Ethel Cain

Hayden Silas Anhedönia (born March 24, 1998),[2] known by her stage name Ethel Cain,[3][4] is an American singer-songwriter who was born in Tallahassee and lives in Pittsburgh.

Ethel Cain
Born (1998-03-24) March 24, 1998 (age 26)
Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • artist
  • producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active2017–present
Labels
  • Daughters of Cain
  • AWAL
Associated acts
Websitedaughtersofcain.com

Cain first started making music in 2017 under the name White Silas and was inspired by Christian music and Gregorian chants. She released some music under that name on sites including Spotify, SoundCloud and Tumblr. In 2019 she changed to an alternative sound and started using the name Ethel Cain.[5] Her music is Southern Gothic themed and she sings about poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, death, and more.

Cain put out her first album in 2022 called Preacher's Daughter. Many music critics called it one of the best albums of the year.

Early life

Ethel Cain was born in Tallahassee, Florida and raised in Perry.[6] Her family was Southern Baptist and she is the oldest out of all her siblings.[2] Her father was a deacon and she sang in the choir at church when she was young. Cain started playing the piano when she was 8 years old because she was inspired by Karen Carpenter, the Steve Miller Band, and Christian music.[7]

She came out as a gay man to her family when she was 12, and left the church when she was 16.[2] When she turned 20, she came out as a trans woman.[8]

Career

2017–2019: career beginnings

In 2017, Cain thought about going to the film school at Florida State University and started making choral inspired music on GarageBand with a lot of reverb. From 2017 to 2018, she posted some music just for her close friends and followers on Twitter and Instagram, under the names White Silas and Atlas. In 2019, she released her first song as Ethel Cain, titled 'Bruises'. Then she opened for Nicole Dollanganger at her concert in Chicago.

In September 2019, she released an EP called Carpet Bed, and then another called Golden Age three months later. Wicca Phase Springs Eternal said in an interview that he likes Ethel Cain's music.[9]

2020–2021: Inbred

In January 2020, Cain met a rapper named Lil Aaron and he invited her to sign with a publishing company called Prescription Songs. In August 2020, Cain moved from Florida to Richmond, Indiana and made an EP called Inbred, which was released on April 23, 2021.[10]

2022–present: Preacher's Daughter

In May 2022, Cain released her first album called Preacher's Daughter.[11]

Personal life

Ethel Cain still considers herself a Southern Baptist,[12] but she says she is not a Christian and doesn't really care about religion that much.[13]

Cain is autistic,[14] bisexual and transgender.[15]

References

  1. Daw, Stephen (11 March 2022). "First Out: New Music From Chloe Moriondo, Corook, Awfultune & More". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/first-out-chloe-moriondo-corook-awfultune-1235042483/. Retrieved 17 March 2022. "folk singer-songwriter Ethel Cain's...". 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dombal, Ryan (20 April 2021). "Ethel Cain Fears No Darkness". Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/ethel-cain-interview/. Retrieved 17 March 2022. 
  3. "Experience The Dawn of Ethel Cain's Golden Age". Underground Underdogs. December 10, 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  4. Song, Sandra (February 11, 2021). "Ethel Cain Debuts 'Michelle Pfeiffer' with Lil Aaron". Paper. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  5. "The Gospel According To Ethel Cain". Underground Underdogs. March 30, 2020.
  6. Coscarelli, Joe (May 11, 2022). "The Most Famous Girl at the Waffle House". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022.
  7. Wally, Maxine (May 13, 2022). "Ethel Cain's America". W. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  8. Wally, Maxine (May 13, 2022). "Ethel Cain's America". W. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  9. "Wicca Phase tells us his top 10 LPs of 2019; tour w/ Glitterer, Creeks, Anxious begins". BrooklynVegan. December 5, 2019.
  10. Chodzin, Devon (May 11, 2022). "On Preacher's Daughter, Ethel Cain's Jarring, Beautiful Vision Comes to Life". Paste. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  11. Minsker, Evan (17 March 2022). "Ethel Cain Announces Debut Album Preacher's Daughter, Shares New Song". Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/news/ethel-cain-announces-debut-album-preachers-daughter-shares-new-song-listen/. Retrieved 19 March 2022. 
  12. Hudnut, Conor (April 25, 2021). "God's Country: Ethel Cain's music is an unforgiving portrait of Southern Baptist America". Hero. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022.
  13. "Do you still consider yourself a Christian?". Tumblr. October 19, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  14. "hiya meemaw, is it true that ur on the autism spectrum? [...]". Tumblr. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  15. Thomas, Zora (September 13, 2022). "Ethel Cain delivers delectably dark performance at the Bowery Ballroom". The Pace Press. https://thepacepress.org/8185/arts/music/ethel-cain-delivers-delectably-dark-performance-at-the-bowery-ballroom/. Retrieved November 25, 2022. "Her lyricism depicts the existence of being a bisexual, transgender woman raised within a southern church.".