00:00We really believe that 2 plus 2 equals 6 with us.
00:03I think we both know that.
00:05There's something in my eye, I'm not crying, I swear.
00:09Hey, I'm Tucker.
00:09And I'm Sophie.
00:10And we're Sophie Tucker.
00:11And you're watching Billboard News.
00:15We are here with Sophie Tucker.
00:17Guys, welcome to the studio.
00:19Thank you for coming in.
00:21I'm really excited about your new album.
00:23I think it's fantastic.
00:24I think it's fun, and it's playful, and it's sexy,
00:26and it's sophisticated, and it's many things.
00:30And I'm wondering, when you guys knew
00:32that it was time to get back into the studio
00:34after the last one that came out in 2022?
00:36The truth is, we never stop going into the studio.
00:39So we're just always making things.
00:41Like, for instance, Woof, which is one of the songs on Bread.
00:48We made, before we even finished the last album, What Tennis?
00:53And we just couldn't figure out, couldn't figure out, couldn't figure out.
00:56It had so many different versions of the song.
00:59And then finally we got it right for this album.
01:01We're kind of always in the studio, always making things.
01:03And then once we feel like the songs are telling a story,
01:08or the songs are like, oh wait, there's something cohesive here
01:11that feels like they need to belong together,
01:13then we make the album.
01:15What story do you feel like you landed on,
01:17and what story does this album tell?
01:19I think this album tells, like, a return to who we are when we started.
01:28I had just finished playing basketball.
01:30We were in college.
01:32Sophie was a jazz musician playing mostly Brazilian music.
01:37I was into house music, playing house parties.
01:40She brought everything from her world,
01:42and I brought everything from my world.
01:44And we just kind of mashed them together.
01:47And I think we went into that harder and deeper than we've ever done before.
01:52There was a song, Perfect Someone,
01:55that basically Tucker was listening to like a 1960s jazz song.
01:59And he brought it into the studio and he was like,
02:01I think we have to make something with this.
02:03Can you write a melody kind of in this?
02:05The guitar was doing this really cool melody.
02:07Could you kind of write lyrics to match it?
02:10We ended up finishing the song and we just felt like,
02:13whoa, the album, the next album we do,
02:17this is the blueprint for it.
02:19There's something about this song that just is the album.
02:25You could see the aesthetic listening to it.
02:30You could feel it.
02:32This is what we saw.
02:34We were like, oh, suddenly it all makes sense.
02:36And then everything else that came after it
02:38kind of went around Perfect Someone.
02:40You had a vision.
02:42The other thing is that we actually spent three months in Brazil last year.
02:45And Brazil has been an inspiration since the beginning of the band.
02:48But this time actually being in Brazil,
02:50and this time Tucker really getting it
02:54and spending a lot of time there,
02:56I think it made us feel like we returned to our roots very literally.
03:00I feel like Brazil's always kind of been the third member of this group in a way.
03:04I'm wondering what you getting Brazil looked like
03:07and then how it informed what you were making down there.
03:09Tucker got really into Bailey Funk music,
03:12which was a totally new genre for me
03:14and I didn't even know very much about it.
03:16That's why you had to leave.
03:18Yeah, because I was like, I don't know.
03:20She brings me to Brazil and I fall in love with the one genre
03:24that I didn't even like.
03:26That's how we were.
03:28I've had to change it apart.
03:30When did Bread become sort of the thesis statement, if you will?
03:34Well, it started with the song Bread.
03:36We wrote the song and we were like,
03:38this is just, first of all, who doesn't love bread?
03:40You know, we were looking at the track list
03:42and we were just like, every time we saw that song title,
03:44we just were happy.
03:46And the song was actually written about a book called The Purity Myth.
03:51I don't know if you're familiar with that book.
03:53Basically, it's about how this idea of virginity and purity
03:57is so harmful to women.
03:59And the less we have experienced pleasure,
04:04actually, the more value we have.
04:06It's just not okay.
04:08Right.
04:09Anyway, so we wrote the song Bread
04:11about just owning your appetite sexually for food.
04:16And it's also a symbol for abundance
04:20and sort of owning that as a woman as well.
04:23Get off, you get out.
04:25I eat bread.
04:27We also don't want to be preachy
04:29when we're saying things that we really want to say.
