Conversation with System Exclusive: Synth-Punk and Rhythmic Sounds
System Exclusive, an American musical duo based in Pasadena, California, consists of Ari Blaisdell and Matt Jones. The group is recognized for blending elements of synthpop, shoegaze, and garage rock into a distinctive post-punk style. Their dynamic sound is driven by compact synthesizers and a vocal style that balances nostalgia with innovation. They first emerged on the music scene with their eponymous debut album in 2021, released under Castle Face Records. Their follow-up album, “Click,” scheduled for release in May 2024 through Mt.St.Mtn and produced by K. Dylan Edrich, showcases smoky vocals set against complex synthesizer arrangements.
What first drew you into making music, and why did you choose to blend pop with post-punk influences?
Well, we were a couple first. System Exclusive started with our dreams of being a backpack band — pop our gear into a backpack (or two) and play in as many places as possible together. Matt’s been a synthesizer enthusiast for the last 20+ years and has had a keen sense of pop and Ari had been playing in SF post punk bands and grew up with punk parents — so the marriage of the two happened organically.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUe7y1kZag&t
Can you describe the moment you decided to form System Exclusive? How did you meet?
We were both in different bands, and met at a party at Engine Works in San Francisco, an art warehouse where mutual friends were living/practicing/creating/partying. Matt was touring Europe a bunch when we first started dating and we bonded over our lust for travel and it became clear we wanted the same things out of a musical life.
How have your past musical projects influenced the sound and ethos of System Exclusive?
Matt: Ever since I was in highschool I’ve envisioned a live band that played with programmed synthesizers — my first serious band, Life in Braille, included guitars and programmed synths. I went on to be in a lot of different types of bands but the synths were never too far away.
Ari: My first band, The Beat-offs was poppy garage rock — heavily influenced by doowop girl groups and ’77 punk bands. After that I moved onto playing in Lower Self, which was similar, but I was listening to a lot of Gang of Four and the Feelies at the time and my guitar work started to move into a more post punk direction. All of these elements are present in SysEx and I think that’s due to the timing of our beginning — the pandemic was when we wrote the majority of our first album, and that was a time for reflecting on our past and getting in touch with our musical bases.
Read the full interview with System Exclusive at Retrofuturista.com
