Ethel Cain

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ethel Cain
A woman wears an American flag shirt and short jean shorts. She holds a microphone and looks into the distance.
Cain in 2023
Background information
Also known as
  • Ashmedai[a]
  • Atlas
  • White Silas
  • Miss Anhedonia
  • Tommy
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
Websitedaughtersofcain.com

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

Cain first started making music in 2017 under the name White Silas. She 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. 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[change | change source]

Hayden Silas Anhedönia was born in Tallahassee, Florida and raised in Perry.[6] Her family is Southern Baptist. She is the oldest out of all her siblings.[2] Her father was a deacon and she sang in the choir at his 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. She left the church when she was 16.[2] When she turned 20, she came out as a trans woman.[8]

Career[change | change source]

2017–2019: career beginnings[change | change source]

In 2017, Cain thought about going to the film school at Florida State University. She 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. She used the names White Silas and Atlas. In 2019, she released her first song as Ethel Cain, called 'Bruises'. Then she opened for Nicole Dollanganger at her concert in Chicago.

In September 2019, she released an EP called Carpet Bed. She released another one 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[change | change source]

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

2022–present: Preacher's Daughter[change | change source]

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

Personal life[change | change source]

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

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

Notes[change | change source]

  1. Hebrew: אשמדאי

References[change | change source]

  1. Daw, Stephen (11 March 2022). "First Out: New Music From Chloe Moriondo, Corook, Awfultune & More". Billboard. 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. 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. 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. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  14. "hiya meemaw, is it true that ur on the autism spectrum? [...]". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2022-12-17. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  15. Thomas, Zora (September 13, 2022). "Ethel Cain delivers delectably dark performance at the Bowery Ballroom". The Pace Press. Retrieved November 25, 2022. Her lyricism depicts the existence of being a bisexual, transgender woman raised within a southern church.