Chosen
by Interview Magazine as one of their "14 Artists to Watch," the Los Angeles-born starlet's
theatrical stage show is a sexy circus of glam-rock
burlesque, backed by a scantily-clad girl band known
to EA's devoted fans as the Bloody Crumpets.
But as the sole composer, performer, and producer of
her latest full-length album, the double disc "Opheliac," EA gets personal. Written
in the style she calls "Victoriandustrial," this magnificent musical adventure draws upon
EA's background as a child-prodigy classical violinist
growing up on the stages of concert halls around the
world, and combines it with her passion for harsh industrialism,
aggressive metal, and all things Vaudeville. The
subject matter of this elaborate concept album is much
darker however, bravely and often humorously addressing
highly controversial issues ranging from manic depression
(the harpsichord-driven title track as well as the contagiously
danceable "Swallow"
and the epic "Misery Loves Company"),
self-mutilation ("Liar,"
a terrifying decent into hell), and sexual abuse ("Gothic
Lolita") to suicide (the beautifully
ironic "The Art of Suicide"),
and touching on EA's real-life experience as a psych
ward inmate (the tragically funny "Thank
God I'm Pretty," from the "Opheliac
-- Deluxe Edition" Bonus Disc).
As EA herself explains: "I
learnt to walk in the back stages of theatres and opera
houses, amongst the beautiful chaos of costume changes,
circus performers, sweaty ballerinas, dripping make-up,
and far too much glitter. Then, I went mad and was locked
up. This is simply what it sounds like inside my head.
'Opheliac' is my 'mad scene'."
Accentuated
by EA's signature electric violin pyrotechnics, heartbreakingly
lush orchestrations, hard-core beats, and menacing lyrics
growled with enough intensity to make your hair stand
on end, the resulting noise is a harpsichord-heavy romp
through Victorian asylums where screaming is allowed
and girls always get revenge.
2007 and 2008
were filled with nearly non-stop European touring for
EA and her traveling circus, and the Asylum stage show
has grown with each incarnation, quickly changing viewers'
expectations from rock show to Broadway musical, complete
with singing, dancing, fire-eating, stilt-walking, aerial
flying, stripping, burlesque feather fan dancing, highly
inappropriate comedy bits, and much, much more. November
2008 marked the first Asylum performance in the USA,
a sold-out New York extravaganza. In May, 2009, EA and
her Crumpets (Aprella, Naughty
Veronica, The Blessed Contessa,
and Captain Maggot) completed their
most recent European tour entitled "The
Asylum Tour: The Gate Part II."
Since
her European breakthrough in late 2006, EA has recorded
and released two album-length EPs ("Liar/Dead
Is The New Alive"
and "Four o'Clock"), a double disc all-violin album ("Laced/Unlaced," which showcases both her
classical and industrial-metal violin skills), a double
feature single boasting a stunning rendition of Queen's
"Bohemian Rhapsody," and a sexed-up version of Cyndi Lauper's
"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,"
as well as re-releasing an album of rarities and recordings
from her teenage years, including a volume of poetry
("Enchant," "A Bit
o'This & That,"
and "Your Sugar Sits Untouched").
Despite
this wealth of new material, Emilie Autumn's focus remains
firmly fixed on the "Opheliac" album, a work so unique and rich in both theatrical
content and musical ability to reach a vast variety
of listeners (the age of EA's evenly split male/female
fanbase ranges from six to sixty, and includes devotees
of the industrial, metal, goth, classical, and mainstream
pop/rock genres) that even her two-and-a-half hour long
stage show has not yet been able to accommodate all
of the album's tracks.
Previously available
only as an import outside of Europe, Emilie Autumn's
seminal album "Opheliac"
is finally being launched in America and beyond. On
October 27, 2009,
The End Records is releasing the ultimate
American version of EA's entirely self-written/performed/produced
double-disc masterpiece as "Opheliac
-- The Deluxe Edition," featuring
five new and exclusive tracks, live concert
footage, video interviews, and hilarious album out-takes.
Emilie, who claims
to live in an insane asylum for wayward girls, will
support "Opheliac -- The Deluxe Edition"
on her very first North American tour in October,
2009. Entitled "The
Asylum Tour: The Key," this major-city
tour promises to unlock the gate and bring the Asylum
experience to those who have been waiting to see it
for the very first time.
Of course, for
those who can't want to wait to get past the Asylum
gates, EA's debut autobiographical novel, "The
Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls,"
is soon to be released in 2009. Written and lavishly
illustrated by EA, "The Asylum..."
book is more than a gorgeous volume that will take up
most of the space on your coffee table -- it is also
one of the most complete accounts of bipolar disorder
ever penned, and will take readers behind the doors
of both modern day psych ward and Victorian insane asylum
in this true life horror tale of madness, murder, and
medical experimentation.
But
beware: It is much easier to get into the Asylum than
it is to get out...
