You'll have to wait until March 9th to hear What So Not's debut album, Not All The Beautiful Things, featuring collaborations with Skrillex, Toto, Rome Fortune, Slumberjack, and San Holo, but hot on the heels of the first single "Be Ok Again (feat. Daniel Johns)," comes "Stuck in Orbit feat. BUOY." Although a shorter radio edit exists, the five minute plus original mix rewards listeners with the kind of sonic journey that's become all too rare. Starting with BUOY's soothing vocals over minimalist synths, the track builds gradually to the first chorus, priming our ears for whats next. There's a moment where the song achieves an unmistakable and majestic high tide and then suddenly recedes, leaving only BUOY's voice singing "Stuck in orbit / I just wanna feel something." At that point you realize that What So Not has played with your emotions and, quite frankly, you loved every second of it because, by the end of those five plus minutes, you've felt something stir in your chest.
"Stuck in Orbit" began as a jam with Jono Ma of Jagwar Ma in his film scoring studio. A session with BUOY resulted in three words, "I ov-er comp-en-sate," that "set the tone [lyrically] for the entire piece; each word delivered with much thought and consideration." As What So Not tells it, while traveling he was "stranded for a night sitting alone staring at a hotel wall. The circumstances compounded and [he] channeled the frustration and came up with the lines for and around 'Stuck in Orbit.'" The track came together over the remainder of that temporarily stalled trip, hopping from city to city, away from "a special place with amazing people" that he had just settled into. The lyrics viewed through the lens of What So Not's commentary suggest that the track is about emotions stranded in transit – "Read my love / Wish you could read my love."
What So Not has an extensive tour scheduled providing plenty of opportunities for fans to catch a live show. Although the album won't be out for another month, check out the track list below and pre-order it here.
What So Not – Not All The Beautiful Things
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