04:32We also want it to feel fun and light
04:34because that's what people often go to our music for.
04:36Yeah.
04:37But there is sort of a lot of meaning there.
04:40And we had a more serious title,
04:42working title for a long time.
04:44And it felt like we were missing...
04:46Fun.
04:47The fun in it.
04:49And for us, it's so important to,
04:51even if we elevate and want to go
04:53make a more sophisticated album,
04:55we don't want to take ourselves too seriously.
04:57And that's something we've always sort of had
05:00as an important part of, I think, our personalities
05:04and just how we work as a group.
05:07Like this, for example,
05:09we really wanted to make an incredibly beautiful piece of art.
05:13And we got to work with a photographer named Rob Woodcock
05:16who makes amazing movement photography with dancers.
05:22But we were like,
05:24how can we make that weird and fun still
05:27with elevating it and making it beautiful in fashion
05:30and elegant?
05:32And so that was where we were like,
05:34OK, well, if she's wearing a bunch of bread,
05:36it'll at first just look beautiful
05:38and then you'll be like, wait, what the hell is going on?
05:40The collaborators on this album,
05:42a small but mighty crew,
05:44MC Bola, am I getting that right?
05:46Channel Trace and Kahlo.
05:49How did you land on these three powerhouses in their own right?
05:53It really depended on the song,
05:55but we wrote the song Wolf with Kahlo
05:57like three years ago.
05:59I think it might have been five years ago.
06:01Five years ago?
06:02It was before the pandemic.
06:04The first version of that song was before the pandemic.
06:07Sorry to say.
06:08Wow.
06:09This album has been five years in the making.
06:11Wow.
06:12And then Channel Trace,
06:13we were watching his performance
06:15at what festival was it?
06:17Electric Forest.
06:19He was at Electric Forest.
06:21And we were just blown away.
06:23I mean, his performance was so great.
06:25He's the all-time coolest.
06:26There's no one cooler than that guy.
06:28The coolest dude of all time.
06:29Anyway, then he watched our show
06:31and we just hung out afterwards
06:33and we were in the green room
06:34and we were just loving each other.
06:37We were just like, your show was so great.
06:39And he was like, your show was so great.
06:40We just love each other so much.
06:42There's a lot of similarities
06:43between his show and our show
06:45because he performs dance music live.
06:48There's dancers, there's choreo.
06:50Sure.
06:51There's not that many of us.
06:52That's so true.
06:53There's a performance with it
06:54and there really aren't that many of us.
06:56And then basically, we were in Rio.
06:58I was with my Portuguese professor from college
07:01and I was lying in her lap
07:03and she was doing cafuné in my hair.
07:05And cafuné is just,
07:06it's one of those words in Portuguese
07:07that can't be translated to any other language.
07:10And it just means lovingly,
07:12putting your fingers through somebody's hair.
07:15And so I was with her doing that
07:17and I was also with this poet, Chacal,
07:19who we've been working with
07:20since we started the band.
07:22And I was like,
07:23cafuné is my favorite word
07:24in the Portuguese language.
07:25And he was like, done.
07:26We're writing a song.
07:27And so he wrote the poem
07:28and then we recorded it.
07:30It was really quick.
07:31And we were like,
07:32something is missing about this song.
07:34And so we just sent it to Channel Trace.
07:36And he sent it back almost immediately.
07:39It was just one of those things
07:40that happen really quickly.
07:41And it's perfect.
07:43Because in the song,
07:44he's just,
07:45he's asking me like,
07:46wait, how do you pronounce that again?
07:47Like, what's that word again?
07:48He's just like defining the word.
07:50The whole song.
07:51And it's one of my favorites.
07:53It's so fun.
07:54Okay, I feel like there's one more person
07:55I need to mention right now
07:56in terms of collaborators
07:57because the Heidi Klum cameo in the video
08:00is epic.
08:01And it looks like you guys
08:02were having so much fun.
08:06Yeah.
08:11How did she get in the mix?
08:13We met her at Fashion Week in Paris.
08:17And we bonded
08:18because I was born in Germany.
08:20And so we started speaking German.
08:23Turns out she'd already been
08:24to some of our shows.
08:25She started just taking videos
08:28of herself dancing to our music
08:30and tagging us.
08:31And we were like,
08:32wow, Heidi is the nicest person ever.
