“Hymns have always sounded like sung spells to me. I never felt included in the magic of the God songs I heard growing up - I knew I was going to hell before anyone ever told me that I was. People found comfort in this all-knowing source, but I felt frightened and found out. I developed some weird and very dramatic complexes.”

American singer, songwriter, and musician

Perfume Genius is the stage name of Michael Alden Hadreas, an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He works in indie music and is known for songs that move between pop and rock, with a wide range of influences and moods. His writing often turns to sexuality, his own experience with Crohn's disease, domestic abuse, and the risks gay men can face in contemporary society. That focus gives his work a personal and sometimes stark quality, shaped as much by lived experience as by style.