This December, two of the most forward-thinking names in electronic music will unite for a new collaborative project. Australian producer What So Not and Dutch innovator Buunshin are set to release The Quiet That Hurts on Friday 5 December, a five-track EP that merges raw emotion with experimental sound design.
Following their earlier collaboration Threads, featuring Maiah Manser, the pair have now unveiled Dancing In The Leaves, a luminous new single featuring Australian vocalist Lucy Lucy. Airy yet percussive, the track balances introspection with release, wrapping Lucy Lucy’s ethereal vocals in a soundscape of pulsing beats and dreamy textures. It’s both vulnerable and transportive, the kind of song that lingers long after the final note fades.
The upcoming The Quiet That Hurts EP is designed as a full-body sonic journey – a collection that evolves from meditative introspection into euphoric release. Opening with Threads (featuring Maiah Manser), the record unfolds into Tragic, a high-octane emotional ride driven by Ukrainian artist Alina Pash, before flowing into the hypnotic rhythm of Dancing In The Leaves. The One (featuring Aiko) follows with a delicate balance of sparse instrumentation and frenetic drum and bass energy, before the EP closes with The Quiet That Hurts (featuring Mara Necia), a sprawling finale of lush ambience, narcotic beats and reflective lyricism.
The Quiet That Hurts – Tracklisting
Threads (feat. Maiah Manser)
Tragic (feat. Alina Pash)
Dancing In The Leaves (feat. Lucy Lucy)
The One (feat. Aiko)
The Quiet That Hurts (feat. Mara Necia)
Speaking about the creative process, What So Not – real name Christopher Emerson – revealed that much of the EP’s concept stemmed from a personal journey of introspection. “Partway through the creative process, I flew to China and stayed in a temple with Shaolin Monks, training Kung Fu. It was an intense physical and mental experience,” he said. “When I returned, I started thinking about where ideas come from – how we create something that’s truly new. That’s when I came up with the concept of the ‘Void’, the space you enter to draw ideas from the universe in their purest form.”
The EP’s title, The Quiet That Hurts, reflects this search for clarity in a noisy world. “We fill our lives with distractions to avoid confronting silence,” Emerson continues. “But it’s in that silence that the answers lie.”
What So Not’s career has been one of steady reinvention. Emerging from Sydney’s electronic underground in the early 2010s, the project began as a collaboration between Emerson and fellow producer Flume. Their debut EP 7 Dollar Bill (2011) put them on the map, followed by The Quack (2013) and breakout singles like Jaguar and Tell Me (with RL Grime). After Flume’s departure in 2015, Emerson continued the project solo, releasing Gemini and his acclaimed debut album Not All The Beautiful Things in 2018.
That record, featuring Skrillex, Toto and Daniel Johns, demonstrated What So Not’s range – effortlessly bridging bass, trap, rock and cinematic ambience. His follow-up album Anomaly (2022) pushed even further into genre-fluid territory, while this year’s Motions EP confirmed his reputation as a restless creative force. With over 1.3 billion streams globally, What So Not remains one of Australia’s most recognisable and internationally respected electronic artists.
Buunshin, meanwhile, has carved his own meteoric rise from the Dutch drum and bass scene. Born Ferry Mellegersis, he burst onto the scene with a #1 Beatport hit on his very first release and quickly became one of the most respected names in European electronic music.
Known for his boundary-breaking production and fearless experimentation, Buunshin’s sound merges the raw energy of bass music with melodic, emotive sensibility. His work has earned the support of Skrillex, Flume and Apashe, while the legendary NOISIA named him their spiritual successor upon their retirement.
Buunshin’s live performances – from Printworks in London to Rampage in Belgium – have made him one of the genre’s most dynamic exports, with a growing fan base in Australia and New Zealand.
Following the EP’s release, What So Not and Buunshin will take The Quiet That Hurts to the stage for one massive Australian show this summer. Fans can catch them live on Sunday 28 December at Perth’s Ice Cream Factory, where What So Not will launch his new 4MYSANITY project alongside Hermitude, Charlotte Plank and Buunshin himself.
Dancing In The Leaves is out now.
The Quiet That Hurts will be released on Friday 5 December.
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