08:34This is crazy.
08:35She's just contagious.
08:37She's so fun.
08:38We were like,
08:39that would be the best video ever.
08:40Why isn't that our music video?
08:41So we were like,
08:42hey, would you do a music video with us
08:44where you just dance around
08:45because we just want to watch this?
08:46Sure.
08:47And she was like,
08:48yeah, but only if you're in it too.
08:49And so we were like,
08:50okay, let's do it.
08:51But also I think,
08:52you know,
08:53there's just not that many examples
08:54of older women
08:55who are totally owning their sexuality.
08:58Sure.
08:59And I think for me,
09:00just being around that,
09:01I'm just like,
09:02this is really heartwarming
09:03and awesome
09:04because I don't want to,
09:05you know,
09:06feel like my sexuality will decline
09:08when I'm getting older.
09:09Absolutely.
09:10And she proves that
09:11that doesn't have to happen.
09:12So the Hey Homie video.
09:19The song is so sweet,
09:20but I feel like the video
09:21really brought the whole thing
09:22to another level
09:23because it's really about
09:24your long-term relationship
09:26as friends
09:27and it seems like
09:28a tremendous amount
09:29of affection for each other.
09:30You guys have been doing this
09:31for 10 years now.
09:33The song's not written
09:34about our relationship.
09:35Yeah.
09:36It was written about
09:37like separate
09:38personal relationships
09:39we both had
09:40at the same time
09:41of making the song
09:42that we were kind of
09:43pulling from.
09:44And we kept looking
09:45at the footage
09:46and just being like,
09:47I wonder if we should
09:48just make this about us.
09:49And then we'd be like,
09:50no,
09:51people are going to
09:52misinterpret that
09:53and take it the wrong way.
09:54And we're like,
09:55but who cares,
09:56you know?
09:57Sure.
09:58And when we made it
09:59about our relationship
10:00and, you know,
10:01we brought and found footage
10:02over the last 10 years
10:03into the video,
10:04it just felt so right.
10:05What do you admire
10:06most about each other?
10:11I'm going to make
10:12Chakra go first.
10:14I love that we say
10:15all these nice things
10:16about each other
10:17and then get so
10:18hiccuped on this question.
10:20I know.
10:21It looks so bad.
10:23I would say probably
10:25his sense of
10:27community.
10:28Like, he's really good
10:29at bringing everybody
10:31together and just
10:32making sure
10:33that everyone feels
10:34invited
10:35and that there's
10:37a crew and a vibe.
10:39I love being around people.
10:41It's so fun.
10:42It energizes us.
10:43It inspires us.
10:44We're lucky
10:45we have amazing
10:46crew around us.
10:48And it's ever-growing.
10:49Sure.
10:50So what do you admire
10:51about me?
10:52Exactly!
10:53I was changing,
10:54I was like,
10:55maybe they'll forget
10:56the question,
10:57maybe they'll forget
10:58the question.
10:59Okay.
11:00I admire many
11:01things about Sophie.
11:03She just does everything
11:04she possibly can
11:05to be her best self.
11:07Like, physically,
11:08she's waking up
11:09to get a workout in.
11:11She's sober.
11:13She's, you know,
11:14making sure she's
11:15taking care of her
11:16mental health.
11:17Like, she's doing
11:18everything she can
11:19to be
11:20the peak,
11:21you know,
11:22execution.
11:23Sure.
11:24And I think,
11:25one, being in a group
11:26with someone like that
11:27is
11:28is best case scenario.
11:30Not only because
11:31it rubs off on me,
11:32but also because
11:34it's a good person
11:35you can trust.
11:36They're gonna,
11:37you know,
11:38be there and
11:39show up and
11:40yeah,
11:41I think that's a good one.
11:42I think that's a really nice one.
11:43Great one.
11:44How do you feel?
11:45I feel great.
11:46Great answer.
11:49I'm curious about
11:50how you see
11:51this continuing to evolve.
11:53We have goals
11:54and we had goals
11:55and then we surpassed
11:56some of those
11:57and then we,
11:58you just keep making
11:59new ones and I think
12:00we're the type of people
12:01that
12:02we're kind of
12:03workaholics
12:04and we'll keep
12:05making new goals
12:06so that it's
12:07always kind of feeling
12:08like we're
12:09going somewhere.
