spotlight: Thavoron Celebrates Identity On New Self-Titled Album
IT’S THAVORON’S MOMENT – one liberated through the newly released self–titled album.
“I feel like this is my moment to introduce myself to the world,” she says. “This is my story.”
Following up on the 2023 sophomore album, Tommy Loves You, the singer-songwriter is preserving her stunning sincerity in continued self-discovery through lessons learned within her five-year journey. “I think it would have been too early to define myself,” Thavoron explains when asked about the timing of the self-titled project.
Admiring artists who jump right in, she knows there was an importance behind the chronological order she chose. Ugly and Tommy Loves You lead her to this spot that feels right. “I can't imagine another time to do it,” she shares. “It feels cool to have it be this candid representation of who I am. How I am representing myself at this very moment.”
Thavoron is a significant one. It is the next chapter in artistic expansion and aligns with a recent acknowledgment of personal identity. In July, Thavoron came out as a trans woman.
“I truly have always felt like this, but I shoved it down, so far down, because it just felt easier to present as a gay male,” she shares while reflecting on the album artwork. The intriguing composition is Thavoron sitting on the family dining room table in a Cambodian headdress surrounded by large wooden fixtures and one peculiarly placed television.
“The stark contrast between all this gaudy 2000s brown furniture mixed with the gray modern walls—it just felt like such a stunning metaphor,” she says. “It brought up this idea of living in survival mode for so long.”
Raised by Cambodian immigrants, she has seen the battle for the American dream, those societal ideals shaping how one feels they must live. “My whole life has been about re-contextualizing myself and my identity to adhere to that. But now, I realize I don't have to, and I can do whatever the f*ck I want.”
She is breaking from that ‘survival mode’ she mentions, weaving that newly found freedom within this self-titled album.“By piecing this album together, it did happen when I let go of control and stopped caring about random sh*t or other people's perception,” Thavoron states.
Through thirteen captivating songs, the listener goes through a vulnerable understanding heightened in a soul-stirring sound structure.
Opening with “Eastern Cold,” the entrancing, echoing guitar draws you into their world. Specifically, Everett, Washington, where she grew up. These moving production moments are not lost. They are carried into each chapter, seamlessly moving into “My Man,” an admission that a man is not required to feel content with oneself. Followed by a surge of energy on “Body,” the standout number that channels queer liveliness through a magnetic arrangement of synths. An evident product of confidence in tackling new production.
“I’m giving myself the space and freedom to express whatever I feel; and understanding what makes us all human is the vast emotions,” Thavoron says about piecing together the tracks. She makes what she says are “foundations,” portraying these effectual moments that she knows are not only a singular experience. Each song holds a significant purpose in her story while gently inviting the audience to find areas they relate to.
Thavoron mentions the Tumblr era of the internet. Those memories of scrolling through endless organic, expressive content. A period that influenced fashion, artistic direction, music, and created space for the community. She talks about that time, bridging that experience in the song “Forever Young.” The artist calls it her “21st-century love letter.”
“Growing up, being young on Tumblr, seeing queer relationships or gay relationships and have that be something that's celebrated, on Tumblr, in this very categorized, aesthetic way… I think that was imperative for me to be able to romanticize without a negative connotation – like my own life and my own identity.”
Further elaborating, she shares how it became a way for her to see more than what was outside her childhood doorstep, specifically the representation of queer relationships. As she’s grown in her adult years, “Forever Young” represents how the internet has become synonymous with how we interact with relationships and friendships. Things evolve, and so do we. Thavoron has found inspiration within these revelations that have ultimately driven the direction of this album.
“The idea of tradition and modernity; technology, growing up on the internet, fashion and culture. All the things that make up who I am,” she states.
There’s power in being who you are, and it’s clear. Thavoron has arrived at a place where she can confidently express those words. Her work has always been a raw, vulnerable declaration, but the self-titled feels like she’s unlocked a new realm solid in self-acceptance. Undoubtedly, Thavoron will become the project others will find themselves relating to on a deeper level.
As she starts to close the conversation, she points out the second to last track, “American Urge.” The song hones in on these sentiments, noting it was the driving force of the entire project. She recounts the argument she had with her father that inspired the track. Thavoron explains her fight with trying to uphold the standards in place while coming to terms with it all being a front to appease others.
“It’s not out of pocket to live your life the way that you want and fight for that,” she states, adding that she struggled with not feeling American enough or, in general, not fitting in.
“It (the album) feels like you can go through whatever. You can date random people; you can fu*k up a lot. But if you take some time with yourself, acknowledge everything, and accept it, you can move on to something bigger and greater that is meant for you,” she reflects.
Thavoron takes a moment to share that there were times when things felt like they wouldn’t get better, but the self-titled is proof that they are, and she’s hoping she can help others feel the same.
“Allowing listeners to find their own truth and their own victories and strengths; being able to champion that themselves. That's the only thing I want people to take away from this album.”
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