Sophie, Cecil, Georgia and Annabel are Body Type, the quadrangle of absolute trailblazers shredding apart the local scene with their self-taught, lo-fi sound.
Bastions for the relevance of girl power in rock n’ roll, we thought we’d ask these ladies how they make their sound come together. Much like Body Type themselves, their gear is down to earth, full of DIY attitude and fabulous as hell.
Having come together just over a year ago, Body Type are brimming with rockin’ attitude, bottomless modesty and infectious optimism.
Sophie – Guitar/Vocals
I play a 90’s Danelectro DC 59. It’s my first electric guitar and I bought it cos it was cheap and purple. It’s also the guitar model on the cover of Sleater-Kinney’s Dig Me Out. It’s kind of twangy and goes out of tune pretty quick, but it’s really fun to play – it’s really light so I can thrash it around on stage with ease, and I find it very friendly to the female form.
I run it through a Jekyll and Hyde overdrive and distortion, a Boss super chorus, Boss DD7 delay and a Boss RV5 reverb to try and get a sweet mix of dreamy, jangly sparkly tones with a bit of punch.
Annabel – Guitar/Vocals
I sport a Fender Squire Bullet Strat, I call it the Toy. The motivation to own it was mostly driven by the daphne blue colouring, and fortunately the guitar itself also has some nice tone. Looks cheap, sounds expensive. (I’m not sure if that’s true but it does the job). Sometimes I get my kicks from jamming down the whammy bar at the end of songs for a lil dissonant yowl.
Stick-on diamantes are also essential for making any budget instrument exceed its humble origins. As for pedals, I just have a few basics: Boss Tuner, TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb, Boss Overdrive, and an el cheapo Belcat Analogue Delay.
Georgia – Bass
This is my loyal Ibanez 4001 Lawsuit Copy. I’ve had this bass since I was thirteen and despite it being way too heavy for me I’m too attached to not want to lovingly lug it around with me. It’s really great hardware that smoothly replicates the Rickenbacker machinery (production of the Rickenbacker stopped after RIC caught Ibanez out for copyright infringement) and the fireglo finish perfectly declares its criminality.
I got my strap when I was around the same age and had just picked up guitar AND had just seen Iggy Pop play for the first time. I’m all for the leopard print…
Looking for bass pedal suggestions…
Cecil – Drums
I bought my first drum kit at the beginning of last year and nabbed a pretty sweet deal – full kit kit with all the trimmings plus all the protective cases required for travel – Bonza. A highlight of the purchase was this pretty funky, old, nondescript crash cymbal with stars imprinted on it. Despite it probably needing a bit of a clean (or it adds to the flair?), it actually has a really beautiful shimmery sound to it – I tend to miss it when I don’t bring it along to shows. It’s a nice piece of acquired gear nonetheless!
Body Type have a couple of gigs in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gong on the cards. Find out more here.
Watch their video for Ludlow below:
