Misery Loves Company

Your eyelids flutter open and you are completely unaware of where you are, or how you ended up there. Gray walls - concrete floor - tall steel bars on one side that cage you into this small room... You stretch out your arms and start to notice your head is pounding; it's hard to think at all with the intense pain skewing your thoughts. You feel like you have been asleep for a very long time. Exactly how long is impossible to say; there are no clocks in this little cell you are situated in. You walk up to the bars and see a girl in the corner of the cell directly across from yours - you can't be entirely sure whether she's laughing or crying. You call out to her, and she spins around, red hair in a flurry. Her bright eyes meet yours and you notice how hollow they seem. You call out timidly and ask;
"W... Where are we?"
Her response is delayed, and you wait nearly half a minute before she speaks in her deep fluid voice:
"We are in the Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls"

Through the use of many different forms of media, Emilie Autumn has created her own magnificent world which she entitled 'The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls'. Throughout her writing, music, art and general aesthetics she provides a doorway for us into this dark and intriguing fantasy she has created. Her album 'Opheliac' lets us peek into this world, with classical instruments such as the harpsichord and violin layered over heavy industrial beats. Her musical style can vary from very aggressive to soft and whimsical. Her unique voice and distinct style can be detected in all of her pieces, however different they may be.

'Opheliac' is my favourite album produced by Emilie Autumn, being much harder than any of her previous works. She coined the terms 'Victoriandustrial' and 'Violindustrial' for this album, as it is a fusion of Victorian aesthetics and instruments and hard hitting bass-lines. As I am a sucker for the Violin and Harpsichord, hearing them used in such a modern and interesting way is fantastic. The mash-up of old and new creates a distinctive style that is certainly not for everyone. Even if you can't appreciate her singing and musical style, her talent with her weapon of choice, the violin, is undeniable. If you listen to songs from her album 'Laced / Unlaced' (One side containing classical violin pieces, the other breaking loose with string shredding arrangements using the electric violin) you can hear her obvious talent.

Live, Emilie is fantastic. She tours with a small group of girls entitled the 'Bloody Crumpets'. They don't provide much musical accompaniment, and instead all work together to provide performance art set to Emilie's music. The live performance is reminiscent of a circus sideshow with fire, stilts, lots of tea, tons of makeup and even more sexual innuendo. The set pieces (all either made by Emilie or given to her by devoted fans) create the perfect twisted backdrop for the theatrical performance.

My favourite song off of Opheliac is 'Misery Loves Company'. The lyrics are pretty simple, but this adds to their easiness to relate to. I also like the contrast between how she snarls out the verses and then sings the chorus so powerfully.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgLxifqI6k8

As proof of her excellent violin skills, here is an instrumental piece off of 'Unlaced' entitled 'Syringe'. When the electric violin comes in at 50 seconds it gives me chills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHnU-8eH1ek

And there is Emilie Autumn. There is a lot more I could talk about when it comes to this violin wielding, costume designing beauty. I could talk about her collaborations with Billy Corgan, Courtney Love and OTEP, or her previous albums in which you can see her love of Shakespeare and baroque... but I will keep it short and simple; this girl kicks ass.