Softcult

When the world came to a screeching halt in early 2020, twin siblings Phoenix (They/Them) and Mercedes Arn-Horn (She/Her) saw the opportunity to begin anew. After more than a decade of making music together, they seized the opportunity to explore something new and different, not knowing where the road would lead them.

“Mercedes and I had been considering launching a new project, but when these songs started coming to life, we instantly felt an excitement and passion that had been unknowingly missing for such a long time,” Phoenix says.

From the get-go, the sisters knew shaking things up was essential to keep them engaged with the project. This isn’t to insinuate they had been previously coasting, but several different factors seemed to work in their favour.

“You don’t get too many chances to start over. I’d say the biggest difference with Softcult was the fact that it was something that grew in the studio, as opposed to the road,” Mercedes says. “Previously, the studio was the vehicle to get back on the road where this time around, we allowed the studio to become an extension of what it was we were looking to do. It was rewarding in a whole different way.”

Driven by the upheaval that seemed to dominate the bulk of 2020, including the mobilization of the Black Lives Matter movement that resulted from the killing of George Floyd, as well as the social and financial inequality exacerbated by the pandemic, the sisters found themselves channeling their frustration with the world at large into the music they were creating.

Seamlessly combining Grunge, Shoegaze, Dreampop, and punk into their “music with a message”, Softcult has quickly become the band inspiring a new Riot Grrrl movement for the digital age. PRO: feminism, social activism, creative freedom, self-empowerment, gender neutrality. ANTI: sexism, racism, homophobia, trans- phobia, patriarchy. Unafraid of using their music as a force for good in the world, the socially-minded Softcult is ready to turn the world on its ear.