Riley Pleads Innocence

Riley was born and raised on the warm coast of Southern California. In the spring of 2005, that sunshine was cast out by a dark grey cloud that would eventually haunt her for her days to come. Riley lost her close friend, and her mother to suicide. With no way of escaping the reality of her world, she turned to writing poetry and her piano. Not classically trained, she would sit in her room teaching herself how to write songs. For the next years of her life she would be comforted by the sounds of soul, jazz, and blues. Influenced by artists like Amy Winehouse, Bill Withers, Janis Joplin, Helene Smith, Al Green & Marvin Gaye; she found her way into writing and poring her heart and soul into her songs.

‘Innocence’ is a track with subject matter as powerful as the voice that delivers it. Riley brings the whole of her huge and powerful voice to this enormous, cathartic track. Her singing isn't just a ray of light, it the entire sun, eliminating the darkness. Through creation the demons are beaten and she is transformed.

The song begins with just her voice and a lonely acoustic guitar. She recounts the struggle she endured at the hands of shady figure. The music reflects this. But Riley overcame the trauma she endured. When the chrous comes in, it is the sound of the curtains be thrown open and the light flooding in.

Riley said of the track, “When I was younger, I suffered abuse by the hands of an older man. Being able to sing out my confusion and frustration made me confront some upsetting truths about my past. "Innocence" is about seeing these issues face-to-face and a way to heal from them.”