The Dolby System

Old friends. New songs. The sounds that never really left us.

Dolby System is a Brisbane-based band built on decades of friendship, shared musical history and a stubborn love of making music.

The story began more than 30 years ago, when a group of young musicians started playing together, chasing the sounds and influences that shaped them. Life moved on, careers happened, families grew and the years passed — but the music never completely disappeared.

Eventually, they found their way back to each other.

Reforming as Dolby System, the band returned with a new name, new songs and the same creative chemistry. Their music draws heavily from the sounds of their youth — New Wave, post-punk, synths, guitars and the beautifully imperfect textures of the late ’70s and early ’80s — without trying to recreate the past.

At the heart of Dolby System are the songs. Different members bring different writing voices, which means no two tracks need to sound quite the same. That's part of the point.

Their latest EP, POLAROID, brings those voices together across three songs — Polaroid, Ticking of the Clock and More Than Happy — each written by a different member of the band and each revealing another side of the Dolby System sound.

There are guitars again. There are synths. There are memories, ageing, love, loss and the strange experience of looking backwards while still moving forward.

Because after all these years, Dolby System isn't interested in reliving its youth.

They're interested in what happens next.

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