Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern met at brown in 2014, at a gallery where she was performing. he had captained the basketball team until illness ended that. they live in the same williamsburg apartment with a third friend and have never been a couple, which people ask about constantly.

she fell for bossa nova as a teenager and learned portuguese so she could sing it properly, which is why half their catalogue is in it. "Drinkee" took its words from "Relógio", a poem by the brazilian writer Chacal, and got them a grammy nomination for best dance recording in 2017. Treehouse took another in 2019.

they started Animal Talk in 2018 as a label and a collective, and relaunched it in 2025 as a management company.

butter in may 2025 was the one they had been promising themselves, recorded in brazil with Seu Jorge, Liniker, Silva and Rael on it.

Tuck and I started the band with a promise that we'd one day return to Brazil in a more meaningful way.

sophie hawley-weld, dj life, may 2025

2026 brought a republic records deal, "COOK" with J Balvin, and "BOBA" on John Summit's Experts Only. the Animal Talk tour runs north america through the autumn, and a dollar a ticket goes to local animal shelters in each city.