HELLBENT & MOONBOUND

by Malena Cadiz / Produced by Andrew Lappin

STREAM "Hellbent and Moonbound”

L.A. based, Michigan-born, Malena Cadiz is a lady of the canyon waylaid at a suburban strip mall, acutely aware of how romance shines through even in moments of grit and desolation. A captivating songwriter with an unmistakable voice.

“Cadiz has a voice that grabs you within seconds.”
— NPR
“Her Karen Dalton-meets-Joanna Newsom voice has an enchanted echo you wish would never end.”
— The FADER

RECENT & UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS:

  • 2025 Kerrville folk festival - Grassy hill New folk competition finalist

  • 2025 Folk ALliance Intl. Official showcase artist, Montreal

  • 2025 June - Redwing Roots Festival (lineup includes The Steel Wheels, Hurray for the riffRaff, Bella White, Rayland Baxter & joy oladokun)

  • 2025 Southwest Tour with ANNA ASH

  • 2024 AmericanaFest Official showcase artist

  • 2024 Featured as one of the “best of” the NPR Tiny Desk Contest Entries

  • 2024 Releases:

    • Nov. DUO EP with The BONES OF J.R. JONES

    • OCT. Deluxe Hellbent & Moonbound (& Alive) released

    • AUG. Gone at Last with The Steel Wheels

  • 2024 Folk ALliance Intl. Official showcase artist 2024 Kansas City, MO

  • 2024 INTL. Folk Music awards Performed with The Steel Wheels & Willie Watson

  • West Coast tour with The Bones of J.R. Jones 2024

  • Songs Featured in "Nancy Drew" CW, "Lucifer" Netflix, "Rebel" ABC, “BULL” CBS

  • Featured on "And the Writer Is" Podcast with Ross Golan

  • 2021 & 2020 NPR "Best Of Tiny Desk Contest" feature & “Top Shelf” finalist

NOTABLE PRESS:

  • Featured on Vogue.com, Under the Radar, No Depression, Stereogum, The Fader, NPR, American Songwriter, PASTE, KCRW, CMT Edge, WFMU, WXNA, Daytrotter, WONDERLAND, ATWOOD MAGAZINE

BIO:

Michigan born and L.A. based Malena Cadiz is a lady of the canyon waylaid at a suburban strip mall, acutely aware of how romance shines through even in the moments of grit and desolation.  There’s something Didion-esque about Cadiz’s storytelling, crafting deeply personal vignettes that reveal greater narratives about the world we live in. 

Growing up a second-generation Filipino-American, Cadiz bounced between living in the suburbs of Michigan with her mother and bustling Singapore with her father. “I always felt rootless, not quite belonging to either place.” This longing for home and search for center rests at the heart of Cadiz’s work.

She’s released three studio albums and numerous singles and EPs. Her most recent LP, Hellbent & Moonbound was inspired by Drift, a poem by the 24th U.S. poet laureate, Ada Límon - specifically the phrase “moonbound and hellbent on defying the usual gravity of this spin.” It was produced by Andrew Lappin (L’Rain, Lucy Dacus, Cassandra Jenkins).

Her work has been praised by American Songwriter, Vogue, No Depression and The Fader, among others. Under the Radar has likened her work to Catpower and Angel Olsen and NPR compared her to "an earthbound Joanna Newsom, Cadiz has a voice that grabs you within seconds.”  In 2025 she was a Kerrville New Folk finalist and has repeatedly been featured on the Tiny Desk Contest’s Top Shelf.  You can hear her songs in film and TV shows such as “Nancy Drew" (CW), "Lucifer" (Netflix), "REBEL" (ABC), among others. She has toured with and shared bills with artists such as The Bones of J.R. Jones, Willie Watson, Jess Williamson, Joe Pug, Anna Tivel, The Steel Wheels, Anna Ash and Robert Ellis. 

Malena is deeply committed to creating community through art. In 2025 she began co-hosting a monthly songwriter series called Virgin Ears and is a co-founder of Glow Big L.A., offering music education and all ages community events in Northeast Los Angeles. Her newest release, a collection of songs recorded on the original Les Paul 1957 console with Grammy-winning engineer Tom Camuso is slated for 2026.