Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Vocalist Tori Schachne and producer Colton Toy make up the L.A. synth-pop duo Soft Streak, and though they’ve only released two songs ever (plus their third out today, Oct. 12), they have a good grip on their sound. Toy originally aimed for a career in classical music while Schachne got her start in musical theater—not exactly what you’d expect from synth-pop collaborators—but the two musicians have surpassed their humble beginnings to create Soft Streak’s fun, danceable electro-pop. Their latest track “Orogeny” is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Electronic but resonant, “Orogeny” feels like an intimate gathering as opposed to a bouncing party. Toy’s calculated beats mesh with Schachne’s strong soprano to make up their warm, echoey take on electronica, most readily comparable to Sylvan Esso’s. The song kicks off with some brooding keys, only to march on as Schachne sings, “I’m building a mountain.”
Schachne said of the climb-inspired new track:
I may sound pretty confident in the chorus claiming, “I’m building a mountain.” However, this song really came out of a lack of confidence in myself, and an idea to will something into existence by writing a song for it. I thought maybe I could birth this idea of change or trust in myself—as an ongoing process, not as a final destination in the song, and slowly start believing in myself and pushing it to happen in real life. Orogeny is literally the process of mountain building. I understand that it will take time, and is a slow process, but the first step in change is this one event and I thought that was an interesting premise for a song.
Soft Streak may be a brand new band, but they’re already booked to play South by Southwest in March 2019. In the meantime, you can find their music on Spotify or SoundCloud. Again, you can listen to “Orogeny” below.