Sofi Tukker make globe-trotting beats for international party people. Their moniker is a twist on the two membersâ names, Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, who met at Brown University in 2014 when they performed on the same bill at an art gallery. Soon, they were fusing club rhythms informed by Halpernâs background in West African drumming with Hawley-Weldâs Portuguese-language vocals. With encouragement from dance-pop duo The Knocks, whoâd heard Sofi Tukkerâs demos, they then moved to New York to pursue music in earnest.
Much of Sofi Tukkerâs appeal stems from the duoâs unusual blend of influences. Theyâre literate: The title of 2016âs Soft Animals EP is borrowed from the Pulitzer-winning poet Mary Oliver, and the lyrics of 2014âs âDrinkee,â their Grammy-nominated debut single, are adapted from the Brazilian poet Chacal. Theyâre also spiritual: The hypnotic pull of âDrinkeeâ stems from Halpernâs study of Kundalini yoga chants, while the songâs sidewinding guitars nod to Maghrebi desert blues. Since then, theyâve continued to explore the realm of dance music beyond borders, in terms of genre as much as geography, zigzagging between club beats, electro-funk, tropical house, trance, and further-flung styles like cumbia and Bolivian charango folk. But at the end of the day, itâs the duoâs effortless chorusesâand Hawley-Weldâs voice, weightless yet full of characterâthat make them such compelling ambassadors for the utopian union of dance and pop.