#georgemaple

What is going on with What So Not?

I think many people worried when Flume opted out of the What So Not project back in February of 2015, but slowly we have regained confidence that Chris, (Emoh Instead) will continue to deliver under arguably the strongest name in the trap world. After all, he is half of the duo that produced songs of the stature of Tell Me, Jaguar, Gemini and Touched. He will be fine, right? 

In the days of the new What So Not Emoh has released Lone featuring Joy, a remix of RUFUS’ Innerbloom, produced a track for Tkay Maidza with George Maple and Baauer, and today released Buried, another collaboration with George Maple featuring Rome Fortune. However, release after release, I am beginning to question the high status and integrity that the name “What So Not” possesses as a solo project. The prowess of the What So Not era prior to the loss of Flume was of such of the best names in the industry, easily on the same tier as artists such as RL Grime, Baauer and Jack U. However, it is now apparent that Emoh has dropped the ball for What So Not. 

It’s instantly obvious in the titles of some of his new releases that Emoh has stayed pretty consistent in choosing who he collaborates with. George Maple is a common denominator in a lot of his work, and I question if being tied down by her has affected the product outcome (maybe they’re fucking, who knows?). The calibre of the artists working with Emoh is clearly not as high as those which Flume may have been able to attract to the project. I mean no offence to Tkay Maidza, George Maple or Rome Fortune, but if we compare the merit of the collaborators that Flume was able to engage or simply the high standard that he implemented to the project, it’s clear that the filter has weakened in recent times. All up, this means that What So Not, one of the strongest names in the dance music world, is no longer collaborating with the same prestige of artist that it potentially could be in order to reach its potential. 

Easily the most important points to raise is the sheer quality of the tracks of the What So Not projects new era in comparison to those of its “glory days”, it’s evident that the quality of songs has decreased. As well as this, the audience market for these songs appears to have changed significantly. Previously, What So Not was nearly entirely a club/festival record store, however its audience now seems to be that of a much more commercial output, with songs almost being made intentionally for the Triple J listener, that which listens to, believes in and is enticed by what "inthemix" has to say. What I’m saying is, we need to break the barrier of, “every what so not song is good, dude,” and be more critical of a project that is becoming ever so disappointing. What So Not is deteriorating before our eyes, yet we continue to believe that the project is “killing it”.