Ethel Cain

## Musical career

### Genres

Ethereal wave • lo-fi • ambient • dream pop • gospel • alternative rock • rock • folk

## External links

### Soundcloud

Ethel Cain
tommy
אשמדאי (Ashmedai)

**Hayden Silas Anhedönia** (born March 24, 1998), known professionally as **Ethel Cain**, is an American singer-songwriter and artist born in Tallahassee, Florida and living in Enterprise, Alabama.

In mid 2017, Cain began experimenting with writing, recording, and producing her own ethereal style Gregorian chant inspired music. After releasing various mixtapes and EPs to streaming, as well as sites like SoundCloud and Tumblr, she adopted a more alternative sound and began using the Ethel Cain moniker in mid 2019. Cain's music deals in nostalgic and Southern Gothic themes, such as poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, death, and transgenerational trauma. Her music has been associated with the ambient, alternative rock, and dream pop genres.

## Early Life

Cain grew up in Taylor County, Florida. Born to a Southern Baptist family, her dad was a deacon and she was involved in choir from a young age. Aside from choir, Hayden also learned piano at a young age and joined musical theather, which sparked her interest for music. She left the church at the age of 16 after coming out as gay to her family at the age of 12. At her 20th birthday she publicly came out as a transgender woman.

Cain finds inspiration from gospel music, country music, classic rock and alternative music.

## Career

### 2017-2019: Career beginnings

In 2017, while considering enrolling in the Florida State University film school, Anhedönia began experimenting with creating reverb-heavy choral inspired music on GarageBand. From 2017 to 2018, she released her works to a small following of friends and followers on Twitter and Instagram under various aliases, exploring different styles of sound and production to create a series of experimental mixtapes and EP's.

In 2019, following the release of her debut single as Ethel Cain, titled "Bruises", she connected with artist Nicole Dollanganger through social media, opening for Dollanganger on the artist's 'Heart Shaped Bed' tour in Chicago.

In September 2019, she released a small collection of songs titled *Carpet Bed*, her first extended play under the Cain moniker.

In December 2019, after the release of her *Golden Age* EP, she was backed by artist Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, who praised Cain for her "mature songwriting and understanding of melody".

### 2020-2021: Inbred

In January 2020, after recommendation from Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Cain was discovered by rapper Lil Aaron. While headlining a show with Edith Underground and Lil Bo Weep in Los Angeles, Cain was invited by Aaron to meet with his publishing company Prescription Songs and signed with them soon after.

After the COVID-19 pandemic began, Cain became housebound in quarantine. In August 2020, she moved from Florida into a church outside of Richmond, Indiana, where she would finish recording her first EP as a non-independent artist, titled *Inbred*. The EP, entirely written, produced, and mixed by Cain, was a departure from the heavier dream-pop sound of *Golden Age* and a step towards a cleaner, more alt-rock inspired sound.

In February 2021, Cain released her first single under the new publishing contract, titled "Michelle Pfeiffer" featuring Lil Aaron. The song was premiered on Paper and featured on *Pitchfork*, *Billboard*, *Nylon*, and *The Fader*. She announced her third EP titled *Inbred*, featuring a collaboration with Wicca Phase Springs Eternal. A second single, "Crush", followed on March 18, and a third, "Unpunishable", premiered on Apple Music Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on April 15, 2021.

### 2022: Preacher's Daughter

On March 17, 2022, Cain released the single "Gibson Girl", subsequently announcing her debut album *Preacher's Daughter*, released May 12, 2022. The album was released via her own Daughters of Cain label and features thirteen songs. The album is part of the Ethel Cain Cinematic Universe.

## Trivia

* Hayden was supposed to go on America's Got Talent on December 2019, but it ended up not happening for unknown reasons.
* Nicole Dollanganger is Hayden's favorite artist, and a big inspiration especially in the beginning of her career.

## References

1. ↑ https://undergroundunderdogs.com/2019/12/09/ethel-cain-golden-age/
2. ↑ https://www.papermag.com/ethel-cain-michelle-pfeiffer-2650437418.html
3. ↑ https://undergroundunderdogs.com/2020/03/30/ethel-cain-interview/
4. ↑ https://lazyprotagonistpublishing.wordpress.com/2019/05/20/lazy-protagonist-podcast-episode-2/
5. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/ethel-cain-interview/
6. ↑ https://ourculturemag.com/2021/04/21/artist-spotlight-ethel-cain/
7. ↑ https://www.brooklynvegan.com/wicca-phase-tells-us-his-top-10-lps-of-2019-tour-w-glitterer-creeks-anxious-begins/
8. ↑ https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/song-of-the-day/ethel-cain-michelle-pfeiffer
9. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/ethel-cain-michelle-pfeiffer-ft-lil-aaron/
10. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/first-out-rebecca-black-big-freedia-syd-9525731/
11. ↑ https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/soundcheck-02-15-2021/amp
12. ↑ https://www.thefader.com/2021/02/18/best-songs-playlist-serpentwithfeet-ethel-caine-men-i-trust
13. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/news/ethel-cain-announces-debut-album-preachers-daughter-shares-new-song-listen/
14. ↑ https://lazyprotagonistpublishing.wordpress.com/2019/05/20/lazy-protagonist-podcast-episode-2/