The Anomaly that is What So Not
Photo credit: @jontiwild
Artist/Musician/Producer extraordinaire, What So Not releases his latest offering to the world this week, and everyone should be prepared for Anomaly.
Anomaly can’t really be put into a box of classificational genres and that is what makes this album a breath of fresh air. Each song is like a new story ready for the listener to interpret at will. We sat down to chat with What So Not and like his album, we found him original, interesting and we were left with a big smile on our face. In our chat, we covered everything from the new album to music distribution, collaborations to genre labels and what really goes on backstage.
For those who haven't heard your material, in case they've been under a rock. How do you label your music?
I try not to label it because I feel like I've jumped around a lot, and I change genres and tempos all the time. I came up with my own sort of thing many years ago, and then it had a bit of a wave of taking me to a lot of amazing places. I guess it's in that electronica sort of world, and influences from everything from hip hop, bass, music, whatever it may be.
‘On Air’ is your newest release. Tell us about the inspiration for the song. What does the song mean to you?
This song is kind of funny. It started out with a couple of friends of mine over here in LA. We went to this club and we were having the time our lives, it was my friend's birthday, and for some reason, we were like let's go to the studio at 2am while everyone’s hammered, went there and it was like an ultra studio they had with all these different toys they collected over the years, and we played this game of who could make the best thing out of the stupidest thing in the room and my friend Ryan from Captain Cutts, picked up this kid's toy saxophone with all these different parts that you stick together and screw together. It didn't even play different notes, it played one though, just this whistley little thing, but he played it. and then I thought No, I actually have a really good idea with that, so he dropped me the sample, put it in, started pitching around, made a melody, wrote some chords immediately and then laid down some drums and then Jerm had a vocal idea straight away and it was such a nice moment with very real friends of mine. And it was his birthday and it just came out so like Disney and authentic and non-pretentious and I really loved it. So that's kind of how it started and went up like this.
Any plans to merchandise the toy saxophone?
Maybe, I mean, we might. That's it. That's a great idea. We should probably reach out to that company and ask for some royalties on future sales from this song blowing up.
‘On Air’ is the fifth track released from your forthcoming album Anomaly. How did you decide which songs you would release as singles?
I think you know, singles are not the artist’s choice. more so the parties involved and the labels. There's songs that work in the format of a single, I personally just look forward to the album being out, because that's really what I'm envisioning, the front-to-back listen kind of thing.
Because I listened to the album last week. And my two favorite songs haven't been released as singles yet so yeah, I've frothed over Halifax, for me, it's where it's at.
That means you have good taste in music because you'd like to cool songs, excellent. More to the left, the left field ones. I still love the singles it's just that I think there's some really exciting experimental stuff, I'm glad you picked up on those as your favourite.
Thank you.
“This is me really grabbing life and living it to its fullest and capturing that in sound so it definitely for me is evolution, a new form of myself. ”
Is Anomaly a continuation of your 2018 LP ‘Not All The Beautiful Things’ or an evolution?
Definitely an evolution, I think my first album, ‘Not All The Beautiful Things’, I was very sad and in a difficult place and that album was kind of a therapy. This is me really grabbing life and living it to its fullest and capturing that in sound so it definitely for me is evolution, a new form of myself.
Do you have a favorite song from Anomaly, one that is particularly important to you. ?
I wouldn't say I've got a favorite, They all have a different energy and a different mood that serves a different purpose, probably depending on what you might feel, I'd say if you could listen to one that shows where it goes, It's probably the title track Anomaly. I think it really encapsulates what I want this project to be and how I want to feel and sound.
With collaborations do you send it out to a few artists and then pick your favourite when they come back? Or is there someone in you've got in mind when you're writing it that you'd like to work with?
I usually start my collaboration with the friends that are part of the track, for some we just jump around the world, doing shows and then we get a few days off and jump in with the people who are in town, and a lot of collaborations come together like that. I think one of the most important things about music is being challenged and in seeing and hearing what is possible, and I think you really get that by working with others and sharing your greatest ideas behind the scenes with those who have also have great ideas. And it takes you to a place that you could have never got to, either of you, on your own.
Growth is definitely important by learning from others and experimenting and a lot of artists aren't prepared to do that or go out of their comfort zone or their bubbles.
I think either you need to go on Google and research how new and complex sounds are being created by certain people, which I do as well, then also working with those people too, it's such a great experience for all parties.
“My dream was to play at the Monavale Hotel ”
You've collabed with some of the biggest names in the industry. Are there any ones on your wish list to work with?
No, I think I’ve surpassed my wish list. I don't know how well you know Sydney, but there was this club I wanted to play at that was the Thursday night uni night, called the Monavale Hotel. My dream was to play at the Monavale Hotel and I very fast past that little dream. I think as well with big artists sometimes they're not who you think they might be, you meet them and then you think I really I don’t actually like you that much, it's not about wishing to collaborate with someone. It's more, who's going to come into my sphere and am I going to cross paths with and who I’m going to find this great brain tentacle with, and we're gonna get into the studio and make something very special.
Are there plans to tour for the new album?
Yes, partly I'm holding off on it though because COVID has been so disruptive. It's very hard to be ambitious right now and execute something really exceptional and that's what I want to do with this album, so there's a few shows here and there in Australia. I've got one coming up in Perth towards the end of the year before Christmas, at The Ice Cream Factory, and there's another one we're gonna announce and maybe a couple more, but I'm really holding off to do something very special in the not too distant future for this album.
