Treasure Island Music Festival is less than a couple of weeks away so we’ve been checking out the line up beforehand and getting amped for the weekend. One of the bands that immediately caught our attention is a New York-based duo called SOFI TUKKER. The musical duo is made up of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern who released their EP, Soft Animals, in early July 2016. We got a chance to chat with them before the Treasure Island Music Festival about their EP and what it was like touring with M83.
TYF: The quick popularity that SOFI TUKKER has received is quite impressive. With tracks such as “Drinkee” receiving global success, what was that experience like watching your music get quickly embraced by fans?
SOFI TUKKER: It’s been really exciting and surprising! We had no idea what to expect. when making it we weren’t thinking about how it might be received. We feel grateful and are energized to continue creating!
TYF: For ones who haven’t listened to your music before, how would you describe it?
SOFI TUKKER: It’s so hard for us to describe it! We come from such different influences and it’s pretty unclear to us — and it seems to other people too — where exactly it lies in the world of genres.
TYF: Where does the inspiration for your music come from?
SOFI TUKKER: From the clubs, from watching people move, from all over the place — whatever makes us feel alive and moving! Our inspirations can come from absolutely anywhere!
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TYF: What was the recording process like for your EP, Soft Animals?
SOFI TUKKER: We were really figuring out our process during that EP. It was the first collection of songs we had ever done together. We did everything completely collaboratively and learned so much about ourselves along the way.
TYF: Soft Animals is quite a unique title for an album. How did you guys come up with it?
SOFI TUKKER: Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”: You don’t have to be good… you don’t have to walk on your knees through the desert repenting… you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. It has become a sort of mantra for us: asking ourselves not “is this good?” – because “goodness” doesn’t feel like a really useful metric – but rather, how does it make the soft animals of our bodies feel?
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TYF: You guys have toured with M83, what was that experience like?
SOFI TUKKER: Tight :) We love them so much–as artists and people. We feel lucky to have been able to learn from them!
TYF: What are some of your pre-concert rituals before going on stage?
SOFI TUKKER: Hahaha they’re pretty ridiculous, to be honest. Soph has recently been breathing through a straw while doing various strange looking exercises and stretches. Tuck always throws on house music right before we go on. The rest, though, we have to keep secret :)
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TYF: What was your reaction like when you found out you were a part of the Treasure Island Music Festival lineup?
SOFI TUKKER: HYPE.
TYF: Lastly, what are you most looking forward to at the Treasure Island Music Festival (besides performing, of course)?
SOFI TUKKER: Hmmm probably seeing Christine and the Queens (again) :) Very excited for it all!
You can catch SOFI TUKKER at the Treasure Island Music Festival. For more information, click here.
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