- If EDM was in the Olympics I am quite confident that the Aussies would be banking all the gold medals, with What So Not leading the team. With the release of his debut album Not All The Beautiful Things, Chris Emerson aka Emoh Instead has crafted a compelling LP worthy of the top spot on the podium.
Gone are the days when What So Not was a duo with Flume, and to be honest, I believe the real magic arose when he left anyway, Emerson has taken the reigns and assembled an army of features, which include Skrillex, to front his array of EDM flavours. You have your trap bangers, your wonky numbers, a tonne of hip hop, brooding bass assortments, and your typical house blend of well, BIG house. It’s clear that most are composed for the club and festival circuit, as heard perfectly from the get go of trap slapper, If You Only Knew which is a duel production with Dutch DJ, San Holo featuring the vocals of once Silverchair frontman, Daniel Johns. The tone is set, you can hear the wobbles, your body immediately wants to dance, but then it cuts to Johns’ vocals and then builds to a climactic moment where you are can finally let it all go and just chant along with the user friendly lyrics. It’s a formula done all too perfectly, and you will hear it time and time again on many of the tracks, because it is sure to please the masses who crave this electronic candy. I guess you really have to be in the mood to handle the whole thing from start to finish, a clubbing mood maybe?
I find myself drawn to the semi-quiet moments on the LP, like when he teams up with Winona Oak on the deep house track Beautiful, mirroring Calvin Harris’ How Deep Is Your Love. You can really feel the vibes deeper on Stuck In Orbit featuring fellow Sydney songstress BUOY as they present a gooey love song to us. You can’t forget about the hip hop numbers though, whilst they aren’t my favourites on the release, they all could stand alone as singles to tear up the charts, and feature vocals y some international rappers, such as Rome Fortune. NATBT finishes just how it starts, with an electronic symphony rising to the heavens, but doubles the fun in minutes. Us featuring Daniels closes the LP off perfectly with a six minute electro bass ballad that sends fireworks back to your ears.
Emerson has proven with his debut that he is a force set to dominate 2018 with tracks a-plenty to keep us moving and shaking when he tours during the year. So, get to know the lyrics and the giant drops, because What So Not won’t be leaving us anytime soon; and whilst the title suggests it’s not about all the beautiful things, this LP surely is a beauty.
- Luke Doig.