Venturing all the way from New York, this was Sofi Tukker’s first (and hopefully the first of many) Australian tour. Comprising of the wonderful Sophie Hawley-Weld and charismatic Tucker Halpern, Sofi Tukker enhance the electronic dance genre with their own unique aptitude. According to the duo, their music is created with the awareness of the ‘Holy Trinity’; movement, community and joy. With Hawley-Weld on vocals and lead guitar, Halpern on bass and both periodically playing the drum set fashioned out of hardcover books (nicknamed “the book tree”) their sound was truly delightful.
The night started strongly with supporting artists DJ MIMI and London Topaz. Mimi’s DJ set was a fantastic repertoire of dance hits that provided the crowd with the memento to start dancing. London Topaz continued this strong musical start, successfully preparing the audience for Sofi Tukker’s set.
Hawley and Halpern entered the stage with a wonderful air that immediately spread throughout the packed venue. This strong quality showmanship was further heightened with their genuine happiness to be performing. According to Halpern, they had no clue that they would attract any audience at all, let alone the large one that was attending. They connected with the audience through small interactions as well as encouraging audience participation. For their song Awoo, Hawley and Halpern taught the audience the arm and hand movements that accompanied the tune.
Their high quality showmanship was equally matched with strong vocals, lyrics and beats. It is perfectly clear why the two earned a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Dance Recording’ for their song Drinkee. While it’s an incredibly strong song, it was not a stand out song amongst a set of mediocre tracks. Instead, they performed a set of equally great dance songs of matching calibre. The set included new tracks yet to be released and also songs from their EP Soft Animals.
What was incredibly fascinating was that their signature book tree was not a quirky gimmick. While it was positioned in the middle of the stage, Hawley and Halpern’s own energy was the focus of the performance. Instead, they each would bang on the books throughout as if it were a regular electronic drum set, providing an additional, unique sound to their set.
By Rose Maurice
Highlight: The genuine inspiring energy that both members of Sofi Tukker expelled.
Lowlight: I’m not best friends with either members of Sofi Tukker.
Crowd Favourite: Awoo.
