Everything You Wanted to Know About ‘Juliet’ Singer-Songwriter Cavetown
English singer-songwriter and producer Robin Skinner, better known professionally as Cavetown, is known for his signature bedroom indie-pop sound and vulnerable lyricism. He's dropped viral hit after viral hit, and in the new year, he's planning to bare more of his soul than ever with the release of his next album, Running With Scissors, out Jan. 16.
The album promises to be an exploration and confrontation of his challenges and triumphs in life, digging into anxiety, love, masculinity and self-discovery as a trans artist and human being in general. We've already gotten an addictive taste of what's to come with the releases of "Rainbow Gal" and "Baby Spoon," but with its Elliott Smith-esque melody and grungy yet vulnerable warmth, his newest release, "Tarmac," may be our favorite yet. Co-written with Orla Gartland, it's a song about love and the intrusive thoughts that can prevent us from fully appreciating what we have. Ahead of the big album release next year, we got the chance to chat with Robin to learn all about what makes them tick. Find out what he shared with us as our Man Crush Monday below.
Name: Robin Daniel Skinner
Hometown: Cambridge, England
Birthday: December 15
Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
(Photo credit: Jaxon Whittington)
Fun Facts:
Cavetown's upcoming album, Running With Scissors, gets its title from his eagerness to take risks and learn from them, rather than being held back by fear.
Robin: It's one of the earliest things the adults in your life try to teach you while running with scissors themselves metaphorically. The album is all about how I've been rethinking things like this that I once believed would keep me safe. I've realized that true safety and security comes from taking risks and making stupid mistakes—falling over with the scissors and learning how to fall better next time. I don't want to be afraid of falling. And I want to trust that I will keep myself safe when life has me running at full speed, scissors in hand. It's a process but I think I trust myself now more than I have in a long long time.
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Over the years, he's been inspired by many fictional characters.
Robin: Fictional characters go through the craziest most traumatic s*** and are still able to do a little dance and sing a goofy song in between. Finn from Adventure Time comes to mind because that's my all time fave comfort show. The way he grows up and matures throughout the 10 seasons is so well written. His trauma is out of this world but the feelings he has to navigate mirror very real life experiences that a lot of people can relate to. I admire his strength, whimsy, and loyalty to the people he loves.
What's Robin's all-time favorite song?
Robin: No shade but I hate this question! There's so much great music that I would go absolutely feral for. "Happy Birthday" on heavy rotation.
Recently, Robin says he's been more or an early bird than a night owl.
Robin: In my mid-20s I have been in my morning era. I never thought it could be me. I love to make breakfast and experience the quiet before the world wakes up, but I'm usually a night owl against my will. No matter how tired I am I often cannot fight the urge to stay up past midnight. There's a little goblin in my brain that says when the sun goes down I finally have permission to rest and do whatever I want.
He has a pretty specific ritual for unwinding after a tough day.
Robin: Turn on all my soft lamps, light a bunch of incense and lay in bed watching comfort shows with my girlfriend. Ideally my cat joins us too but she's her own woman. Simple comforts 🙂
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He says the best concerts he ever attended were two back-to-back Pierce the Veil concerts with his partner in December of 2022.
Robin: It's hard to put words to how incredible that experience was! The band were so tight, the lighting was thrilling, the mix sounded awesome. We screamed all the lyrics together and danced beyond exhaustion. Every PtV show I've been to since has been almost equally phenomenal, but experiencing their set for the first time with my best friend was something I don't think anyone can top.
He's closer to his girlfriend than anyone else.
Robin: My girlfriend obviously! Because she's the best person ever and she's mine! Don't even get me started. I feel like no one really understood me completely until I met her.
Where would Cavetown go if he could travel anywhere in the world for a week?
Robin: For a week I wouldn't wanna go too far. I do a lot of traveling and I know that a week is like exactly how long it takes for my brain to adjust to a new environment and time zone. I live in NYC at the moment, so I'd take my gf upstate to hang out with my friends in a cozy quiet cabin or something 🙂 I like traveling most when there are people I love involved, so maybe in this hypothetical my friends from all over the world would fly over to hang out too. I don't wanna get on a plane.
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One thing he'd love to get better at is decompressing from high-pressure situations.
Robin: I'm not great at unraveling myself when I get overwhelmed. I used to be much worse at it so I try to give myself some credit, but I really can get stuck in my own head around high stimulus and I don't like when this affects the people around me. I'm lucky to be met with patience and understanding from other people, but it's very hard to give that to myself.
One thing that's core to Robin and the way he operates is that he considers himself an anxious person, and he hopes that can show his fans what they're also capable of.
Robin: I'm super anxious all the time! I'm scared of the internet and the future and strangers and responsibilities. If someone like me can get on a stage in front of thousands of people and rock socks then you can face anything you're scared of, too.
For more on the guys who inspire us, click HERE to learn all about voice actor Aleks Le.