What So Not

What So Not started as a duo, but it’s long since become one man’s project. Christopher Emerson, aka Emoh Instead, launched What So Not alongside a then-up-and-coming Flume, and the pair spent a few years building a sound that blended melodic dance production with trap and bass influences. Early cuts like “Jaguar” and “Tell Me” (with RL Grime) put them on dance music’s radar fast.

Flume split off to focus on his solo career in early 2015, with the Gemini EP — featuring George Maple — marking the duo’s final release together. That track went on to peak at No. 52 on the Australian Singles Chart and earned a Triple J Hottest 100 placement, proof that What So Not could stand on its own. Emerson kept the name going solo from there, and the project’s sound has kept evolving ever since, pulling in psychedelic and rock textures alongside the dance and trap foundation.

His 2018 debut album, Not All the Beautiful Things, brought in collaborators like Skrillex and even sampled Toto, showing off just how far he was willing to stretch the sound. Anomaly followed in 2022, and he’s kept a steady stream of releases coming since, including the Motions EP in 2024. What So Not took a step back from the spotlight around 2020 before returning with a Run The Jewels remix in 2021, and he’s stayed active ever since — most recently linking up with Alina Pash on “Everest.”

Across labels like Sweat It Out, OWSLA, and Counter Records, What So Not has built a catalog that refuses to sit still stylistically, which is exactly the point. Emerson has never been interested in making the same record twice, and that restlessness is what’s kept What So Not relevant more than a decade after “Jaguar” first turned heads. With new music and tour dates continuing into 2026, he shows no signs of slowing down.