For someone whose music so often makes people dance, it’s ironic that What So Not is more fascinated by the hidden choreography of our daily lives.
That’s the inspiration behind his new EP, Motions, which he says is his attempt to breathe audible life into the feelings, textures and other somatic phenomena that dictate our shared reality. As you listen, you might feel the weight of a stranger’s gaze or the electric charge of an unspoken connection.
For What So Not, whose real name is Chris Emerson, the EP is essentially a dive into the quantum soup of existence, where he crafts sonic blueprints of reality’s raw data. It reminds us that we’re all transmitters in this vast cosmic network we call life.
“The ideology behind this whole EP is the motions that are at play around us at all times,” Emerson tells EDM.com. “The cover art is actually going to be crashing into some water and watching the ripple effect of its wings pan out across the whole pond. And it represents how so many things are at play that we can’t see unless they enter another medium that we don’t even realize is impacting us. We don’t even realize how we are radiating to others, and it’s really a sonic exploration of those ideas—of the impacts we have and we receive at all times in our existence.”
By producing electronic music through the perspective that we’re constantly radiating, Emerson invites us into a world where every action and thought ripples outward and comes with their own degree of impact. Motions is the spellbinding soundtrack to this silent ballet.
“I think this is all just an evolution of my understanding of life, where I am with myself and where I am with my craft. I almost feel like this is 2.0,” he muses. “This is everything I’ve understood from times before and I think almost getting back to that core of creating with no judgment, creating what is just truly authentic, and then just letting it be.”
“So often in our careers as producers, we start to overwork things, we judge it too much and don’t just let it be what it wants to be,” Emerson continues. “And I think these are really records at the purest. I’m thinking, ‘What does this song want to be? What is this trying to pull out from inside of me?’ Letting it be that, and just leaving it be.”
Look no further than “Tower In The Woods,” a stunning track where What So Not’s languid production entwines with haunting vocals by MNDR that seep into your bones like winter frost. With thick kickdrums that crunch through the mix like boots in untrodden snow, the duo explores the depths of isolation and paints a portrait of solitude so vivid you can almost see your breath hanging in the frigid air.
Another highlight comes with “Realise,” a collaboration with French electronic music virtuoso Habstrakt. Their frenetic drum & bass rhythm provides a stark backdrop for noir-pop songstress Maiah Manser, whose elegant vocals evoke a sense of both intimacy and vastness. “I can see the sun right in your eyes / Glitter like a million fireflies” is a striking image, beautifully contrasting warmth and distance.
That contrast is by design, according to Emerson, who says his goal was to essentially produce beats that hit hard but also nest into a more emotive and dynamic place. It’s a body of work that demands attention—not as a passive listener, but as an active participant.
“I’m trying to find this sweet spot where my music has that knock and that power, but also that beautiful, lush bed underneath,” he explains. “Maybe it’s just very strong, elastic-type transients hitting on all the drums, but then it nests into this beautiful, characterized world.”
Next up for Emerson is a rare performance on on August 22nd at Cologne’s Gamescom, the world’s largest gaming convention, where he’ll be DJing at a “secret dungeon rave” in conjunction with his favorite game, Diablo.
He’s then heading to Australia to perform at the viral Bunnings Warehouse Party, which stems from a wild social media campaign that called for a DIY rave after legions of music producers created hilarious remixes of the household hardware and garden company’s jingle. The event will take place on Saturday, August 31st in the carpark of Bunnings Warehouse Preston.
Aiming to provide support in the midst of the Australian live music crisis, all proceeds from ticket sales of the Bunnings Warehouse Party and the community sausage sizzle will benefit Support Act, a nonprofit providing relief and mental health services to people in the music industry. Passes are available now.
You can find What So Not’s Motions EP on streaming platforms here.
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