Oakland’s Welcome Strawberry crafts music that blurs the line between shoegaze’s dreamy weight and the kaleidoscopic sprawl of psychedelic pop. The project, led by Cyrus VandenBerghe (Still Ruins), draws equally from the countercultural currents of the past six decades—psychedelia, trip-hop, electronica, C86 jangle, and Elephant 6-style experimental pop—while reshaping them into something vivid, unpredictable, and unmistakably their own.

Since their debut, the band has cultivated a reputation for balancing intimacy with expansiveness. Releases like Desperate Flower showcase lush dream-pop textures and homespun experimentation, while singles such as Stargel and its remix 12” highlight their willingness to push beyond genre conventions, enlisting forward-thinking collaborators from across the indie and electronic underground. Whether shimmering with melodic sweetness or spiraling into hypnotic, trance-like states, Welcome Strawberry’s music thrives on transformation.

More than a shoegaze band, Welcome Strawberry embody the restless spirit of experimentation that followed the genre’s initial explosion in the 1990s. By folding nostalgic touchpoints into forward-looking compositions, they’ve built a sound that feels both familiar and exploratory—a hazy yet radiant soundtrack for memory, movement, and reinvention.

System Exclusive are Ari B and Matt Jones – a SF based, Pasadena, CA originated duo, balancing the hard edged electronic pulse of old school synthwerks against hot-under-the-collar live drums and slashing post-punk guitar. Ari’s melismatic alto completes the triangle, crowning the cyborg-rock compositions with a torn and vulnerable human edge. Faced with the near-impossible task of making a living in California while working as touring musicians, they put their life in storage, put a bed in the van, and have been living wherever the shows take them. On a mission to make strangers misty in the disco throughout the US, UK, and Europe…and wherever else fine records are sold.

In May 2024 they released their sophomore LP "Click" with Parisian label Le Cèpe Records in conjunction with Sacramento-based pop boutique label Mt St Mtn. It's the follow up to their seismic self titled debut on Castle Face Records. The duo was out on the road for their headliner in Spring 2025 tour, from the West Coast out to the Midwest, to record with Sweeping Promises.   They will be releasing a new album in fall 2026.