I don’t know why I like this song, but I do. It has no melody at all, an absolutely naive guitar riff, and a dull 4/4 beat throughout the whole song. Still, not only that it got my attention immediately, the tune made me put it on repeat and listen to it over and over again. Maybe it is because of the Portuguese language in which the song is written - it sounds exotic and sexy to me. Or is it the even sexier voice of Sophie Hawley-Weld, the female half of the New York-based duo Sofi Tukker (often styled as SOFI TUKKER.) Well, whatever it is that is so appealing, it got under the skins of a lot of people in the world. That's probably why it was nominated for a 2017 Grammy for Best Dance Recording. The song was released in April 2016 on their EP “Soft Animals.”
The song is inspired by the poem "Relógio" by Brazilian poet Chacal. According to Hawley-Weld, "It doesn't matter whether or not you can understand Portuguese. The point of "Drinkee" isn't the meaning; the point is the nonsense." “Drinkee” brings Sophie's voice amidst a layered sound fusion of a distorted electric guitar, a strong bass line, bongos, and cowbells. The song, with it’s underlying beat is so, so infectious, that you just want to play over and over again. The strange charm of the song itself may be best described in the review by Luke Holland from The Guardian, who stated that he was not "expecting much from a song called "Drinkee"... But US duo Sofi Tukker have taken one wiry guitar riff and one indecipherable lyric and layered them over a fat, throbbing tropical house backbeat. It's my new favourite tune. Tropical house isn't cool, though. Which means, like those people, neither am I."
“Drinkee” was promoted with a video, directed by Sam Mason and Matt Daniels. The video was released on July 1, 2016. The duo stated that the video is not supposed to make any sense; it features scenes of band members staring dead into the camera before a zebra-printed backdrop and deadpanning models wearing brightly-colored outfits.
