WET TENNIS

In 2018, NYC-via-Florida EDM-pop eclecticists Sofi Tukker—the duo of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern—released their debut LP, Treehouse, introducing their unique approach to feel-good jungle-pop, bossa nova...hell, world music in general—fitting for the club and the outdoor festival alike. Their second LP, WET TENNIS, is largely the product of their regular live streams during the COVID-19 pandemic, a release that continues their idiosyncratic energy. In one moment, they’re sampling Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” (“Summer in New York”) and finding inspiration in “Chic and *NSYNC”, according to Halpern (“Wet Tennis”); in another, they’re working with Turkish DJ Mahmut Orhan (“Forgive Me”) and Malian duo Amadou & Mariam (“Mon Cheri”) on a collection of borderless music. “We covered a lot more genres on this album,” Hawley-Weld tells Apple Music. “And we had to strike the balance between being honest about what we were experiencing and being optimistic. If there’s an emotional or a negative song, it’s always followed by a really hopeful one.” The message is found in the album title as well. It’s a celebration of the sport—how the duo work as a team, as if hitting a ball back and forth—a challenge of the traditional image to be more inclusive, “wet and sexy and colourful,” she says. It’s also an acronym: When Everyone Tries To Evolve, Nothing Negative Is Safe. “That’s basically the thesis statement,” Halpern says. “Which is when everyone intentionally decides to grow and evolve around any obstacles and continue to stay positive, that the negativity is not safe. You can move through it, always.” Below, Sofi Tukker walk through WET TENNIS, track by track. “Kakee” Sophie Hawley-Weld: “This song is an ode to my favourite fruit, which is the persimmon. I was obsessing over this fruit, and I hit up the Brazilian poet that we’ve worked with since the very beginning of the band. His name is Chacal. He lives in Rio, and I texted him, ‘Chacal, we really need to write a p