German-American musical duo Sofi Tukker have been making waves in the world of electronic dance music over the past couple of years. The pair found real stardom when their single ‘Best Friend’ was used by giants the likes of iPhone X and FIFA 18 for commercials. 

Their latest EP, Dancing on the People, was released last month, following two previous Grammy nominations. Fans have fallen in love all over again — and what’s not to love about their funky, jazzy-sounding synth-heavy English-Portuguese language tracks that make it impossible not to bop? 

The reaction to ‘Purple Hat’ in particular has been astronomical, which, incidentally, is also their favourite of their songs at the moment. 

“We’ve been so excited about the reception of ‘Purple Hat’. You really never know if a song will be received well or not, but it’s been amazing on this tour — so many people have been showing up in purple hats. It’s pretty crazy,” Tucker said. 

For Sofi, it’s the perfect representation of who they are as a duo. “It’s just something about the the vibe of it. We’ve got guitar on it, we’ve got Tucker singing, me singing. It’s got that kind of dance groove that feels like the perfect storm of Sofi Tukker elements, all together in one song.” 

“It’s fun, y’know? It’s very us…” she says. 

Playing to bigger crowds over the past couple of years has played a part in influencing the writing of their latest EP over the past year and a half. 

“We wanted to make music for those times when we play in front of like 30,000 people- we wanted it to feel bigger and more epic. That was definitely a huge inspiration for us for this EP,” Tucker said. 

When it comes to live shows, the pair definitely enjoy the more intimate gigs as well. According to Sofi, their last Dublin gig in Whelans was one of the best shows they’ve ever had. “It was just wild,” she said. “Irish people just like to let loose, it was really fun.” 

Tukker chimes in, agreeing: “Every single person knew every single word to every song. It was such a small, intimate venue that the crowd was singing louder than the sound system. I could barely hear the music in my ears because the people were so loud. It was the coolest.” 

When they return in November, however, they’ll be playing to over a thousand people in Vicar Street. 

But they enjoy the challenge of making a bigger crowd feel close-knit. “We always try to make the bigger venues feel like smaller venues, to make people feel connected and intimate even when there’s more people,” Sofi says. 

Sofi Tukker try to extend their support to a different charity on each tour. Recently, they supported The Trevor Project, an organisation providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT+ young people under 25.

Speaking about their decision to support the organisation, Sofi says: “The LGBT+ community has been such a big part of what we do and the community that we’ve been creating. Being able to give back to communities beyond just playing the shows is really important to us.” 

“It’s a great connection that we have,” Tukker adds, noting that the LGBT+ community around the world has been especially supportive of their music. “So we try our best to be supportive back,” he says. “We are so excited to come, play, connect and have the best time.” 

“We’ve really been looking forward to coming back since that Whelan’s show.”

Dublin will kick off the Sofi Tukker European tour on November 20th.