ENTERTAINMENT
DORSTEN
BROTHER & SISTER DUO
“My mom would take me to school and blast Metallica in the car.
That's when I fell in love with music.” Alex Dorsten
THE
ALEX DORSTEN
INTERVIEW
JEN GAULT:
For readers meeting you for the first time, who is Alex Dorsten?
ALEX DORSTEN:
Hello, I am Alex Dorsten. I am one half of the folk duo Dorsten. I am the multi-instrumentalist and producer of Dorsten, and Sophie’s older brother.
JEN GAULT:
Where did your love of music begin?
ALEX DORSTEN:
My love for music started when my mom would take me to school and blast Metallica in the car. That’s when I fell in love with music.
JEN GAULT:
What was the first instrument you learned to play?
ALEX DORSTEN:
The first instrument I learned to play was the violin. I started when I was six years old.
JEN GAULT:
Who were your biggest musical influences growing up?
ALEX DORSTEN: Metallica, Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, and indie bands like From Indian Lakes and Hippo Campus.
JEN GAULT:
Did you always know you wanted to work behind the scenes as a producer, or did that evolve over time?
ALEX DORSTEN:
This evolved over time. I never thought about being a producer, always a guitar player. I am glad this turned into what it is.
“Every ounce of instrumentation, editing, or
even level adjustments is us.”
JEN GAULT:
How would you describe your production style?
ALEX DORSTEN:
Our production style is very authentic. Every ounce of instrumentation, editing, or even level adjustments is us.
JEN GAULT:
What draws you to a song when you’re first hearing a demo?
ALEX DORSTEN:
When we make a song and we are in the early demo phases, what pulls me in is the potential of the song, when I can hear the next parts of the song that I would add on as another layer.
JEN GAULT:
Are you inspired more by classic recordings or modern production?
ALEX DORSTEN:
Classic recordings. Back then, you had one roll of magnetic tape to get it right. Those classic recordings developed all our modern techniques with mic placement.
JEN GAULT:
What’s one production technique that has become part of your signature sound?
ALEX DORSTEN:
One production technique we consistently use is for our gang vocal recordings. We create “characters” for the extra voices. One backup/gang vocal voice can be super nasally, or sometimes we pull our cheeks to the side to create different tonal variances with all these vocals. This allows us to make the backup vocals seem more vast and uniquely different than just the main singer singing the same lines over and over again.
Part 2 of Alex’s Interview Coming Wednesday, October 14, 2026