Perfume Genius

Mike Hadreas, better known by his stage name Perfume Genius, is an American singer-songwriter born in Seattle on September 25, 1981.

He began writing music after leaving the city of Everett, Washington, where he lived with his mother, to move to New York.

In 2008 he started releasing his work under the pseudonym Perfume Genius on his MySpace profile, catching the attention of the band Los Campesinos!, who introduced him to their label, Turnstile.

In 2010, with Matador Records, he released his debut album, “Learning“, which includes the single “Mr. Peterson”, centered on the story of a high school teacher who died by suicide because of his pedophilia.

In February 2012 he released his second album, “Put Your Back N.2 It“, preceded by the single “Hood”. The video for Hood, which features gay porn star Árpád Miklós, caused some controversy when YouTube decided to preemptively censor it, flagging it as “not suitable for families”.

In September 2014, Hadreas released his third album, “Too Bright“, co-produced by Adrian Utley of Portishead and Ali Chant.

The album marks a decisive leap in quality for Hadreas, charting new directions for his career that would be confirmed and surpassed by his subsequent work.

In 2016 he recorded a cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley, which was used for Prada's advertising campaign for the fragrances La Femme Prada and L’Homme Prada.

In March 2017 the single "Slip Away" was released, previewing his fourth album "No Shape".

For his minimalist, intimate style he has been compared to fellow artists Antony Hegarty and Jónsi of Sigur Rós.

On February 25, 2020, Hadreas released the single "Describe", followed a few weeks later by "On the Floor". Both songs are included on the album "Set My Heart On Fire Immediately", released on May 15, 2020.

Thanks to the excellent critical and commercial results achieved with his last two works, both mature and experimental at once, Mike's desire to push further beyond keeps growing.

The call from choreographer Kate Willich, who brought Perfume Genius into a multidisciplinary project combining music, dance and visual art titled "The Sun Still Burns Here", fueled that increasingly evident urge to take risks in the Seattle artist's nature.

The musical side of this work ends up on "Ugly Season", released in late spring 2022 as a fully standalone piece, separate from the other art forms it's part of. A record that once again shows Perfume Genius's great ability to blend art-pop and sonic experimentation, smoothed out by his unmistakable, vibrant falsetto.