What So Not‘s sophomore studio album begins with a looping call to action: “make me feel alive.” And that’s precisely what Anomaly does not only for listeners, but also for the Australian producer himself.

“I think that Anomaly has the strongest songs that I’ve ever created,” says What So Not. “This album is a new lease on life for me, it is confident, it is passionate, it is highly energetic. On my last album, I was in a very sad place, and that was me processing and dealing with that, whereas with Anomaly, I’m coming at it ferociously excited about life and about dance music and about the amazing cultures that I’ve been invited into around the world.”

The answer to his 2018 debut, Not All The Beautiful Things, is the product of creative visualization undertaken during COVID-19’s pause on live music programming. And although Anomaly has roots in a period of quietude and isolation, it is no less collaborative than its predecessor. Like Not All The Beautiful Things, Anomaly invites appearances from a diverse cast of artists, including MØ, who graces the 2022 edit of “Mercy,” EVAN GIIA, Louis The Child, and Oliver Tree, to name just a few. The circumstances under which What So Not developed Anomaly—unusual free time and singular focus—allowed him to “refine and hone in on this album like [he’s] never been able to in the past,” he notes. “For me, this is my best work.”

Interestingly, Anomaly is not just an album; it’s a piece of a larger project that he has slowly and intentionally built over the past three years. The LP is actually the score of a 3D animated film that is still in development, although glimmers of it can be seen in “The Change” and “Messin’ Me Up.” “I’ve been building an entire universe, and I’m excited to have people quite literally be able to step into that in the not-too-distant future. I’m creating a show that I’m not sure anyone has really done yet,” he says, adding “That will start to come to fruition probably within the next six months.”

In the meantime, Anomaly can be streamed in its cinematic glory below.

Featured image: Jonti Wild

Tags: anomaly, what so not

Categories: Music