FEATURE:
Spotlight
more new interview with Dolder, as they are a beguiling sibling Dupo that people should know about. To be honest, I only discovered their music this month, so I am kind of catching up. There is a recent intervbiew that I want to bring in. Dolder are the Newcastle duo of Dani and Zara Dolder. In terms of catching them live, you can see the dates here. Some brilliant U.K., Irish and European gigs. If you can go and see them and grab a ticket then I would definitely recommend it. You listen to their voices on record and how transcendent it is. Experiencing that in a venue with that intimacy and directness must be spine-chilling and this memorable experience. Their E.P., The Motive, was released last year. It is a sublime and unforgettable listen. They released the single, Sleeping Dogs, recently. In terms of genres, I wonder if you can categorise them. There is Pop, Country and Folk. It is a beautiful blend that works wonderfully. Distinct songwriting and gorgeous vocals means their music stays in your head and heart. I will come to that new interview to wrap things up. There are a few other bits to include here first. I want to include Karma Magazine and their feature from last year. They highlighted and gave praise for the first single from Dolder, Charlie. This is a song that has resonated with fans and made a big impact:
“Identitical twin sisters Dani and Zara Dolder have emerged on the music scene with their first single, ‘Charlie’. The song is an enthralling hybrid of nostalgic and new, with timeless lyricism and arresting harmonies.
The song begins with softly strummed acoustic guitar and delicate vocals. Twinkling piano and the twins’ heavenly harmonies in the chorus give it an underlying country feel. The stripped back instrumentalism are complemented by the melodious vocals, enhancing the track’s emotions. The song is a thoughtful and disarming, as the sisters slow things down to contemplate their unsuccessful experiences with love.
Emotions cut deep on ‘Charlie’, with the track’s lyrics detailing different heartbreaks experienced by the twins. The lyrics are dark and poetic, with lines like “Kiss me one more time before / You send my heart back / Wrapped in barbed wire and it’s dripping black” painting a vivid picture.
Speaking about the track, the sisters reveal how it came to fruition one Halloween: “We drove home in the dark, pouring rain replaying the demo from that day over and over again. It just has such a warmth to it. Charlie is a multitude of boys who we have felt heartbroken by.”
‘Charlie’ marks the first step in Dolder’s journey and a mesmerising debut. The song is out now on EMI and available to listen to on streaming services. Add Dolder on social media to stay tuned with what comes next from the duo, and get a ticket to one of the concerts below to see them support Ben Ellis on his tour”.
It is exciting that Dani and Zara Dolder are working on a second E.P. Their debut was recorded in Newcastle, though the second is them working in New York. A lot of artists do go to New York to record, as it gives new impetus and energy. The inspiration of the people and landscape. It must have been a costly jaunt, through you feel it will add something extra and new to their music. The Line of Best Fit shone a light on the wonderful Girl I Know. Following on from Charlie, it is one of their very best songs:
“Emotionally resonant, the duo's second-ever single following “Charlie” lingers long after it ends, balancing heartbreak with moments of tender reflection. “‘Girl I Know’ is about a very honest part of young womanhood,” say 22-year-old twins Dani and Zara Dolder.
The track fuses narrative songwriting with stripped-back guitars and harmonies, giving it a timeless quality. Their sound feels intimate; the vocal polyphony conveys a sense of closeness as they confess heartache and self-blame over bare instrumentals. “We always knew we wanted to keep this whole EP more stripped back so it allowed space for our vulnerable lyrics to come through,” they share.
Growing up in Newcastle, the twins have been making music since they were eleven. With Dolder, they craft an atmosphere of honesty and vulnerability through acoustic arrangements and effortlessly catchy melodies, transforming soft narrative pop into anthems for deep thinkers and anxious romantics.
“Girl I Know” came directly from a stream of consciousness in Dani’s diary: “Told you I thought about dying on the day that we met.” “[The line] is verbatim and extremely overdramatic (not surprising for us),” Dani says. The conversation that inspired it took place outside a bar on Grey Street in the early hours of the morning. She reflects with candid humour: “No wonder he ghosted me.”
Delicate piano keys shimmer beneath a repeated acoustic guitar riff in the refrain, while raw lyrics — “You craved a body / But it was my mind you broke” — are delivered through soft, harmonising vocals. The track’s analogue warmth lingers like the ghost of a lost love, with minimalist production highlighting the fragility of its emotions.
The bridge introduces an empowering shift, where overthinking gives way to the realisation: “You’ll move on, grow, and be better off, while some guys just stay stuck in their cycle of lovebombing and leaving.” The feeling of redemption emerged intuitively during the writing process: “This song took some time to run, but once we got there, it just flowed from one lyric to the next. Having a slight euphoric, claiming-my-power-back bridge was the perfect place for it to go,” the duo explain.
Dolder's supply feels both immediate and classic. The chorus of “Girl I Know” sticks with you like a half-remembered daydream, while the acoustic textures evoke a warm, nostalgic glow. It's the kind of track that revisits old diaries, late-night conversations, and past heartaches. It stands as a delicate reflection on how growth and melody can coexist in the most intimate of pop songs”.
It is worth highlighting a positive review for The Motive. A wonderful debut E.P. from Dolder, Pop Passion Blog shared their insights and thoughts. I would say to anyone who has not discovered Dolder to go and listen to their music now. Really do go and see them live if you can:
“Coming out from mentally abusive relationships is a battle with your mind. You spend so long being manipulated by someone who was supposed to love you and it causes internalized blame and guilt. It feels like you’re out of touch with yourself and it’s a spiral that feels like it will never end. Dolder just released an EP titled after one of the singles “The Motive.” “The Motive” is a heartbreaking confession about the self-hatred that follows after a damaging relationship. With tension filled melodies and angelic harmonies, this song rips at your heartstrings. If you’ve ever been broken by someone you were supposed to trust the most, this song is for you.
