
Sofi Tukker
Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
SOFI TUKKER On Crafting Their "Ideal" Coachella Set, Giving Hugs To Maggie Rogers & More
Whether they're performing at the 61st GRAMMYs Premiere Ceremony or about to do their second-ever Coachella set, Los Angeles (by way of New York City) GRAMMY-nominated electro-pop duo SOFI TUKKER always seem to be having a great time. Along with their 2018 debut LP, Treehouse, their funky, colorful fashion sense and otherworldly music videos only add to their infectious, dance party-ready style.
Below, Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern catch up with the Recording Academy from on the ground at Coachella 2019, where they're preparing to play a Sunday set.
How are you feeling about tomorrow's set?
Sophie Hawley-Weld: We've been preparing for this for a long, long time. So we've been dreaming up our ideal live show, and we've finally created it and we're gonna be debuting it tomorrow. It's a really big moment for us.
Tucker Halpern: I'm so excited. We've been really dreaming of this show for three years since we started and this is gonna be the first time.
Your first Coachella set was two years ago, in 2017. Looking back, to what extent did you feel it was a pivotal day in your career?
Hawley-Weld: I mean, when we were the first time, we literally thought five people were gonna be [watching]. We were playing at 3pm on Sunday. It was hot that day, too. It was one of our first festivals ever. [But] it went incredibly and there were tons of people there early, dancing so hard, and I think for us that was a moment of "Wow." We really love doing festivals and kind of learnt how to do a festival set, which is different than a club show. So, that was a first. It's just really exciting to come back to a place so good to us.
Are there any other artists that you guys are excited to check out this weekend?
Halpern: Well in couple o' hours we're going to see our friend Maggie Rogers, which is gonna be really fun. Just give her some hugs. What else?
Hawley-Weld: [Her set] last night was incredible, personally it really blew my mind.
Halpern: We're gonna try to see Billie [Eilish] but I think so is the whole world so that might be hard. But yeah, it's gonna be good, I'm really not gonna go crazy tonight or anything cause I'm so excited for tomorrow. I wanna be extra fresh cause we're gonna do a lot of hectic running around.
Your fashion is always fun and on point; do you collaborate with designers?
Hawley-Weld: We like to have fun and play, but yeah, I mean we have some good relationships with a bunch of designers, a lot of really fun designers.
Halpern: We like to be colorful.
Did you guys dress this way when you lived in New York?
Halpern: We definitely didn't fit in, in the all-black scene.
Hawley-Weld: I had no idea how to dress for winter, I suck at winter so much.
Halpern: I used to wear all black, right when we moved to New York I was an all-black-wearing DJ. Things have changed.
Have you seen any good fashion inspo around the fest?
Halpern: I haven't seen any "no" moments. It's really like anything's a "yes" moment here. There's no way I'm gonna see someone and be like, "Do less." A lot of exposed butts, like thongs with sheer over them and stuff. I think that's the look right now, I might do it tomorrow.
Hawley-Weld: The livestream is just gonna be Tucker's butt.
Speaking of style and aesthetic, your "Fantasy" video is so fun and playful. Can you elaborate on the vision behind that video?
Hawley-Weld: Well, I save Tucker.
Halpern: Yeah, she saves me a lot. Bit of a feminist hero situation going on. I drowned a couple times, in real life. It was a real rapids, that I was frolicking in. It was on another planet, similar, like near Pandora, the "Avatar" planet. Not there, but close, in that atmosphere.
Hawley-Weld: You'd have to travel a long time to get there. We love it. I mean, we love that song and we're so excited that we were able to bring our vision to life, because it really like when we were talking about it, it was 'How can we make the most fantastical, adventure, "Avatar" world.
You guys performed at the 61st GRAMMYs premiere ceremony last Feb, and you were nominated for the second time. What was going through your minds that day?
Hawley-Weld: Honestly for me it was really special because our families came and they were our dates and our parents haven't really spent much time together and being able to be with both of our families and have an excuse to celebrate and be together. My family lives really far away, so it was just really, really special for them all to be together and spend time together.
What's next for SOFI TUKKER?
Hawley-Weld: What's up next? So much, I mean we've been filming music videos and making music for a while and we're eager to finally be able to share it. We have a whole story arc that we're waiting to tell, and it's gonna be just, coming out slowly but surely over the next couple months. A whole new world, if you will.