Interview: What So Not

It’s hard not to love that familiar haircut accompanied by a spectrum of hues that is so recognizable in the dance music scene. A leader and innovator in music, Australian DJ and producer What So Not (Emoh Instead) is certainly unparalleled, from his selection of hair color to his taste in production.

He’s been consistently putting out quirky and catchy originals and remixes for years, incorporating silly vocal samples to set his tracks apart from the typical sounds we’re used to hearing. What So Not is a master of putting a future twist on his sounds and making them come alive unlike anyone else, and he doesn't seem to be done anytime soon.

After driving hundreds of miles due to a cancelled flight and facing other obnoxious obstacles, What So Not finally made it to Orlando, Florida. As the booming sounds from other DJs opening for the show echo in the background, I nervously enter the green room that WSN is relaxing in and I am welcomed by his friendly presence. I immediately shake off my nerves and feel excited to have my first interview with undoubtedly my favorite artist.

WSN took the time to sit down with us to talk about the Gemini EP minutes before his performance. We began to chat about his travels in the past week following his time spent at Coachella, and his modest demeanor portrayed someone proud to be doing what he loves. WSN prefaced the interview explaining how the Gemini EP is more serious and emotional than previous projects, composed of dark sounds that are evident in the original Gemini.

Check out footage of the phenomenal performance from that night, epitomizing every emotion evoked from the aura of What So Not.

Your Coachella set was amazing, there was such an incredible energy during the performance. It was an awesome surprise when you brought George Maple on stage. How did you and George Maple end up collaborating together for the track “Gemini”?

Well, I actually met her just by chance, maybe five years ago. I actually ended up DJing at her 21^st birthday party.

That’s so funny. I wish my 21^st birthday was that exciting.

Yeah, right? So I did that and we stayed in touch, and then we started working on some music. She wrote “High You Are” so we worked together on a bunch of stuff for the What So Not project, and this is the first time she’s featured.

I've traveled all over the U.S. and seen many of your live shows. The diversity of your sets is impressive because they’re all equally dynamic yet different. How do you tailor your sets for different shows and different audiences? What vibe do you go for? Do you always play banger after banger?

I’d actually prefer not to play that. Sometimes it calls for it though, like if you’re in Vegas you’ve just got to smash it. If you’re on the East coast you can play more hip-hop, if you’re on the West coast that’s a similar kind of vibe too. If you’re in middle-America you play the songs that people know of your own. Yeah you know, you just pick up on what cultures and hubs that are popping off in the different areas. I’ll go to Philly and hangout with my buddy Noah Breakfast and SwizzyMack and those dudes, and they’ll be like “Oh play this Meek Mill track it’ll go off!” So you know, just kind of asking the local guys what’s happening at the time in that area and then sort of mixing that with all the stuff that I love, and then all the What So Not songs as well.

It’s great when you play the What So Not songs live. What’s your first priority when producing a song? Do you go for the melody first or do you like to start with a vocal or a sample?

It really depends. It’s usually like you might hear a riff in your head or something, and then you get it out. Then you start developing the sonics of the sound with that riff, or maybe you’ll start with a loop like a percustic loop. Or maybe write some nice chords and hum a little vocal and the track starts. It just depends.

At the Ableton Liveschool presentation in 2013 you discussed how branding is a good way to create an image that people will remember. “The Quack” has a little vocal hook with a sample that sounds like a duck. You bought plastic blow-up ducks from China to throw around your shows as almost a marketing technique that branded “The Quack.” You said this was a great way to break up the show from just being a DJ set to a full experience that engages the audience. Is this something you plan to do for any of the songs on the Gemini EP?

Totally! Yeah, that was a fun little gimmicky thing that I did early on in my career. A lot of people do stuff like that. Probably now I’d try to do something a little more mature. You know at the time I was 21, and we wrote this stupid song that was really fun and then we had the association with the inflatable ducks with it. I’d love to do more stuff like that because it’s just a fun way of engaging everyone in the audience and doing something interesting.

Were there any particular influences behind the creation of Gemini?

A lot of the stuff for this EP we tried to develop we actually wrote the EP for when I was going to Europe to do a European tour, so it was meant to be a little more left field and a little less fun and silly. You know, I feel like “The Quack” is silly but still fun and a good song. “JAGUAR” is kind of silly as well. They’re all really fun tracks! But this EP is meant to be a little more serious. I think Gemini came from the concept of the EP was sort of apocalyptic—you know the past and the future coming together, and I think star signs fell into that so well. So it was all developed from those concepts.

What do you want people to expect from this EP?

A lot of people have heard a lot of the tracks at the shows. There’s definitely a couple more songs that haven’t been previewed anywhere yet. I’m pretty excited to finally get it out. There’s lots of vocal versions as well, so we worked with [ASAP] Ferg and other people like that. So there’s some really cool things in the works that have been post-EP.

What do you see in the future for What So Not? How do you plan on moving this project forward?

I want to develop it into way more than what it’s been so far, and have a whole world that people can come into when they come to a show. Incorporate visuals with every track. I sort of protested it for Coachella, I had performers come out, I had visuals made for the new EP tracks and different songs. I created unique versions of all the tracks that were already out and released, just for the show.

Back to that—how did you feel about performing at Coachella? 

I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous in my whole life. It was so much building up to that show, there was so much going on behind the scenes I had to deal with just to get to that stage and still be doing that performance. It was a real fight to get there and a lot involved in it. That’s what made me so nervous because there was so much built up to it.

You’re performance didn’t reflect any nervousness. How was the experience for you? 

The first week was really hard—more like of a mental challenge. But the second week I just let everything go, I knew everything was going to fall into place. It was crazy as well! The second week I think the guys were saying we had 25- to- 30,000 people, which was insane, especially for that time of day.

My last question - if you could listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Do I have to only hear that song?

Yes, it’s the only song you can listen to.

That would be painful! You know what—I would choose no song because it would probably drive me mental and I don’t think that there is any song you could listen to on repeat for the rest of your life. Unless it’s some sort of weird silence like ocean waves on a loop or something. I would just write my own songs and listen to those.

Following our talk about his inspirations and ideas on music, What So Not posted a picture I painted for him on his social media accounts. He put on a thrilling performance for two hours featuring music from the likes of artists like Mr. Carmack and much more. If WSN is coming to a city near you, this tour is definitely something that is not worth missing. Get excited for the release of the Gemini EP summer 2015. #WSN4EVA

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