Album Review: Sofi Tukker – butter
2 min read
Duo Sofi Tukker made up of best friends Sophie Hawley and Tucker Halpern, made a splash on the EDM scene with their debut Ep Soft Animals. Learning how to edit their music after an accident left Hawley temporarily wheelchair-bound, Hawley produced the EP which brought the duo to the mainstream and earned them a Grammy nomination. Their most recent album butter comes as an accompaniment to their 2024 Album BREAD, with rerecordings of the album’s tracks and three new songs.
The majority of the tracks are defined as being a more relaxed live version of the previously dance-infused EDM tracks. Hawley has described the sound of butter as more organic and the use of traditional instruments in place of electronic instrumentals has a big influence on the sounds of the album. The opening number Hey Homie is slowed way down with raspy vocals and a new verse in Portuguese by featured artist Silva. It completely reworks the track making it melancholy and dreamlike. Throw Some Ass has a similar treatment, taking what was once a loud and powerful EDM track and completely transforming it. The backing becomes romantic and the lyrics take on a smooth sophisticated feel, it’s hard to believe listening to the version from BREAD that it is even the same track. This is continued in most of the reworked tracks creating a soft candlelit vibe opposite to the club style of BREAD.
The three new tracks fit perfectly into the album. Intensity is a soft track with whisper-style vocals from Hawley. It incorporates a samba beat giving the track the same Latin feeling that infuses the album. It features Liniker whose soft vocals combine perfectly with Hawleys creating a sweet and captivating duet, with both singing in Portuguese. Veneno is completely in Portuguese and the fast-paced lyrics are at odds with its smooth slow backing. Somehow it fits perfectly creating a contrast that only serves to highlight the backings and vocals. The last new track, Brazillian Soul, combines English and Portuguese in a sweet ode to Brazil as Hawley sings “Brasileira meu amor”. The track is subtly romantic and captivating, with an acoustic sound and bossa inflexions. As a closing track, it encapsulates the album, a slow soft-spoken love letter to Latin culture.
As an accompaniment to BUTTER bread could not be more different. Sofi Tukker moved far away from the EDM which made them famous and demonstrated their wide range. The reworking of old songs is interesting in the way it shows that there is an infinite potential in their tracks for evolution and innovation. BREAD and butter cannot be separated as they exist in dialogue with one another, but butter brings a powerful new sound that shows Sofi Tukker have much to give.
