On the RISE: Playing a singing voice with Portrait XO
LA-based classically trained pianist and composer.
When composing the soundtrack for a thriller called The Murderers, there was no choice but to try and inhabit the mind of a murderer and sing a story from his perspective, says Portrait XO. "Blood on the trigger hits the ground between your toes" are the opening lyrics of 'Trigger Runs Free,' the darkly atmospheric track she wrote for the film.
The song’s mood picks up on the mystery, stillness, and hauntedness of an English farmhouse in the dead of winter. It could not be more different from the home studio above a daycare facility in Echo Park, Los Angeles where the 30-year-old composer, singer, producer, and keyboardist works.
“Whatever I write musically is going to be personal, because I make an emotional connection with whatever I do, even if it’s not a personal story I’m telling. The director wanted three full tracks, so I dissected every section of the film trying to find a way to explain or retell that story in the voice of the character — the murderer. It’s been an interesting mental journey, to say the least!”
Portrait XO wrote the track on the Seaboard RISE 25, which has become her go-to tool for composing as well as performing. Her sound has changed since she discovered the RISE in early 2016. A classically trained pianist who composes through a spontaneous interplay of vocals and keys, she believes the RISE is a perfectly expressive partner to her voice.