To The River (EP) by Dorsten

Dorsten (USA) is a folk-rock / Americana brother-sister duo band sharing their strong, dynamic sound with the world. You will immediately appreciate the authenticity that they share. Sophie’s vocal performance is simply out-of-this-world balanced perfectly with complex and beautiful instrumentation from Alex. With a trail of accolades and a growing international fanbase, they continue to craft music that resonates deeply with the listener, all this leaving an indelible mark on the folk / Americana landscape.

Influenced by the likes of Florence + The Machine, The Lumineers, and Kaleo, they have spent years honing their craft, captivating audiences at national touring acts and numerous music festivals.

“Our performances have taken us across the Southwest, the PNW and in March 2022, we found ourselves on a remarkable journey in London, England. During that time, we were invited to record at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, Studio Two. We returned to London in 2023 for a tour and 2024 is already proving to be a busy year with lots of music festivals booked around the US as well as opening for a national touring act. Stay tuned…”

Dorsten’s EP ‘To The River’ releases 29 March. Pre-save the EP here. Here’s what Sophie told us about the upcoming EP.

Do you have a favourite song on the album? 

“Yes! Our favorite song is ‘Losing It’ – we wrote it and created it while we were in the studio finishing up the EP. We had the other songs all figured out and mostly finished and really wanted to have a fifth song on it. It was really cool how easy it came together and we love the vibe of the song. It’s a catchy song that we hope everyone will love.”

“The other songs are cool and we’ve been performing them for a long time so it was great to get them recorded and excited for them to be heard.”

“I think some will love ‘Vernazza’ because it takes me back to my older songs. Alex was a part of my songs long before we were ‘Dorsten’ doing production and instrumentation and this song feels like those older ones – guess we’ll see what peeps think.”

“We have two more on the EP that will be new to peeps – one is a fun upbeat song about running away with your sweetheart, titled ‘My Sweetheart’ and also ‘Chewing Gum’, a song about a toxic relationship.”

How long did it take you to write and the record the album?

“We had finished the ‘To The River’ single and decided it needed to be an EP so we locked ourselves in the studio for sometimes ten hours a day for about five weeks. We had a blast, but man we were tired. We loved having the control over the songs and production – Alex is amazing with that part. I would sit there and he’d come up with so many cool ideas – for example, he had bought a super heavy chain from the hardware store and dropped in on the floor for a great sound – it’s in ‘To The River’ – go listen for it!”

Is there a sense of excitement or panic for this release?

“There is always a sense of excitement, but at the same time we are nervous. We aren’t sure what people will think of the songs. We like to create outside of the normal box – I get very poetic with my lyrics and I wonder if people will get it or appreciate that I’m not repeating lyrics over and over and over (although you’ll hear something different for me in ‘Losing It’)”

“When it releases it’s just so hard to not watch the streams live as they happen, and it drives us crazy – we have really tried to stay away from Spotify Artist the first couple of days.”

Is there a story behind the cover artwork? Did you make it yourself? 

“The cover art for the single of ‘To The River’ is from a photograph from my Grandmother’s house that she had taken back in the 80’s of her old home town in Finland where she was born. I was drawn to the photograph and thought it was the exact vibe I wanted for the song. The EP artwork is from a photograph I took in Sedona, Arizona this last year – I thought it fit the feel of the songs.”