Now that our feet are firmly in the new year, we take a look back at 2017’s greatest songs.
Who?
Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern. (See what they did there?). Just a couple of friends from New York currently causing a fuss with their ‘jungle-pop’.
Jungle-pop, you say…
Or what your average person might call dance-influenced, Portuguese-infused pop with tropical vibes. Oh, and their songs are ridiculously catchy – they’ve got a knack for crafting nagging hooks that you think have finally left your head, only for them to crawl back in when you’re least expecting it.
Where does the Portuguese part come in?
Sometimes Sophie sings in Portuguese – she studied the language at Brown University, where the pair met. Don’t worry if you don’t speak the linguagem, though: the focus on tracks such as housey ‘Drinkee’ isn’t so much on the words, as on the loose, percussive sounds. It does sound pretty great, though.
Gotcha. So what’s their story?
They met at a college event in their final year, where Sophie was playing bossa nova and Tucker was DJing. He asked if he could remix one of her songs and, next thing you know, they’re Grammy nominees (for ‘Drinkee’ in 2017) and soundtracking last year’s iPhone X advert with their recent single ‘Best Friend’. Not bad going, if you ask us.
Huh. So, they’re going to be a big deal?
Looks like it. They’ve already been building up quite a rep in the US, thanks to late-night TV appearances and their infectious live shows. If you like to move, you’ll love their gigs, where the emphasis is on fun and dancing – to the point where even the band bring out their own synchronised dance routines (when the songs allow). Trust us, you’ll be joining in the fun in no time.
