Last few years has been Sonarworks’ Reference 4, which has allowed her toĮnsure that her compositions and songs translate across the variety of mediums Music influenced by both her singer/songwriter background and her classicalĪ key part of her recording setup for the Seaboard, MAudio Keystation, and the Akai APC40 to compose a wide range of More sound designing for an installation, I definitely favor Ableton.” She usesĪn Apollo Twin interface and a variety of MIDI controllers, including the ROLI When I want to get more experimental and do In a more traditional producing mind frame and I’ll often use it when I want toįocus on crafting the structure of a composition. “They each make me write and produce differently,” she explains. Installations and Logic for her more songwriter-focused recording projects.
Idea of showcasing work in a different way, that would create a uniqueĮxperience,” she says, “It allowed me to still use music as my primary languageīut allow it take on a different role in how someone would experienceĭepending on the end situation, favoring Ableton Live for her sound Performance in January 2019 where audience members drank specific wines andīeers to accompany the pieces that she performed on stage. Interactive installations, to live experiences like her ‘Sound Tasting’ In these have ranged from matching flavored sweets to sound clips in Works that allow her audience to experience sound as she does. Opportunity to explore and educate others on her condition, creating immersive Jagermeister (CO:QUO x Digi-Gxl) from September 6-17. Resident Artist at Factory Berlin, a think tank of artists, tech innovators,Īnd scientists from across the globe that explore boundary-pushing ideas inĪrts and science, and part of a 2-week residency for Night Embassy by What this ultimately gave me was an appreciation for all flavorsĪnd therefore sounds, which made we want to explore music that would encompass The very middle areīland flavors like rice and potatoes, while the lows are like unsweetened Sugary until the middle highs, where it tastes like chili. They trigger the most dynamic reactions,” she continues. “The highest frequencies are very citric, and
“The best way I can explain is that both sound and flavor are two types of senses that are among the hardest to describe, so once I realized how I was experiencing things this way was different from others, I sought to find ways to express that in my work.” “It’s always been this intangible experience and I never really questioned it,” she said. For PortraitXO, who has experienced the condition for her entire life, the correlation between sound and taste gave her an appreciation for variety in both from an early age. Blige, and Kristin Hersh are just a few of those that experience it in the more well-known sound-to-color affiliation where certain sounds are also experienced as color hues. SamplingĪlthough only 4% of the population* is reported to experience synesthesia, artists with the condition are not entirely uncommon. Her continuing efforts in refining this process have found her embracing Sonarworks’ Reference 4 audio calibration plugin, ensuring that her musical projects not only translate on a sonic level across all of these mediums, but on a taste level as well. This has given her a singular approach to music and a fascination with creating multi-sensory experiences that can give others a doorway into her creative world, something she has manifested in conventional songwriting as well as interactive installations and live performances. What makes PortraitXO’s work so unique is that from a young age she has experienced sound-to-taste synesthesia, a condition which has the artist “tasting” different frequencies of sound. LA-Born, Berlin-based artist PortraitXO is always in the process of finding new experimental musical projects to connect her personal experiences to listeners. Cutting-edge sonic artist/composer gives listeners a taste of synesthesia