Hi guys! Vanessa here with KCR College Radio and right now I’m with…

Tucker: Tukker!

Sophie: And Sofi of Sofi Tukker!

We’re currently at Hard Summer Festival in Los Angeles, but how would you describe how your summer is going with just one word?

Tucker: Hard? Like a good hard. 

Sophie: Soft. 

I personally would say brat, cause I am indeed having a brat summer. 

Tucker: You know what, brat summer is the only answer. 

Sophie: Wait, I change my answer – bread. 

BREAD!! Speaking of, your album Bread is set to drop August 23rd. Are we going to see some crumbs of the project sprinkled into your set today? 

Tucker: Oh yeah. We got some unreleased ones, we have some old ones, we have some other ones. It’s going to be fun. 

While making the album, is there a specific song that comes to mind that took longer to master in comparison to the rest of the tracks? 

Sophie: There’s actually some stuff on there we’ve been sitting on for YEARS. Like, we would keep revisiting it and just knew it wasn’t at its fullest potential yet. Everytime we would re-listen, we would just keep telling ourselves that something didn’t feel right. It just didn’t feel ready yet. It’s a process of trying again, and again. 

How do you know when a song is ready?

Sophie: You just know. It’s a feeling. 

Tucker: Honestly, we didn’t know for a bit. 

Sophie: Not even!!!

Tucker: Like we knew it was special, but as time went on, it just continued to grow on us. And then, EVENTUALLY, we knew. 

Sophie: It’s just like love. When you know, you know. 

Just like love – how beautiful. How does this project differ from the rest of your discography?

Tucker: It’s just better. We’ve been traveling and spent a lot of time just immersing ourselves in different sounds and cultures – like Brazil. We’ve just been inspired by so many things going into this project, and you can really hear it. We keep trying to dig deeper, and deeper, to become better. We’re constantly pushing ourselves. 

From an artist perspective, and just being a human in general, if you aren’t pushing yourself, then you aren’t growing. It’s all about expanding and wanting to explore the unknowns. 

Tucker: If you aren’t growing alongside your art, then you’re doing it wrong. 

To switch gears a little bit, jumping into your dynamic duo of what is Sofi Tukker, I hear you guys met at an art gallery while studying at Brown University. I’m curious, what was that first session like working together, and when did you guys realize something could come out of it? 

Sophie: We actually just got a picture of that today. Our friends texted us and were like, “Oh my god we just found this.” It was shocking to look at, because honestly at the time, I feel like I didn’t make much out of it. I was like “Oh, this is cool – there’s this guy who’s here that pulled out a drum beat.” I was playing guitar and would just play faster to match the drums. And, that was kind of it. The next day, we made some music together, but it wasn’t like the moment that I knew. That wouldn’t be for years to come. It’s so crazy.

Tucker: It was as casual as this moment right now. You never know. You never really know the moments that end up changing the course of your life until you look back. You don’t wake up one day and be like “I’m going to change the course of my life today.” And also, we were lucky. She got asked to play at this art gallery, and I was playing the afterparty and ended up going early. Good thing I’m a punctual person. 

It’s a blessing in disguise – you guys were bound to meet. Here we are years later, you guys are traveling the world together sharing your art, culture, and music. You guys are also basically booked for the rest of the year! 

Tucker: Yeah?

Sophie: Wait actually? 

Yeah! You guys are booked and busy.

Tucker: For years!

How do you guys find the comfort of home when you’re away from home?

Tucker: I mean, I try to build it in as many places as possible. 

Sophie: By buying houses?

Tucker: Yeah. I really like having my own bed, and if you can have your own bed in multiple places that you play a lot of shows, you can be in your own bed more often. 

Just buy a house, and you’re set. 

Sophie: Simple, and relatable, advice.

Tucker: I didn’t say…I’m just saying…It’s not about buying houses, it’s about finding – Honestly, the real answer is that we travel with a tour group like our tour manager and our content person, and we’re all so close. It feels like we’re with family all the time, so it’s like we’re at camp all the time. 

Sophie: I feel like that’s the perfect answer.

That’s as real as it can get. Also, Sofi, I have to ask. You chipped your tooth yesterday?

Sophie: I DID, BUT LOOK!! It’s fixed!

How did you schedule a time already?

Sophie: Literally our tour manager’s sister is a dentist in LA, so she opened up on a Sunday. I literally just came from the dentist, which is why I didn’t have time to do my hair. But, I did get my teeth done. 

Well, it looks amazing. 

Sophie: There’s like a giant chip in my front tooth.

Tucker: It’s not GIANT. 

Sophie: I mean it was, like, you know when you can feel it with your tongue? 

Have you had braces? It’s like that feeling. I mean I’ve never chipped a tooth, but I can only imagine. 

Sophie: It was so weird! I was singing, and I bent over to touch my toes, and then I was like – I don’t know. I was just very uncoordinated, and I stood up and didn’t know where I was in time and space. The microphone just chipped my tooth. It was so weird. 

Did you realize, in that moment, that something was off?

Sophie: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And then, for like three songs, I was just like touching it with my tongue. 

You kinda handled it like a champ then. You’re better than me for real. I would’ve just ran off stage like I can’t do this – I’m done. 

Sophie: I was dramatic, but now it’s fixed. 

You guys have your set today coming up within the hour. What do you guys normally do to mentally prepare for a show?

Sophie: It depends on the show, but for this one…what do we do to mentally prepare?

Tucker: *takes microphone* So, we will discuss the set a little bit, then go into rekordbox, and I’ll envision something like “Okay we’re playing at Hard, what is the crowd like here? What’s the vibe?” We know we’ll be playing our songs, we brought our dancers, and everyone warms up. But, for the few songs that aren’t Sofi Tukker songs, what type of vibe do we want to drop in? We’ll do a lot of that, just like reading the crowd and feeling the vibe when we’re up there. But, it’s good to feel a little prepared just going up, so you feel comfortable.