The New York-based house music duo of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, more widely known as Sofi Tukker, just dropped their EP, Dancing On The People, a sonic celebration of self-expression and liberation. After earning Grammy nominations for their debut album, selling out venues across the world, and performing The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the dynamic pair is back with a new addition to their musical portfolio. “We started this body of work a year and a half ago, after a really inspiring weekend on the beach in the Dominican Republic,” the duo explained in a statement. “We were so inspired by the environment and by the people we met and we were inspired to translate that feeling and make music for our live show.” The tracks certainly showcase their inclusive, global perspective as each beat drop brings the insanity of their concert experiences to life. 

Sofi Tukker brought us behind-the-scenes in the creation of their EP with a visual diary that encapsulates the meaning of each song. Take a look at what the pair had to share about their experience in their own words below: 

“Like This”

This song is like the snack at the end of the EP for comic relief. It really shows our back and forth relationship and hopefully shows how much fun we have together, just like we do when we’re performing / every day of our lives. (photo taken at the surf lodge)

“Fantasy”

This is one of our favorites to perform live. During the live show, everybody puts up their hands at sways back and forth. There’s nothing like looking out and seeing people all moving together like that. These photos were taken of us right before that moment during our show in Tokyo last month.

“Swing”

This song is in Portuguese and is a collaboration with the Brazilian poet and our long-time friend and collaborator, Chacal. We have a special relationship with Brazil. Sophie gets to speak Portuguese and we both feel so at home there. This is a picture of us there last year, trying to play the pandeiro :P.

“Playa Grande”

We wrote this song inspired by the ocean and by dancing on the beach so it’s only suitable that we filmed the video dancing on the beach, too. We got to work in collaboration with one of our favorite bands, Bomba Estereo and got to travel to Costeño Beach where they live in Colombia to shoot the video and spend quality time together doing the most fun things, like riding these horses and making a bonfire.

“Ringless”

This song feels like the most subdued sexy track on the EP. It feels like these silky red dresses: first dress by Bronx and Banco backstage at their NYFW show and the other, a custom dress made by Brazilian designer Rober Dognani.

“Purple Hat”

We made this song inspired by our Animal Talk parties. They are the craziest sweatiest sold out animalistic experiences, literally people dancing on top of people. This is a photo behind the booth of one of our Animal Talk parties we threw in Miami earlier this year with our friends Alisa Ueno, Henri, and LP Giobbi, among others. Also included a picture of Tuck’s parent’s dog with a Purple Hat on because… well. Everyone and every animal looks good in these purple hats.