photo by Maddie Ludgate
The child of Cambodian immigrants, Thavoron was born and raised in Everett, WA, where she grew up singing in school choir and taught herself to play the guitar and bass. Rarely finding the representation she so wished for, Thavoron took refuge in the indie/alternative music scenes, drawing inspiration from a mix of expressive, moody, experimental, dark pop and R&B, such as Blood Orange, Bon Iver, Jeff Buckley, Lana Del Rey, FKA twigs, and the XX.
Intentionally self-titled to showcase the name her father gave her, which loosely translates to “strong/child of power,” Thavoron is a stunning examination of intersectional identity.
Thavoron’s exploratory journey begins on “Body,” which the singer wrote after watching Jessy Lanza perform live in person at KEXP in August 2023. Undulating with swirling synth, reverb-heavy drums, and grandiose guitar solos, “Body” features Thavoron’s vocal ringing out triumphantly over everything.
“I really wanted to just capture queer liveliness. I think it’s something we’ll never be able to see enough of, and I wanted to take my own spin on what that meant to me, and what it feels like to me.”
On the slow-burning, percussion-heavy “American Urge,” Thavoron, a child of immigrants, attempts to reconcile her father’s idea of masculine identity and “real” adulthood with her own.
“The inspiration behind ‘American Urge’ was an argument that I got into with my father. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been irritated with my father’s archetype and his idea of success, and the means in which you would have to go to achieve it. He is very inspired by the American dream, as he immigrated here from Cambodia in the ‘80s.
My father is someone who’s very hot-headed, yet strong willed, but also very unforgiving. My concept of self has always been altered and molded by him. I’ve grown akin to feeling like I’ll never be good enough to reach my father’s standards, in order for him to be proud of me. I really wanted to touch on the realization that this is all a facade, in order to keep you from recognizing the power you hold from being yourself. Nothing you ever do will be good enough for the wrong people, so you might as well live your life the way you want to and be unapologetic about it. It’s your life, and nobody else’s.”
