even realising it. But we'll keep the AI conversation for another day. Also, as event organisers ourselves, it's a really tough time to organise underground music events in Belgium. As much as you want to invite extremely talented - but niche - artists, it's often at the cost of losing money because the public would rather stick to the music they are used to. So it's always about finding the balance between niche and mainstream, without falling in the mainstream side of things (which we'll never do).

  
  

• Was there a specific moment in the process when you realized: “This is the new era of Constrict Music”?

  
  

  We've been thinking about it for a while. Actually, going back to our EP "Alliance" in collaboration with High'n'Irie Soundsystem in 2024, it was already clear that we were open to releasing things outside of Drum & Bass.

  
  

• Finally — if “Unfolding Vol. 1” opens a new chapter, what might “Vol. 2” look or sound like?ç

  
  

  Who knows! We hope it will be as diverse as the first volume, maybe something along the same lines in terms of music genres.

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