My Interview with Internet Islands

(Article first published in the March 2024 issue of Record Plug

Magazine)

Atlanta local band Internet Islands combines shoegaze, dream pop, and Lo-Fi Indie to create a dense and lush soundscape of shadowy strings, active drums, with an enticing voice that would make Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), Kelli Ali (Sneaker Pimps), and Beth Gibbons (Portishead) proud. Their sound stems from their collective influences: UK indie rock such as Foals and Bloc Party; 90s/2000s downtempo electronica; Deftones, Radiohead, Mazzy Star, Phillip Glass, and themes from 80s and 90s anime. 

 Internet Islands, a quartet that came together circa 2019 by answering a Craigslist posting by founding member Ari Meier. After hit-and-miss searching, he found like-minded musicians in drummer Anderson Chabdeo, vocalist Miyon, guitarist Matt Petino, and bassist/arranger Ryan Renoud.  Today, they continue to push full speed ahead, writing and performing their brand dynamic indie dream pop all over Atlanta. Due to personal conflicts, Meier is no longer with the group. 

Before their upcoming show as the opening act for Doom Flamingo at Terminal West on March 21st, I interviewed the band via Skype to get insight into their musical interests, creative process, and what they have in store for 2024. Since their inception, the band has gained a large online following thanks (in part) to drummer Anderson Chabdeo, who manages the business side of the band. However, many of their discoveries came from music videos. “Yeah, they turned out to be good for us,” says guitarist Matt Petino. “Those videos initially came from SCAD students who took an interest in our music. They found us online, I think the first director did a Google search just for Atlanta indie bands...Her name is Sheila Brown. I think she reached out to us...and we just kind of went with it, kind of said yes.”  Online presence made band members recognized around town. “Oh, yeah, I got, I got spotted at work the other day,” says vocalist Miyon. 

Their digital presence continues to grow. Currently, they have 25,230 monthly listeners on Spotify. Their online following translated into bodies in the audience. “It's been really cool,” says Miyon, as she recalls their first show at Georgia Tech’s WREK radio studio. “I guess seeing how [at] our first performance we were like in a school. They recorded us. We did a little live interview afterwards.”  The WREK radio show led to more exposure around Atlanta.  “And so, some of our first few shows where we were excited just to have people in the crowd to like selling out smaller venues, you know, and slowly working our way up, which I think is really exciting.” Guitarist Matt points out the significance of a band’s online presence. “Yeah, it's been a good response. I mean, it seems like most energy for anything is just online, though. It feels like that's really the barometer of everything really-follows and, you know, presence there. But yeah, a lot of Atlanta people dig it for sure. I had people who didn't even know I was in a band till they saw like an ad on their Instagram.” I asked their opinion of the Atlanta alternative band scene and if it was thriving or stagnating. They all agreed on the former. “It seems like there's a lot of-a lot more bands than I would have expected a lot of small bands, a lot. A lot of up-and-coming bands...which I think is really cool to see, because we've got to perform with a lot of really cool people. I've, you know, got to hear a lot of music live that I probably wouldn't have done if I weren't in Internet Islands,” said Miyon, who wasn’t active in the Atlanta music scene before joining Internet Islands.  

When I asked what audiences can expect from the upcoming Internet show, Miyon said, “We plan to have...tightened up our set, maybe have some new things to show [the fans]. This is gonna be...one of our biggest performances, hopefully yet. So, you know, we're really wanting to put on a good show for new fans that are coming, returning fans that have been to our shows before. Yeah, we hope to have a good show for them.”

While preparing for the show, they are also busy writing new music. “Right now, we're kind of just trying to work out new music,” says Anderson. “We wanna play [the new songs]. I mean, we definitely have a few new songs, but now we might have a bunch of new songs for the show. And then as we get closer to the actual date, we'll start like working out exactly what songs we wanna play.” When asked how much new music they will premiere at the show, Miyon added “a little sprinkle.” 

Like all bands, it’s all about the creative process. Internet Islands is no different. Over the years, the band has been honing its process. At first, their songwriting consisted of one-part writing song fragments individually, then coming together to flush them and one-part recorded-improvisational jam sessions that would later be refined. While they still record their jam sessions, they are also have taken to writing songs together. “We try to be a bit more structured in our song writing, and I think we sort of hit that mark and now we're back to doing whatever is kind of interesting,” says Anderson. “But we're always trying to find a creative way to make the song. I think uh the last practice we did was a bit unique in that we arranged it together versus separately, which was a bit different.” Miyon spoke about her process as the lyricist for the band. “I try to pull from a lot of different things. When I first joined the band, it was more from a place of frustration, I was going through a bad breakup.” Now, coming out the other side, she tries to pull inspiration from outside her point of view and write from other perspectives. “I've been trying to pull from different places more often than my own personal experience. I don't want to limit myself. I feel like in that way, I can kind of get into a block of only wanting to write about things that I'm dealing with or that I can relate to.” 

2024 is starting as a great year of growth for the band. There is the promise of more shows and new music. This year marks the first time the band collaborates with an outside producer. Matt describes the band’s feeling as “excited” when talking about the new territory. For the first time they will be recording in a professional studio, instead of their home studio. “I think we're looking forward to having someone outside of the band be directly involved with it.” says Matt. “It's always difficult when you're working on your own music because you're personally connected to it. I think we're all...excited about having that some[one] more objective input into the project.” With the new music, they hope to challenge themselves and grow as musicians and songwriters. “I think we want to explore some different moods, you know,” adds Anderson. We kind of have a style that we fit into. Our goal over this next year with the new music is to try and flesh it out a little bit more, you know, still be Internet Islands, but maybe not play what comes immediately natural to us.” “We're embracing Greek myths and legends sort of material,” jokes Matt. 

Internet Islands, a band on the rise, but in no rush to shoot into the stratosphere. The best part of being an artist at this stage is being curious and having the freedom to find the limits of what you can do, and then push them. Listening to songs like “Under the Mound”, “Passenger,” or “Spacecape,” it’s easy to hear the shoulders on which Internet Islands stand. But they are eager to grow and develop their own identity, and don’t seem afraid of self-exploration, by exploring new ground musically. They are staying grounded and learning well on the fly, while at the same time still enjoying the ride. Make sure you catch them at Terminal West on March 21st. The show is 19 and up. The doors open at 7:30.

For more about Internet Islands, follow the link below:

Web: https://internetislandsband.com/ . 

IG: @internetislands.

Facebook: @internetislandsband

YouTube: @internetislands.

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