Australian artist What So Not recently dropped his latest album Anomaly. Celebrating the release, we asked What So Not to take us back to where it started musicially. Dive in below to explore the early beginnings of his music career through his words and the incredible playlist he put together packed with old school gems.
At 17 y/o I snuck into my first festival – a day that changed my life forever.
I was a rock kid playing drums in a local band. I had never heard or conceived the music I was about to be exposed to. Justice, The Presets, Soulwax & Ajax (a legendary Australian dj who would later start a record label & sign the first What So Not EP).
MySpace & the beginning of blog culture changed everything – freeform creativity connecting outside of traditional corporate music structures. Suddenly we had access to search, listen (and illegally download) anything cool that was happening anywhere in the world. And while the pirating part might seem disrespectful to the artists, I do think it’s what enabled a mass spread of so many niche artists that might not have had such large careers & notoriety.
Another key component of this era was the introduction of the CDJ! No longer did you have to wait months for vinyl distribution, travel to a store & hope your fav new tune wasn’t sold out (not to mention dropping $20 for a single song!). You could now track down an unreleased Crookers record from a mixtape, cut it up in Ableton, re-mix/master it, burn it to a blank CD & drop it at the club that weekend. People from any economic background could now collect, share & dj these songs, spreading the hype like wildfire.
With all that in mind, here are a few of the records that hold a place in my heart from where it all started. Le Tigre – Deceptacon my first MySpace song, The Similou – All This Love the high school anthem, Justice – Waters Of Nazareth the tune that converted me from rock to dance or Dave Spoon – At Night probably the first song I took ecstasy too. The fondest of memories from a golden era. Hope you enjoy listening to them all!
The Presets – I Go Hard, I Go Home
Justice – Waters Of Nazareth
Digitalism – Pogo
The Similou – All This Love
Le Tigre – Deceptacon
At The Drive In – Enfilade
Para One – DunDun Dun (MSTRKFT Remix)
Booka Shade – In White Rooms
Dave Spoon – At Night
Royksopp – What Else is There (Thin White Duke Remix)
Calvin Harris – Acceptable In The 80’s
Daft Punk – Something About Us
Ice Cream – Muscles
The Chemical Brothers – The Salmon Dance (Crookers ‘Wow’ Mix)
Does it Offend You, Yeah? – Epic Last Song (Likelike Remix)
Crystal Castles – Alice Practise