12:10And I like
12:11living that way,
12:12personally.
12:13Yeah, I kind of hate
12:14the word workaholic
12:15just because it has
12:16such a negative
12:17connotation,
12:18but the truth is,
12:19like, we just love
12:20what we do so much.
12:21And I would say
12:22the most important goal
12:23to me is
12:24the, you know,
12:25loving the process.
12:26I'm so excited
12:27to do what we do.
12:28Now that the album
12:29is done,
12:30what does it look like?
12:31What kind of show
12:32are you putting together?
12:33And yeah,
12:34how will it be
12:35different from
12:36the last one?
12:37We haven't done
12:38our live show
12:39in about two years.
12:41So we're
12:42really excited
12:43to bring that back.
12:44We've been doing
12:45mostly DJ sets
12:46and like
12:47festival show,
12:48DJ shows
12:49in our residency
12:50in Las Vegas.
12:51So when we made
12:52our last album,
12:53Wet Tennis,
12:54it was during COVID
12:55and we made a lot
12:56of the songs
12:57without performing in mind
12:58because we didn't even know
12:59if we'd be able
13:00to perform them
13:01when we were making them.
13:02And this one
13:03we made while
13:04we were touring again.
13:05So it was more
13:06like
13:07songs we'd get
13:08really excited
13:09to be playing
13:10every night
13:11and like
13:12songs that we feel like
13:13will unify
13:14the crowd
13:15and the vibe
13:16and like
13:17pick people's energy up.
13:18And we built
13:19an entire bread world
13:20and we have
13:21Bob's Dance Shop
13:22who are these amazing dancers
13:23who come on tour
13:24Can you give us
13:25some sneak peeks
13:26of what bread world
13:27looks like?
13:28It's sort of
13:29like this
13:30very
13:31abundant
13:32fun
13:35ridiculous
13:36over the top
13:37sexy
13:38playful
13:39world.
13:40Opulence.
13:41Yeah.
13:42And I understand
13:43that you're also
13:44touring with Kygo.
13:45What does that look like?
13:46Is it the same show?
13:47That's going to be
13:48a similar show
13:51that's in Europe
13:52after the North American tour.
13:53And before that
13:54we're actually doing
13:55also with J Balvin
13:56in a few weeks
13:57in Australia
13:58and New Zealand.
13:59Okay.
14:00So yeah,
14:01it's just live shows
14:02for us
14:03through the rest of the year
14:04besides a few
14:05residency dates
14:06in Las Vegas.
14:07Okay.
14:08You walk into a bakery
14:09every type of bread
14:10is available.
14:11What type of bread
14:12do you choose?
14:13Can I tell you
14:14the most ironic thing?
14:15Are you allergic
14:16to gluten?
14:17We're both gluten free.
14:21However
14:23A.
14:24We're connoisseurs
14:25of gluten free bread.
14:26True.
14:27And
14:28in Europe
14:29none of the rules count.
14:31Yeah.
14:32Gluten doesn't
14:33we're not celiac.
14:34We're just like
14:35gluten free.
14:36So you could eat
14:37European bread?
14:38Yes.
14:39It doesn't bother me
14:40at all.
14:41So you're in Paris
14:42you walk into a
14:43Parisian bakery.
14:44What do you grab first?
14:45Croissant.
14:46Croissant for sure.
14:47People gather
14:48all the time
14:49around bread
14:50to break bread together.
14:51Different points of view
14:52people from different
14:53backgrounds and cultures
14:54and like
14:55these are all
14:56things we want
14:57our music
14:58to do.
14:59Bring people together
15:00we're bringing
15:01cultures together
15:02with the music
15:03like
15:04And bread gives you
15:05pure energy.
15:06And bread gives you
15:07energy.
15:08And that's what we want
15:09our music to do for people.
15:10So we made an acronym
15:11out of bread also
15:12which is be really
15:13energetic and dance.
15:14Which is simple
15:15to the point
15:16just like bread.
15:17If you want to go deeper
15:18there's many
15:19there's many things
15:20as we've talked about
15:21but if you don't
15:22and you just
15:23think it's kind of fun
15:24and it's called bread
15:25and you
15:26want to dance
15:27and have fun
15:28and not think too hard
15:29we're here for you too.
15:31Thank you guys.
15:32It was great.
