Cape Town-based band Internet Girl, formed by vocalist Ntsika ‘TK’ Bungane, drummer Matthew ‘Neese’ Burgess and guitarist James ‘Griggs’ Smith, has become a defining musical act for the online age since they began uploading their tracks to major streaming platforms in 2020.
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The group saw success in online spaces and with audiences abroad and signed their first deal without playing a single live show.
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According to News24, most of Internet Girl’s fanbase comes from the US, UK, Australia and other countries.
‘I think South Africa is number 10 or something on our top countries on Spotify, so a small percentage of people that listen to our music are actually from here, which is kind of crazy,’ Burgess says.
Before Internet Girl, Bungane and Burgess were part of a hip-hop group called Lynchparty, drawing inspiration from the Soundcloud trap scene of the time. However, the project struggled to gain traction, leading to a loss of interest and eventual disbandment.
Smith joined the band in 2019 while the trio were still students.
Burgess holds a BCom in entrepreneurship from the University of Pretoria, Smith has a degree in music production, and Bungane is studying politics, philosophy and economics at UNISA.
Initially, Smith knew Burgess and Bungane only online and connected with them after sharing his appreciation for Internet Girl on Instagram.
Now, Smith and Burgess are the main producers, but all members contribute to various roles.
In their early days, the band collaborated remotely from different parts of the country, creating songs by emailing audio files. Smith or Burgess would craft an idea or an instrumental, and Bungane would write for it.
Now living together in Cape Town, the three members enjoy a much more seamless production process.
‘Last year, not much was happening because we were separate and doing our things individually, whereas now it’s a collective effort. That’s why the content has been coming consistently,’ says Bungane.
The group released their latest EP, Role Model, on 7 June 2024.
Internet Girl’s lead vocalist Bungane crafts the story of an anti-hero navigating Cape Town’s seedy underbelly in singles like ‘Role Model’ and ‘Cokehead.’ Their latest music reintroduces the trio with a new sound blending punk and rap, diverging from the prevalent amapiano trends.
The band has been doing more live performances, exposing them to their local fanbase.
‘We’re playing shows, and we have a real-world presence, which is cool,’ Smith says.
Last year, the group had one of their biggest live gigs at Rocking the Daisies.
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Picture: @internetgirl / Instagram
