I was first introduced to Internet Girl a couple of years ago by a friend whose taste in music is unimpeachable. Whenever they suggest I listen to the side project of a new feisty pop sensation or underrated punk band, it's a chance to build more robust playlists and, maybe, gate-keep long enough to seem like a trendy early adopter. But my hopes were quickly dashed a few tracks into 'The World I Love', the band's 2021 EP. I instantly realised that Internet Girl's catchy and energetic songs would not be a best-kept secret for long, thanks to a sound almost preternaturally suited to mass consumption. This sound, coupled with the band's boyish yet self-assured aesthetic, has garnered them an enthusiastic fan base that skews internationally. Something that is very much by design. Where many young musicians have struggled to find their footing early in their careers, Internet Girl has, through sheer will, emerged as a fully formed entity lacking nothing.

Lead vocalist Ntstika "TK" Bungane and drummer/producer Matthew "Neese" Burgess started out as childhood friends and began their creative partnership in high school. Their initial forays into music fell more in line with the SoundCloud rap of the 2010s but as time went on they changed lanes to a more commercial sound. After several online interactions, the duo connected with now-lead guitarist/producer James "Griggs" Smith and Internet Girl officially took shape.

Fast forward to 2023 – after a slew of well-received singles and an EP – the Cape Town-based band kickstarted the year with the release of their latest EP 'Parasocial Interaction' – an exploration of life on-and offline. A dive into the sometimes-murky waters of what can be considered "real" in the internet age and offering a brief peek behind the curtain of what it means to be up-and-coming artists, with all the folly and confidence that entails.

With this in mind, we caught up with TK, Neese and Griggs to learn more about their collective take on who they really are, where they are going, and what it's like being an artist today.

What were your ambitions when you were starting out?

We signed our first record deal during university, so we were young and naive. We thought by now we would be superstars. Our egos were a little inflated. Since then, we've kind of been humbled by the cut-throat nature of the music industry, and things have happened slower than we expected. However, we are incredibly grateful to be where we are. We've received overwhelming international recognition and are starting to see some local support slowly but surely. We will never be satisfied, and we will continue to grow.

Your initial beat was trap – what signalled the change in direction to a more indie sound?

The trap music wasn't really an authentic expression of ourselves, especially as we started to grow up and left high school. We started listening to a much wider range of music and found inspiration from different places. The change felt seamless and was the right thing to do.

You've been open about your ambitions for global success. How have you crafted Internet Girl reach that goal?

We get our inspiration from internet culture and not anything remotely local. We didn't try to set out to make international-sounding music but instead just made what we wanted, which didn't align with where we're from. This obviously makes things very difficult in terms of playing shows and gaining local recognition, but making the music we want to make is more important and has ultimately paid off with our streaming numbers and interest from international players. This disconnect between the music we make and the place we're from heavily ties in with the theme of our latest project. The fact that we're the only African-born artists on Spotify's Hyperpop playlist says a lot about our direction.

Is there more that South African artists can do to expand their appeal?

It's important to have a clear vision of your identity as an artist and find interesting and unique ways to present that to people online. Refining your online identity and focusing on streaming platforms is essential, especially Spotify. You need to carve your own lane and avoid getting too caught up in South African music politics and trends. The growth is a lot slower if you do it this way, but it will ultimately pay off. Landing international features also helps a lot.

There is a lot of fun to be had as musicians – sometimes at the expense of others, a theme the song 'I Don't Reply' deals with. Are there moments when you must check yourself for indulging in pop star behaviour?

Our music might portray a carefree, inconsiderate attitude, but we don't exactly carry ourselves in that way in our day-to-day interactions and relationships. We are pop stars, and that's what we choose to express in our writing, but ultimately we're pretty chill people in our daily lives. It wouldn't be cool to write about being respectful. Our writing expresses how we want to feel about ourselves and the most narcissistic parts of our internal dialogue.

From whose perspective is Internet Girl? Do all three of you share songwriting credits?

Our writing is mainly from Ntsika's perspective, and the story we tell is his. We're all very close, and we were living together when most of our music was written, so there is a lot of overlap in our feelings, experiences and what we want to say. 'Brokeboy' is a good example of a story we all lived through. Neese and Griggs do have input in writing and are credited as songwriters.

To what degree does your accessibility via social media enhance or distort how people view you in real life or does that availability humanise you more in the eyes of fans?

I think it's a bit of both. We use our social media presence to enhance the aspects of our personalities that align most with the Internet Girl brand and distort the aspects that do not. That's why a lot of the time, our real life is pretty different to what you see on social media. We do, however, use content like our recent documentary to humanise ourselves in the eyes of our fans, which we think plays an important role in building a parasocial relationship with them.

What are your most memorable fan interactions, good or bad?

The one that stands out the most is when we played Park Acoustics in Pretoria, and a young kid came up to us after our set and explained how he begged his mom to drive two hours from where they lived to watch us play a 30-minute set. Other artists were playing after us, but he insisted he was only there to see us. He was very excited, and that felt special. That entire day felt special. We got a lot of love from a city that seemed very far removed from the sound we make.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed managing public personas who are hyper-visible, with the desire for anonymity or privacy? In essence, how much of your time and energy do you think you owe to your fans?

Because we're not exactly huge artists, it hasn't reached the point where we feel overwhelmed yet. We show exactly how much we want and don't really feel pressure to do any more than that. This might change as we grow.

Apart from sales or streams, what metric truly signifies success for you?

Looking at numbers on a laptop can feel very unsatisfying. It doesn't feel real. Recently we've started becoming a performing band, which has opened our eyes to what it means to succeed as an artist. Seeing people enjoy your music live right in front of you is extremely encouraging and makes us feel like we're doing something right. Once we start booking bigger shows and pulling larger crowds, the success we've found will feel a lot more real.

What do you have planned for the immediate future?

A new sensation!