What So Not Throws it Back with I Saw A Trap DJ… Project and Ongoing Tour

This article was written by guest contributor Candese Charles

Beloved Australian electronic music producer and DJ, What So Not, has entered a new artistic chapter. Dropping his new project “I SAW A TRAP DJ, AND IT CHANGED MY BIO CHEMISTRY” this spring, the electronic music phenomenon is currently throwing intimate shows throughout the US in celebration of the project, including a stop at SUBSTANCE in Las Vegas. 

Centered around revisiting the legacy of early trap and internet-era electronic music culture, the shows have thrown attendees, including myself, into a euphoric blend of nostalgia and cultural celebration. 

“For a long time, I found myself running away from a sound I helped create. In my journey to always do the ‘next’ thing, I think I neglected my thing. This project comes from finally reconnecting with that energy – not to recreate the past, but to understand why it resonated so deeply in the first place.” – What So Not

Da Project

Rather than just taking folks back in time, What So Not’s newest project is both a love letter of personal reflection and a deeper look at the trap and bass music era that transformed global dance culture throughout the 2010s. As one of the defining movers and shakers behind the rise of cinematic trap and future bass music, the tour and project celebrate the art of real-life connection, enhancing a resurgence of a widely celebrated moment in electronic music history. 

And the timing couldn’t be more perfect! As 2010 nostalgia, influences from early internet environments, and most importantly, community-first events, rapidly reenter music culture, the tour catapults the feeling of vibing to drum & bass and cinematic songwriting on a more intimate landscape and level. 

Not only is it a return to the sound that What So Not spent much of the decade moving away from, but it’s a chance to reminisce on that stamp he left on the era of early trap. Infused with new material that draws inspiration from early SoundCloud culture, formative collaborations, and the explosion of globally influential trap and bass music, the project revisits the emotional DNA of that era through a modern lens. 

The project fuses the old with the new by combining global rhythmic influences with years of his own experimentation across drum & bass, analog production, and cinematic songwriting. It’s the type of cuts you can not only listen to and close your eyes and see, but also feel. 

And that was indeed the intention. 

“Doubt, evolution, inspiration, or lack there of, it’s a journey a lot of us go through as artists. There’s a layer of sadness to that, also so much beauty & growth,” What So Not said in an Instagram post announcing the new project. 

“But here I am…2026, amplified, hungry, inspired. With all the tools of DnB, analog exploration & rhythms from around the globe, re-captivated, like the rest of the world, by this 2016 energy.”

The announcement came with a full social reset, a new creative direction, and a limited-capacity US tour with stops at selected festivals, including DAS ENERGI in Salt Lake City and Breakaway Music Festival in North Carolina, and intimate shows in a handful of cities, including Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, and most recently Las Vegas. 

What So Not Takes Substance in Las Vegas Higher

Substance, owned and operated by RVLTN Events, has become the premier yet underground electronic dance music venue in Las Vegas. Designed with a raw warehouse aesthetic featuring concrete floors and visual art, the space is equipped with a massive festival-grade 200,000-watt L-Acoustics sound system and a 100-foot 4K LED wall. Sitting in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas, on Fremont Street on the second floor of the Neonopolis entertainment complex, it holds around 1,200 people, bridging the gap between small local bars and massive 2,500+ capacity mega-clubs, making the perfect space to celebrate What So Not’s newest project. 

Held on a typically busy night in Las Vegas, the Friday night show drew in guests from each corner that makes up the United States’ West Coast region. The vibes were right as the crowd fed off the energy that What So Not was laying down. 

Dropping tracks from his 2013 breakout album “High You Are,” and of course, his three new EPs from his current album, including “Candy Flipping,” the night captured the intention behind the idea for the project. With mesmerizing art displayed as his backdrop, What So Not easily connected with the crowd on a deeper level, taking them through the past and future of his artistic journey. 

Da Music Speaks for Itself 

This summer, What So Not dropped his third and final single from the EP and project, ‘Candy Flipping,’ which features Alina Pash, Jack Blom, and NERVE. The track is described as “a dance of human ego,” pulling the feelings of transformation and ego, euphoria, and identity, in opposing forces. It’s a subtle callout to the altered state of consciousness one feels under multiple substances. 

Feeling is a major part of the album’s core, with EPs ‘EVEREST’ and ‘MONA LISA’ offering a slide into different emotions of healing and self-destruction. The way the album feels is the differentiating piece that separates what the artist has already done and what he’s planning for this new era of his musical career. 

Born out of the height of the SoundCloud-era trap movement, What So Not’s catalog spans collaborations with artists like Skrillex, RL Grime, Oliver Tree, Killer Mike, Toto, and Daniel Johns. But he’s never shied away from evolving with the times and leaving his footprint on the dance music culture with singles like ‘Gemini’ and ‘Jaguar.’ Furthermore, his immersive live performances fuse cinematic visuals and live instrumentation for emotion-wrecking storytelling.

As What So Not’s current project, I SAW A TRAP DJ AND IT CHANGED MY BIO CHEMISTRY, continues to make the rounds, audiences enter this era with him, captivated by the weaving of his cultural foundations with his years of artistic evolution. Check out show dates and tickets here.