Best of Budapest & Hungary

Sofi Tukker, electro-pop duo by Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern are full of energy and play. The duo have already rocked audiences in 2022, and now they return to Budapest Park on 15 July with one of last year's most danceable albums, Bread, presented by Live Nation.

    The Grammy-nominated duo met at Brown University: Tucker used to play basketball, but an illness forced him to quit and start DJing; Sophie had just returned from Rio de Janeiro and was part of a jazz trio playing original bossa nova songs. Tucker finally succeeded in convincing Sophie to move to New York, giving their music careers a chance, and a year later they released their debut single Drinkee, which, along with their debut album, was nominated for a Grammy. Instant success. Their songs have been featured in several commercials (Apple, Peloton, Smartwater) and they've also produced a number of cool collaborations and remixes. After their 2018 debut album Treehouse and 2022's WET TENNIS, 2024 saw the duo's next big release, Bread, their most daring and innovative album to date. Two years in the making, the album is a danceable, upbeat sonic canon. It's a light-hearted yet profound wake-up call to throw away your fears and eat life to the fullest, and wash it down with a sip of optimism. The music is a mix of Brazilian funk, drum and bass, bossa nova, pop, Portuguese poetry and of course, fun.

    "Bread is pure energy," says Sophie of the band's most ambitious project to date. That's exactly what we want to achieve with our music, so that when you put the album on, it gives you energy." Tucker adds that when they were writing the song Bread, although they didn't know it would be the title track and the album's thesis, it became clearer to them as they talked that they wanted to send a message to the world that although it can be dark at times, it's also a very fun place to be. After all, bread has always been a symbol of abundance, energy, sensuality and community, and also an acronym for Really Energetic And Dance.

    "Bread is something that people around the world use to connect and gather," adds Sophie. It's clear that Sophie and Tucker embodied this sense of togetherness in the making of the album. With guest appearances from artists such as Channel Tres, MC Bola and Kah-Lo, and collaborations with producers Richard Beynon and Marcio Arantes, the band worked on the album all over the world, but recorded the majority of it in Brazil, which has always been a big influence in the world of Sofi Tukker.  "I'm proud of the country for playing such a big role in our music. Brazil is like being part of the band," says Tucker. Sophie is fluent in Portuguese, but the extended time spent there during the making of the album deepened her connection with the place and its poetry. Their old friend and collaborator, the Brazilian poet Chacal, is got his own creative stamp on the album, having written poems specifically for the band on the themes they discuss on Bread, such as the song Cafuné, Sophie's favourite Portuguese word, which has no direct translation into English.

    The album's decadent cover shows Sophie wearing a custom-made dress made entirely of bread in front of a prominent building in Rio, surrounded by cheerful Brazilian dancers, welcoming the listener to the beautiful, funny and dance-inducing world of Bread.

    This light-hearted yet very thoughtful world is characteristic of Sofi Tukker, and it's no wonder that alongside their instant musical success, they have also influenced the world of fashion and championed many worthy causes. While Sofi Tukker is creating new worlds, they are also actively involved in them. Sofi Tukker has all the elements of yin and yang, as well as organic and electronic. The party and the destination. The built world and the natural world. Playfulness and sophistication. Sophie and Tucker. Step into their unique world on 15th July in Budapest Park!