An electronic music project from Aussie producer Chris Emerson (better known by his stage name Emoh Instead),
What So Not was founded in 2010 as a duo consisting of Emerson and Harley Edward Streten, the latter of whom operates under the nom de plume
Flume. The duo issued a debut EP, 7 Dollar Bill, shortly after forming, and also began releasing remixes of artists like
Major Lazer,
Peking Duk, and
Tom Piper. The year 2013 saw the release of a second EP,
The Quack, which featured a collaboration with American rapper
Action Bronson. Later that year, the single "High You Are [Branchez Remix]" arrived, followed by 2014's "Tell Me," a collaboration with
RL Grime.
Flume left the project in 2015, shortly before the release of the
Gemini EP. The EP included the eponymous hit single, which featured Sydney-based singer and producer Jessica Higgs, better known as
George Maple.
Another single, "Lone," dropped the following year. That track appeared on 2016's
Divide & Conquer EP, which included collaborations with
Kimbra and
Rome Fortune as well as
Maple. Instead reunited with
Maple for that October's "Afterglow," a single by Australian rapper
Tkay Maidza that also featured production work by
Djemba Djemba. In late 2016,
What So Not and
Skrillex teamed up with
Grime on the single "Waiting." After the release of the stand-alone single "Better" in 2017,
What So Not began the rollout for his debut full-length. Arriving in early 2018,
Not All the Beautiful Things featured appearances by familiar faces
Skrillex ("Goh") and
Rome Fortune ("Demons"), as well as an inspired roster of additional guests including
Daniel Johns (
Silverchair,
the Dissociatives),
Slumberjack,
San Holo, and Toto. ~ James Christopher Monger