Together, Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern are pop-oriented electronic music duo Sofi Tukker, and they’re finally ready to make a proper debut at KAOS after Hawley-Weld’s foot injury forced a June cancellation.
Even if you’re not a devotee, you might be familiar with the music. Apple has been using danceable singles “Drinkee,” “Best Friend” and “Batsh*t” for iPhone and Apple Watch commercials since 2015. You know those tracks when you hear them, so you know Sofi Tukker’s sound will be perfect for a huge SOAK Sundays party at the Palms. Hawley-Weld and Halpern frequently incorporate live vocals and instrumentation into their DJ sets, and they’re planning a few musical surprises for their first KAOS show.
“We really love dabbling in both [live and DJ sets],” Halpern says. “We just played Tomorrowland, and that was a DJ set with Sophie’s vocals and a little guitar. I love DJing more than anything, but I really love both, and it’s a really different experience for us to do the live show. We want to do both forever.”
Hawley-Weld and Halpern worked on the epic live show for this year’s Coachella festival for months and will likely use a few elements from that production at KAOS.
Sophie Tukker formed at Brown University, when Halpern wrapped up his college basketball career and began focusing on music. He started collaborating with Hawley-Weld, who had spent time teaching music and yoga in Brazil. Since she sings some songs in Portuguese, listeners haven’t always known that the act has New York roots.
Sofi Tukker draws from diverse influences, collaborating with different kinds of artists and never paying much attention to genre. “Every song is so different,” Hawley-Weld says. “We’re always giving each other feedback, and we’re usually in the same room together when we’re [writing]. It’s a constant conversation, but beyond that, there are no boundaries.”
A new Sofi Tukker EP, Dancing on the People, arrives September 20 on the Animal Talk label, and the duo’s latest music is inspired by the touring Animal Talk parties they’ve been throwing in recent years. “There are singles we’ve released this year on it, but there’s also a lot of new stuff inspired by that party vibe where there’s so many people dancing and sweating and just getting completely lost in it,” Hawley-Weld says.
“I think this [EP] probably takes it back a tiny bit to what you could say is our roots,” Halpern explains. “The next single, ‘Purple Hat,’ is this real fun, talky-rappy guitar track. It’s a little less epic than [recent releases] ‘Fantasy’ or ‘Swing,’ but it feels like a perfect balance of our songs from the past and taking it to a new place. We never say we have favorites, but I think this next one is probably our favorite song.”
SOAK SUNDAYS WITH SOFI TUKKER September 8, 10:30 p.m., $20-$30. KAOS, 702-953-7665.
