Girls of the Internet: "Artwork is open to interpretation"

Ahead of their appearance at Kaleidoscope Festival, Miriam Balanenscu speaks to Girls of the Internet’s Tom Kerridge

Girls of the Internet perform in the BBC studio

What’s the story of Girls of the Internet?

Girls of the Internet is a project I imagined many years ago — I always thought there was a disconnect between what house, and electronic music in general, has become, and its roots. Also, I know much of the ‘real music’ scene doesn’t consider electronic music ‘real music’, but house comes from a place of incredible musicianship and amazing songwriting. I wanted to attempt to re-join those dots.

I started Girls of the Internet as a studio project. It was at an incredibly low point in my life when I had nothing. The first full piece of music I made was When U Go – it got signed to Defected, and started me on this path. From the start, I wanted to have a full live band, but it took five years of begging promoters to give us a chance before I had the opportunity to do so. Everybody in the band seemed to just be in the right place at the right time, and we started rehearsing. Night Tales gave us our first show, and we sold out. We’ve had a few line up changes in the live band since we started, but I think we’re stronger than ever right now!

What music have you been working on since you released your last single in 2022?

The album! We have so much stuff ready to go — we should have had a few more singles out by now, but we had a couple of issues. Our next single, Affirmations, will be out on 7th July.

There are traces of trip hop in your work. Where do your musical influences come from?

Anywhere and everywhere. Mo Wax Headz was a big influence on me when I was very young, and I definitely followed some of the trip hop scene back then, but I listen to loads of different stuff. I get just as much from Stereolab and Kate Bush as I do from Kraftwerk and disco.

Where does your passion for house music come from?

As with any true house or techno fan, you fall in love with it in the club, then you find yourself in a whole new world of music when you start looking deeper. House is so different to every other music scene – it’s hard not to fall for its magic once you’re in it.

How has your sound and process evolved across the two albums?

I’ve got better! Every track on the first album I made soon after When U Go, and it was really me finding my feet as a first-time producer. The second album I made over lockdown, and I was exploring our sound. I still come up with the initial ideas in the same room in my house, but now I have access to more musicians and vocalists. Everything Girls of the Internet has done has been about collaboration, and the more established we get, the more we get to work with people.

You’ve said Star Trek Discovery is a big influence. Could you explain a bit more why this is the case?

Well, I think artwork is open to interpretation, and I don’t like to give away too much of my thoughts and feelings behind a piece of music, because I want people to find their own meaning. Essentially, some of the themes in the show really spoke to me at a specific moment in time – it was very close to some of the ideas in the new album.

What have been your recent non-musical inspirations?

I’ve been locked away working on the album, so haven’t been digesting too much culture. I love Atlanta, and anything Nathan Fielder does. Everything Everywhere All At Once was very inspirational – it made me feel how I did watching some of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufmann’s films for the first time.

You also create drag tributes. What’s the crossover between art, music and other types of performance for you?

I did a series of paintings inspired by drag – I may do some more. All types of art are about conveying an idea, so when I see anybody creating something in an interesting or different way, it can inspire me. We’re all doing the same thing, but with different materials and mediums.

The name of your group seems to be inspired by championing women in music. Is this important to you and what are the issues of gender inequality in music today?

I think the problem is both at the bottom, and at the top. Saying “we need 50% women and non-binary artists on line-ups” is just a short-term solution, and doesn’t address the real issue – we do need that, but the problem is much deeper. We need 50% women and non-binary people at the bottom of the industry, enrolling in music education. We also need to see the same at the top tier, on the board of directors at big music companies. Both of those remain straight cis-male dominated spaces. One reason I wanted to work with Defected was the amount of women working high up in the company – I remember the first few times I walked in, it was inspirational. I remember the music industry when it wasn’t like this, and now we have such a strong female presence in all of these rooms – which in turn have all become safer spaces, and every day, more inclusive. We need to throw queer people into this conversation too, as they are often left out. In dance music, as with drag, it’s 100% from queer culture. But unlike drag, house and dance music has been snatched from them, and straight-washed for years.

Finally, how do you feel about performing alongside Hot Chip at Kaleidoscope?

I can’t wait to annoy them backstage and pinch their rider. Joe has been a supporter of the band for a long time, and has said lots of nice things about us before a lot of people cared about us – so I’m hoping I get to have a chat with him.

Kaleidoscope Festival is at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, 15th July. To find out more:
Visit kaleidoscope-festival.com

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