With some rare downtime on his hands before heading to New Zealand for a show in July, Chris Emerson had an idea. The revered music producer known as What So Not was keen to throw an epic tour – unlike anything he’d done before.
Emerson wanted to create a gateway to the stage for younger artists because “we could have the next Fred again.. in Australia and there’s just this ceiling over the top of them, blocking them from getting there. All we’ve got to do is give them the key.”
To activate an untapped community, he organised an impromptu tour, allocating his free time to try to be a part of the solution. He started by asking his online followers to share the names of fresh performers who could benefit from some support.
“We’re trying to revive the Aus dance scene, get emerging talent in front of crowds and shift club culture from the local level up,” he wrote on Instagram. “This tour is for the underdogs, the bedroom producers, the acts that haven’t had their shot.”
More than 800 people responded to the initial post, tagging lesser-known stars and attracting eager artists who were more than happy to put their hands up to be involved.
“I took two weeks of my life to look into all this, go through all the comments to find everybody, map it all out, work out who was cool, reach out to them, go and listen to their music. It just changed everything. I just feel like it’s just given this insane shift,” Emerson now tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
As part of his plan, Emerson built a spreadsheet including more than 400 acts with information on their hometowns, what type of genre they play, as well as a comment with his thoughts and links to their social media profiles. What could have been a month off turned into something much more meaningful.
Dubbed the ‘Dance Dance Revival Australia Tour’, the producer made sure lesser-included regions were included.
“It’s like, ok, do I just let the promoter just book whatever they are booking in and out every single week? Or do I make sure this is really curated to me, my scene, my sound, what I think the people who come to see me want to see and want to be inspired by?” he explains.
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“The second you do that, the whole event is epic, front to back. It’s a better experience for everyone – you actually get to meet younger people that might be really inspiring for you that are just working stuff out that need a little bit of access to things higher up, and then it just becomes this ecosystem that fixes itself.
“This was like a 10-stop tour and [we] ended up doing about 15 or 16 different sets in different cities – and then often two or three sets a night. It’s been a lot of work but it’s been so rewarding. Every single night has felt incredible, and different to anything that’s going on in that town. It has mattered. The shows have mattered. The people who are playing have mattered.”
Now Emerson is preparing to round out the year at shows in Perth and Indonesia, followed by tour dates across North America in early 2025, where he’ll be putting the skills of local DJs and producers at the forefront once again.
Supporting up-and-coming artists is part of his commitment to try to be part of the solution to the music industry’s current woes, but that’s not all he’s been doing. Emerson’s efforts have included mini gigs at unusual settings like cafés and trains, as well as surprise appearances at popular local spots. “It’s really about rebuilding the music scene and music industry,” Emerson says.
Another idea was to get Bunnings involved for a huge dance party – and after much grafting and perseverance, he ticked off a rave at the iconic store following a wave of online support.
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The show came about when producer Kaila did a remix of the iconic Bunnings theme song, and put up a post about how cool it would be to throw a rave at Bunnings. He tagged What So Not as well as Peking Duk – and then it became a reality.
“It was a silly little idea, but it’s about a real problem and this is the perfect way to put a shine on it and to start fixing the problem,” Emerson says.
His music over the years has featured big names like RL Grime, Daniel Johns, Dillon Francis, Pharrell Williams, and Skrillex, and his latest EP as What So Not continues to celebrate the spirit of collaboration.
Described as Emerson’s “love letter to dance music,” Motions featured guest turns by Lucy Lucy, MNDR, and more, and the record earned a place on Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s Best Australian EPs of 2024 list. (“What So Not’s EP highlights why he’s one of this country’s most in-demand names in the global electronic music scene. At once emotive and euphoric, these four tracks are the sound of a producer at the peak of his powers,” our review praised.)
On the opening track “Lights Go Out”, Emerson says teamwork made for “the most effortless writing”. Fellow Aussie producer Benson had sent over the demo one Christmas Eve and asked for Emerson’s thoughts.
“I’d been working with so many drum and bass producers that I used a lot of clever sub-frequency FM synthesis stuff in that drop, so it really goes and chugs. There’s this screechy dubstep synth that’s been tamed just enough,” Emerson says.
Emerson’s friend Lucy Lucy also featured on “Lights Go Out”, a rising star who he knew from living nearby when he was growing up.
“I just love to bring her into records because she’s still working her career out and she’s punching so far above her weight. Anytime I get a chance to bring her in on something, I’m bringing her in.”
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Emerson never misses an opportunity to big up his friends. Another EP track, “Slow Motion”, featured MNDR and Imanu, both of whom he was only too happy to support.
“I met Jon [Imanu] when he was 17 and have seen him go from barely getting started to one of the most respected producers in the whole music scene,” Emerson reveals.
“Amanda [MNDR] is absolutely incredible with such an insane career, spanning across so many genres and she is such a boss, so happy to call her a friend. She literally freestyled the whole topline in one take after hearing the demo for the first time, and it’s just amazing how it’s all come together like this.”
What So Not’s Motions EP is out now. Find his upcoming tour dates here.
