Twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn (born 1994)[2] grew up in Toronto, Ontario, and were home-schooled by their mother, an English teacher.

[3] Prior to forming Softcult, the Arn-Horn siblings were members of the pop-punk band Courage My Love, which released several EPs and two studio albums throughout the 2010s.

[4][5] Feeling creatively stifled by their record label, the Arn-Horn siblings decided to disband Courage My Love and begin a new project together in the summer of 2020.

[7][10][11] The duo's second EP, Year of the Snake, "encompasses our feelings towards the cutthroat capitalist society we live in and the problems that need to be addressed".

[7][21] They cited My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (1991), Slowdive's Souvlaki (1993), Swervedriver's Mezcal Head (1993) and Deftones' White Pony (2000) as influences on their fourth EP Heaven.