Watching True Body On “Television:” Exploring Their New Single
Written by Piper Lynch for Ink Magazine
Photography by Kevin McCormick and Travis Waddell
February 21, 2020
About The Piece
In winter of 2020, Richmond was long awaiting the debut album of the local darkwave band, True Body. The bands PR manager had reached out to Ink Magazine in hopes for a published feature, interview, or single release. As I had grown interest in the band in my college years, the thought of taking the lead on an article for them was exciting. I thought an interview to accompany a new single would create a strong piece that would not only shine a light on the band but stand as a great promotional piece.
As my second interview for Ink Magazine, I planned to differentiate the form of the piece from my first. This would be an article with a direct transcription between my questions and each of the band members’ responses. To do this, I knew that I needed to be thorough with my questions to ensure in-depth, conversational answers. My meeting with the band was extremely casual in the comfortable setting of one’s apartment, which allowed for a round-table type of interview.
The weight of this feature article, especially with the band starting to make a greater impact on the music world than Richmond, required a more jobs than one. It was important to not only edit the hour long interview session into a clear transcription, act as a liaison with their PR manager, but ultimately to execute the article on time with the release of their debut single. The experience was challenging but exhilarating to meet this deadline and goal for a compelling interview.
You all mentioned hardcore’s importance to you, and though it’s not exactly the sound of the band, would you say there’s an aspect or sense of that community that you still relate to in True Body?
Camille: Absolutely. We talk about that all the time. Because DIY in Richmond is hardcore; those two things are linked together.
Hector: I mean, the ideas behind, even just the beginnings of synth-pop or post-punk, it all still stems from the ethos of punk and the hardcore movement of that generation in time; just deciding that they can create music because they can, and then booking your shows and booking your own tours and making your own merch.
Sam: I also think that one of the first places where we felt like we were accepted was in the hardcore and DIY spaces. Whether or not our music was divisive or whatever, I feel like we definitely had the most support through those channels.