An exclusive interview with multi-talented Elix Risqué

Elix Risqué Born as Elix Poe is an American singer-songwriter and actor. She started acting in school musicals in 2nd grade and got cast in multiple yearly productions throughout elementary, middle, and high school. She claims her proudest role was the Jester in “Once Upon a Mattress.” As a child, Elix thoroughly enjoyed performing concerts for her family with popular songs from artists such as Britney Spears, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, and Christina Aguilera. She has cited Spears, Rihanna, and Aguilera as her biggest influences. Elix has been writing songs since middle school and always brings her own feelings and emotions into her music. During high school, she used a computer recording software and ended up recording nineteen low quality albums that she distributed to her fans, creating a fan base all throughout her high school career.

She released one such album on iTunes in summer of 2011; it gained so much attention that the school’s newspaper wrote an article about her and her music. After high school, she took a break to save money in order to create more music. In the summer of 2015, her mother passed away and left her a generous sum of money. After paying off obligations, Elix used some of that money to fund her first professional full-length studio album, “Champagne Problems.” The album was released September 13, 2016.

We are sharing our recent interview with Elix.

Twist Online : First of all tell us about the start of your professional career?
Elix Risqué : It pretty much started with the release of my song “Dark Stranger” in 2015. It was my first professionally recorded and produced song and it was the push I needed to start getting serious about my music career.

Twist Online : Who or what inspired you to get into music industry?
Elix Risqué : Whenever I was in a school play or a talent show, I always loved performing and even from a young age I knew this was the career I wanted.

Twist Online : Tell us about your last year’s release “Champagne Problems”?
Elix Risqué : It was in the works for the better part of 5 years and it went through so many different changes. It was my baby and I didn’t want to release it until I felt it was perfect. I worked with multiple producers and songwriters to get the sound I wanted. You can tell when listening to it that it’s heavily inspired by 2000’s music because that’s my favorite era of music. It’s one of those albums that has something for everybody. There’s EDM songs, piano ballads, and sexy R&B jams, so I feel like everybody would like at least a couple songs from it.

Twist Online : What kind of response you have received from the release?
Elix Risqué : The people that have listened to it have praised it and given me such great feedback, which I’m so grateful for. Not a whole lot of people have heard of it, so I’m still hoping more people discover it every day.

Twist Online : Any particular track of the album that’s your favorite?
Elix Risqué : I have a few that hold a spot in my heart. “Untouchable” is one of them, because it’s a great “F you” to haters kind of song and it was so much fun to record. “Every Word” is a ballad about remembering a relationship and I feel like everyone has had a relationship that they miss, so if they’re upset about it they can listen to that song and cry and feel better. “Not Alone” is really special to me also because it was written in memory of my mother, and I really wanted it to be relatable to everybody that has lost someone close to them and to help them feel like someone’s there for them. I performed it live once and it’s the only time I’ll do it because I get emotional whenever I listen to it.

Twist Online : What attracts you more, performing on stage or working in studios?
Elix Risqué : I absolutely love being in the studio. You’re in control of how everything sounds and you can do it over and over again until you’re satisfied. It’s fun working with the engineer and experimenting and trying different effects to make the project sound even better than you thought it could. I do enjoy being on a stage as well, but for me recording in the studio takes the cake.

Twist Online : Do you need some specific kind of environment for writing songs?
Elix Risqué : It depends on the mood of the song I’m writing. If I’m going for a fun dance song, I’ll play songs of that genre in the background to try and channel that energy. If I’m going for a ballad, I’ll usually put on an emotional movie to try and convey those feelings into the song I’m writing.

Twist Online : You also have been in acting. Are you going to continue acting as well?
Elix Risqué : Absolutely! I love acting so much and it’s kind of taken a backseat to my music, but I’m currently working on getting auditions so hopefully I’ll be announcing something exciting about that soon.

Twist Online : Have you set some target to achieve as a music artist?
Elix Risqué : Ideally, I’d love to be a megawatt star and sell millions of records and sell out arenas for my concerts. Realistically, I’m hoping to at least make a name for myself and make some kind of imprint on the music industry.

Twist Online : Are you currently working on any other project?
Elix Risqué : I’m working on auditions for acting gigs and am also hard at work on my second professional LP. I’m really excited for the next album because it’s going to have a bit of a different sound but still hold onto my roots, and I’m hoping for a 2018 release.

Twist Online : Are you active on social media? What’s the best way to follow you online?
Elix Risqué : I have all the major social media apps. My Snapchat and Instagram are both elix.risque. My Twitter is @ERisque and my Facebook is under my name. I also have a Cymbal account that I post on daily and it’s also elix.risque.