PureVolume

"It's liberating," says Stephanie Michelle of her music. "It's pure emotion in electronic form."
Armed with a myriad of instruments and surrounded by cable cords, she reigns queen of her creations as sole musician for her one-woman Northern California-based band CLAUDIA'S ASHES, a project formed in late 2002 and one that is daily gaining worldwide attention from the underground music scene. Compared to the likes of Switchblade Symphony, Lacuna Coil, London After Midnight and even Evanescense, it is no wonder that people are starting to pay attention.

Original is a word that fans frequently use to describe the music, and originality is exactly what they recieve. Often lumped in the gothic or industrial genres, the eerie melancholic of angelic female vocals, the ominous crunch of burning guitar riffs, and the intertwining melodic interludes of CLAUDIA'S ASHES are all open for debate over which genre they belong to. The newly-released "The Red Queen" EP showcases this variety, with songs ranging from darkwave dance tracks to classical instrumental waltzes, to pure goth-rock-driven ballads, all expressing a range of emotions stemming from anguish to absolute lust.

Fans of goth/industrial haven't been disappointed by Stephanie Michelle since the release of the debut album "Cold Autumn Nostalgia" in late 2004. Now, backed with Bug on live guitar and David Wright on live percussion, CLAUDIA'S ASHES proves a force to be reckoned with. "I hope that people who listen can walk away with a sense of what I am trying to convey to them. Music can be a great source of inspiration, and it can be a great release of internal darkness as well. Hopefully my listeners find themselves in between the two."