Ethel Cain | Artist
Hayden Silas Anhedönia aka Ethel Cain is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, and model born 1998 in Tallahassee, Florida. Inspired by Christian music and Gregorian chant, she is noted for lyrics focused on nostalgic and Southern Gothic themes, while her music has been associated with the ambient, indie rock, and contemporary folk genres. Cain's lilting voice and intimate songs navigate melancholy moods and dreamy, reverb-heavy atmospheres. She has garnered a cult following despite having only released one official album. The eldest of four children in a Southern Baptist family, her father a deacon. Like her mother, Cain was involved in the church choir from a young age. She began studying classical piano at age 8 and was homeschooled her entire childhood. Cain left the church at 16 and came out as a transgender woman at the age of 20. Her early musical influences included Karen Carpenter, the Steve Miller Band, and a variety of Christian music. Discovering pop music as a teenager, Cain named Florence Welch, of Florence + the Machine, as her "teen idol." Cain wrote her first album's worth of material on a Casio keyboard aged 15. Much of her early work is available as demo recordings via digital downloads. Under the aliases White Silas and Atlas, she released her first mixtape at the age of 19 before making her Ethel Cain debut with "Bruises" in August 2019. The EPs Carpet Bed and Golden Age soon followed. After connecting with singer Nicole Dollanganger on social media, Cain opened a show for her in Chicago in 2019. In February 2021, Anhedönia released her first single as Ethel Cain under a new publishing contract. The single "Michelle Pfeiffer" featured rapper Lil Aaron. In 2022, she released her debut studio album Preacher's Daughter on her own Daughters of Cain label. The album gained a cult following online and attracted acclaim from music critics, many of whom called it one of the best albums of the year. The album's success led to opening slots for Florence + the Machine, Caroline Polachek, and Mitski, giving her worldwide exposure. Cain came out as gay to her family at the age of 12, and on her 20th birthday, she publicly came out as a trans woman. Reflecting on this, she recalled: "It was made clear to everyone that I was not like other people. We were a house divided—it was me versus my whole town." The singer identifies herself as a bisexual woman. She is also autistic, which she learned later in life. Reflecting on how autism has impacted her artistry, she stated: "(it) definitely heightens sensory everything. I think that's why I have so much crossover between media, because it's like, there's never just one sense. Music is not just something you listen to. Film is not just something you watch. You get all these senses from all these things. When I'm producing music, I literally feel sometimes I can see it. I can picture the sound around me." On June 3, 2023, Cain fainted on stage while performing at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, as part of Vivid Festival, resulting in the show's cancellation. Cain's much anticipated second album Perverts will be released early 2025
Artist Website: daughtersofcain.com
Featured Albums: Ethel Cain
Related Artists: White Silas, Nicole Dollanganger
