Siblings and bandmates Dorsten talk about their creative process

Sophie and Alex Dorsten grew up in sibling bands performing around the Phoenix area. Though by their own admission, music doesn’t run in the family — “It must’ve skipped a bunch of generations,” Alex jokes — the folk-pop duo is having a busy 2025, with local shows, national festival performances and a new single debuting on July 25.

The duo had always been making music together on and off, but 2020 turned casual collaborators into their current project, Dorsten, a band that’s gotten the best out of their natural creative chemistry with their progression in musical maturity.

Starting a band in the 2020s requires artists to focus on a lot more than just the music. Now, being a content creator has become an important part of Dorsten’s journey in creating.

“We love being behind the microphone, but not in front of the camera,” Alex says.

Through posting online and consistent releases, Dorsten has been able to find a sizable following and streams, especially behind their 2024 releases. In 2025, they’ve already released “Tangerine” in April before the upcoming “Porcelain Heart.”

A song that combines the core of Dorsten’s musical philosophy — belting, emotional vocals over folky chords and percussion — the July 25 release is a single the duo is especially excited for. Its process was much like how they usually create, bouncing ideas inside a studio at Alex’s home. “Every single song pretty much starts off with me coming with a few chords and just messing around on something,” Alex says. “And then she goes, ‘Wait, no, no, no — I like that, I like that.” Sophie says that though some ideas “might not gel together initially,” the process of trial and error has built up to yield quick and positive results. Knowing what each other wants to hear and to create from years of experience has undoubtedly helped this process too.

“I mean, at times we’ll have our differences like siblings do, (she laughs) but I think that we think alike in the creative process, and I feel like that helps a lot,” Sophie says.

The single itself came about quickly, on a whim. Written as a romantic ode to Sophie’s boyfriend, “Porcelain Heart” explores themes of soulmates and heartbreak in a passionate performance that feels like a culmination of the band’s journey so far, through diverse sounds that always find their root in gripping feelings.

“Our sound can be different at times, because we have upbeat songs and slow songs,” Sophie says. “And I think a thing with us and our music is that there’s always a dramatic emotion into it. And so with my vocals on the song, I felt like I really poured a lot of emotion into it.”

Dorsten performed at Milwaukee’s Summerfest in early July to a crowd of over 100,000 people, and the rest of the year will be filled with more exciting opportunities, as well, including another festival in the Milwaukee area later this summer.

For now, as the summer heat drags on and “Porcelain Heart” prepares to release, Dorsten is in the studio and working on new tunes all the time. “We’ve got a few more singles coming out, and our hope is to get back over to Europe in the fall, and we’ve got some festivals coming up at the end of the summer,” Alex says.

The band will perform at ASU Kerr in Scottsdale on Jan. 31, 2026.