Better known as Cavetown, Robin Skinner has carved a sphere for himself within the music industry.
Cavetown’s music was never meant for people but rather to deal with his own problems in life. Yet, ironically, it is precisely this sentiment that, when translated into his music, struck a chord in millions of fans worldwide.
The beauty of Cavetown’s music lies in its simplicity. His lyrics use mundane yet quirky imagery and often references nature, animals, or the sky, with tracks such as ‘Pigeon’, ‘I Want To Meet Ur Dog’, and ‘Big Bowl In The Sky.’
Skinner took special care to ensure none of his music sounded ‘perfect’ and kept a raw sound. In an interview with Billboard he emphasised that a song does not need to be perfect to be good. He embodies the concept of ‘bedroom pop’, essentially being self-produced and making the mundane relatable. One of the flagbearers of Bedroom Pop, Maia, better known as Mxmtoon, stated that the idea behind bedroom pop was that anyone could make music and it could be produced with the most ordinary software or instruments at hand.
Skinner quite literally started from his bedroom, forging a career online posting vocal covers of his favourite artists such as 21 Pilots, Joji, and Pinegrove on Youtube. This led him to attempt producing his own tracks. At the age of sixteen he released his first song, ‘Haunted Lullaby,’ followed by a full album titled ‘Gd Vibes’, which according to critics, took listeners on a ‘lighthearted yet sorrowful journey’.
It is Cavetown’s lyricism, his simplicity, and his relatability that endears him to his fanbase. Conversation with fellow Cavetown fans echoed this sentiment. A friend of mine said: “his song ‘Talk to Me’ starts with the words ‘You don’t have to be a hero to save the world’…it’s a very moving image. During the lockdown with school ending, and all the other big changes in life, Cavetown remained constant, he seemed to get it”.
‘Talk to Me’ is one of Cavetown’s most emotional and beloved tracks. The chorus ‘That’s alright, let it out, talk to me’ is a much needed word of comfort for many, from Skinner himself. Accompanied by the slow ukulele chords and mellow beat, it has admittedly been present on one too many of my long nights of deadlines, projects and essays.
Cavetown also holds a special place in the hearts of the queer community. Numerous songs of his deal with themes of queer love and gender dysphoria. Cavetown himself is a trans artist, and earlier tracks during his transitioning years tell the listener about his journey and how he seemed to cope before it. One of Cavetown’s earliest self-produced tracks titled ‘Dysphoric’, contains the lyrics ‘Because what I am is what I’m not’, a simple yet gutting lyric, conveying what millions of genderqueer people worldwide feel. He describes his body as a ‘phantom skin,’ reiterating the sentiment. In more recent tracks, such as ‘Home,’ Cavetown literally talks about trying to feel at home in his skin; the track speaks tohis fans and the millions of queer people who share his experience: “I’ll cut my hair… I’ll hide my chest… He doesn’t know who he is yet”. Cavetown spoke to the queer community in his music; reassuring us that through all the confusion and sense of displacement there was someone who understood us and eventually things might just make sense.
A friend and I attended his London concert at the Apollo Hammersmith on the 5th of November 2022 and I cannot describe it as anything less than a life-changing experience. Before the concert I had held this mental image of myself crying through all four hours of it and while I did admittedly shed a few tears during Cavetown’s opener ‘Lemon Boy’, I spent the rest of the concert in such a euphoric mood my mouth hurt from smiling all night. I can say with conviction it was one of the happiest days of my life. I didn’t think a random artist I stumbled upon through a Spotify mix in 2019 would become such a meaningful part of my life (perhaps concerningly so?). I am proud to say that our joy was such that day that we booked tickets for his next concert in February on the taxi home.
Cavetown smashes archetypes. He validates our loneliness, anxiety, and confusion, telling us it is okay if we don’t have it all figured out, which is a widely shared struggle. Skinner admits he and his fans could be grouped into what he calls the ‘2 am Overthinkers Club’. Yet, the experience of being a part of this fandom could not be more comforting and validating.