You have received a lot of attention from Triple J and a lot of support from them. How big an impact do you think gaining radio support has made in building your fan base and getting your music out there?
It's definitely big. I like Triple J their support of the youth and the support of the unsigned and the unknown. I just went in and did an Unearthed part where I went it was like 500 tracks of data, so I picked my favourites and then did a little piece on ‘what made them catch my ear’. I love that they do stuff like that. I think it's so important. Radio is great and important. I think there's a lot of other avenues that have popped up in the last decade, or for half a decade that is super important. I think that the virality of sharing sounds and music on the internet is so important. Probably the most important thing these days.
Well, I was gonna ask you about streaming but with your streaming figures, obviously it's been a big bonus to have that type of technology around for your music
I think with a lot of that you have to build it yourself, and then they will catch up to you. I think that's always the case. You've got to go and make some noise and do something and believe in it and build a community around it and help each other up and become great at what you do. Once you do that everyone else on other platforms start paying attention.
Do you think the 25% minimum quota for Australian music on radio stations is a fair number, given the ever-expanding talent pool we have in this country?
Oh 100% I think more people than ever are making exceptional music and there is phenomenal ability there in younger people. You can easily play 50% Australian music and it would be so great. I don't think we need all the overseas stuff, like it's all the same. We in Australia, we do things differently we really do. And we always have these waves where we take over the world and suddenly our acts are headlining everywhere on the planet. So we got to support it back home.
Who do you credit as your musical influences?
I've had numerous ones over the years but I don't really tend to stick to them because I think if you stick to anyone as an influence, you're just going to sound like them and not sound like you, so I find more inspiration in experience and a prime example of this album is written in 2019. So the first demos of it and I was just travelling around and crashing on people's couches and they invited me into micro-communities and take me to small little shows with some local person doing something very interesting. Or even camping at festivals that I was playing at, rather than just jumping in and out for the set and really going to different stages whether it be industrial techno or a rhythm stage and seeing what the best of the best are about in these different communities.
What was the first album or song you remember buying that impacted your life?
You know the first album I ever bought was the Vengaboys I'd like to say it was Linkin Park, that I physically bought with my own money, I got on a bus after seeing that One Step Closer and i got on a bus and went down to the mall and I bough Linkin Park ‘Hybrid Theory’. But before that the first album I asked to have bought for me was the Vengaboys.
“when you hear that word festival, that’s what I think I’m like, how do we make it insane?”
You've played Tomorrowland, you've played Coachella. When you hear the word festival what's the first image or thing that comes to your mind? What has been the standout moment at a festival for you so far?
I think when I hear the word Festival, the thing that comes to mind is what am I going to do to make it exceptional and different, I go about brainstorming and working with all my creative teams about how we're going to build the production, what the show visuals are going to be if there's any fabrication that we have to do, like really? If you ask me that question, like when you hear that word festival that's what I think I'm like, how do we make it insane?
Without naming names, what's the craziest or funniest thing you've seen happen backstage at festivals?
There’s a few things but I'll be honest with you backstage of festivals is pretty bland. It's a lot of people very focused on what they’re just about to have to do or like I mean, some festivals people are just chugging alcohol because they've done their thing for the tour or whatever and are relaxed and that, it's a lot of tamer than you think, there's not a lot of wild stuff going on out the back. Usually just people that are on unrelentless tours trying to enjoy themselves and have a little bit of free time. It's not what you'd expect I guess.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout-out but never gets one and what is it that they do that keeps your world turning?
Ah, there's so many, I mean I have a creative director, Lucille Croft who's helping me build everything up with the album, she's absolutely amazing. Ronnie is my TM lighting guy, BJ who almost before COVID, had done every single show with me for the last seven years and single-handedly tour managed me, run the lights and run the video all the same time.
What a legend
Yeah, and then my manager Patti, of course, is absolutely amazing. But yeah, there's a lot of people who do really, really exceptional work. I do tend to tag them and shout them out. I think what they do is so important in this community that's around my project that makes it look and sound so good.
Where would you like to see WHAT SO NOT in a couple of years? What do you hope you've achieved in that time?
I have this big project I've been working on and it's been quite challenging. For a lot of reasons. I've been building this 3d animated film for about three years, and it is actually scored by this album ANOMALY. And I'm building a very complex show, where I’ve kind of been waiting for the infrastructure to catch up to the technology and I'm not sure it's gonna get there in time, but the show I have very well documented that it's quite difficult to deliver properly, really tour properly is the hard part, but I'm working on it and maybe check back with me in four to six months and see where that is at.
Deal. Will you do a documentary or the making of and showing all those backstage steps to the project?
Yes, I could. I could do that. It'll be a lot of retrospective and then hundreds of 1000s of voice memos about what needs to change and where and how colour palettes and designs and sourcing different 3d skeleton builds and how we're going to shift and change them to be a unique priority. It's a lot of work.
Okay, my last question is, how are you celebrating the release of Anomaly next week?
I'm going to be working because there's always more to do. I'm sure you know this. So I'll be I'll be probably recovering from the first listening party that we're going to do. I think here in LA the night before the release, and then I'm going to be on a plane to go do The Big Show at Elsewhere I'm doing in New York. So, the day of release, I'm probably going to be grinding.
That's it. Thank you so much for talking to us.
Thank you
Anomaly is out September 16th where ever you buy great music
Interview by Michelle Symes
September 2022