“The Motive” truly shows how deeply manipulation can distort someones perception of care and self-worth. “I assumed that this was love.” You feel like you’re doing everything in your power to make them happy, but they never are and even though it’s not your fault, it’s easy for their deceptions to make you feel like it is. "Lately I've had the motive to hate me." Dolder wrote from a place of reflection on how much trauma can live in your mind without realizing. It’s hard to confront and it follows you every time you feed it. All of this can feel isolating and there’s comfort in songs like this to know most of us have been there. Let “The Motive” be a reminder that your emotions are worth feeling and it’s okay to sit in the pain before getting up and moving on. It's not your fault for the damage caused by someone elses hand.
Dolder is a duo name for identical twins Dani and Zara. They are 22 year old alt-pop singer-songwriters from Newcastle. The sisters are heavily inspired by the rich 60/70’s sound that they bring into their music to create a nostalgic feeling. Emerging just this year, their debut single “Charlie” brought immediate attention. With confessional lyricism and timeless ease, they’ve received recognition from Rolling Stone, Wonderland, The Line of Best Fit, NME, Dork and more. “The Motive” is their debut EP which is out now for everyone to listen. If you’re a fan of Gracie Abrams and Fleetwood Mac, Dolder is the perfect combination while bringing their own unique sound. Follow the links down below to stay up to date on future releases”.
I am ending up with an interview from The Indie Scene. Last year was a very busy one for Dolder. Releasing their debut single and E.P., they are preparing their second E.P. and have released Sleeping Dogs. They are preparing for live dates and maybe performing new or unheard tracks for the audiences. I have so much admiration for Dolder. Obviously they are very close and are completely in-sync. That reflects in their music. This phenomenal chemistry and harmony that made The Motive such a jaw-dropping listen. I am excited to hear their second E.P. It is going to be one of the year’s best releases:
“2025 was a year of firsts for Dolder, a singer-songwriter duo made up of identical twins, Dani and Zara. They released their first single, played their first shows while supporting Ben Ellis on tour, and wrapped up the year with the release of their first EP. Despite being in the early stages of their career, the duo are already making a mark on fans thanks to their intimate lyrics and lush harmonies. We had the pleasure of chatting to the girls in one of their first interviews to talk all things songwriting, growing up in a musical family, and new music to come.
Although they’ve only just started formally releasing their work, music has always played a large role in Dani and Zara’s lives. Their father and former Prefab Sprout drummer, Steve Dolder, fostered their love of music from a young age. “We were obsessed with The Beatles. Our first crushes were John Lennon and George Harrison. And dad tells this story: when we were about five or six, we were sat in the back of the car and just harmonising to The Beatles without realising,” Zara explains. “It’s just been ingrained in us. We’ve been singing together forever, and then, when we were about ten or eleven, we started writing.”
“They were absolute rubbish,” Zara quips when describing their earliest material. However, the twins kept at it and, as COVID struck during their teenage years, they began to take it more seriously. During that time they were constantly producing new material.
When asked about how they found the fan response to the project, the twins agree the experience has been unreal and found themselves surprised by how quickly their community has already grown. “I’m in complete sort of denial because I’m like ‘they’re not fans, they’re just like our friends’. They’re just like our online friends, which is adorable,” Dani says. “It’s really strange because obviously we don’t have like a massive platform yet and we’re very much in the early stages but to have such obsession from certain fans and respect and excitement is a really strange feeling… but they’ve all been so amazing and to see like comments or get messages about how the songs relate to them or their friends’ situations.”
While this moment in time is quite surreal, there was little time to process it all as they’d already started working on their next project. “We’ve been making the second EP since November, before the first one actually came out, so we had almost like halfway detached from that world and put ourselves into the world of the second EP,” Zara says. When asked what more they could share about what’s to come from Dolder, Zara shared, “We have a single coming out in February, which is one that we played live, and I think that will be [a] deluxe [single] off the end of the first EP. And then the second EP will be coming shortly after. We’re very, very excited about it.”
While the first EP was recorded in Newcastle, the second EP was recorded in New York, bringing a different energy to the project. “We loved the first EP because it was done at home, and we could drive home and we were staying with family, which was lovely. And then we had this new business around the second EP and chaos with being in a city like that, which was so inspiring. It just made you want to get up and go,” Zara says.
Having a dad who has been through the same things has also proved invaluable. “He’s the triplet,” Dani jokes, “He’s the third member and, honestly, if it wasn’t for dad, we would not be pursuing music at all, I don’t think.” Steve would play the girls records of great artists like Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Glen Campbell and Carole King, which had a large impact on the twins from an early age. “If it wasn’t for dad believing in us so much, we wouldn’t believe that we could do it. He is our best friend, and he’s the funniest man I’ve ever met,” Dani adds”.
I can imagine the house where Dani and Zara Dolder grew up was filled with classic music. These legendary artists. A dad in the music industry with all that experience and insight. Even though they are only in their twenties, you feel their earliest years were exposed to some of the best music ever made. It definitely would have fostered their ambitions and desires. Such a magnificent duo who I feel are going to be making music for so many more years, go and follow them and show some love. It is impossible to listen to their music and not be carried away and engrossed. Their distinct and utterly superb songs are…
TREASURES to behold.
__________
Follow Dolder
