Cavetown lives his teenage rockstar dream
There are musicians who can conceptualize or pre-imagine sonic landscapes before creation—David Bowie, Björk, Trent Reznor. That’s not the kind of artist Cavetown is, he admits.
His process is more spontaneous, “letting the song appear in front of me in whatever forms feel right.” And this reliance on instinct likely explains his stream-of-consciousness lyricism, which lends itself to bedroom pop—the modern iteration of which he helped popularize and define.
His sound has a warm and mellow acoustic backbone, sometimes speckled with 8-bit textures that bring to mind retro video games (as heard on his hit “Juliet”). Pattering across it are stories and confessions that read almost like entries in a diary. The genre, after all, is all about vulnerability and emotional immediacy.
New musical direction
Cavetown’s upcoming new album, “Running with Scissors,” still rests on the same foundation. But this time, his instincts steered him toward a bolder musical direction. In some parts, as in the single “Tarmac,” he swaps his usual acoustic styling with grunge-inflected riffs and flirts with hyperpop and post-hardcore.
If that sounds like he’s entering his rock era of sorts, that’s precisely what it is. “I wanted to lean into my teenage rockstar dream a little, and I felt like I finally had the confidence as a producer and songwriter to push myself to a new level,” says the British artist in an interview with Lifestyle Inquirer.
This shift, however, isn’t limited to his traipse into rock; it also shows in his more structured use of electronic elements. For instance, “Rainbow Gal” builds in a way reminiscent of a Chvrches track—or like many early 2010s indie synthpop hits.
“During the time I was writing this album, I was feeling really ambitious about opening up my creative process to explore fun and interesting directions,” says Cavetown, whose real name is Robin Daniel Skinner. “I just knew I wanted the album to push the edge of harshness the perfect amount.”
Finding joy in routine
This newfound confidence and his more assertive sound could well be a reflection of where he is in life now. His early music arose mostly from anxiety, loneliness, and self-doubt. But while “Running with Scissors” touches on these same things, he didn’t write the songs from the same place.
Cavetown, 26, recently moved to New York City, and his experiences have been those of building a new home, navigating adulthood, and finding joy in routine. He turns to hobbies outside of music for creative respite. These days, it’s drawing and crafting.
“I go through a new craft phase every couple months, so at this point, I have a huge arsenal of craft and supplies available whenever the inspiration strikes,” he says. “I have dabbled in wood carving, painting, sculpting, and stained glass art. But best of all is just a good juicy ink pen.”
And turns out, Cavetown is also quite the animal and plant-life enthusiast. In fact, he hopes to visit an animal sanctuary in his upcoming visit to the Philippines. “Even native trees are so interesting to me,” he says. “They get me so excited!” But of course, singing and dancing with his Filipino fans will be at the top of his list when he visits the country and takes the stage at the New Frontier Theater on Feb. 18, 2026. “I’m looking forward to that.”
The anxious sides of love
It goes without saying that he’s writing from a place of love and safety. While this might seem counterintuitive, it’s within this stability that he’s able to explore the more anxious sides of love and connection.
And rather than seeing his emotions as individual fragments—the negative ones he once hoped to erase—he has learned to embrace them all as part of a whole.
“I think I have been able to delve into more conflicting feelings because I have started viewing my emotions and the parts of myself less as separate contrasting ideas but as parts of one thing in balance,” he says. “I believe I’m still writing about survival, loneliness, and self-doubt. I will always struggle with those to an extent. But none of those exist without thriving, companionship, and confidence.”
Indeed, he adds, “the healthiest place to be in isn’t necessarily just being happy, but a place where you can accept difficult feelings happening to you.”
Looking out for each other
His music has always provided solace for those who need it, and the concept of finding or creating a home has long been a driving force of his art. As he has grown more emotionally secure, Cavetown, a trans artist, has turned that purpose into something more tangible.
Since 2022, his nonprofit, This is Home Project, has raised over $700,000 for queer youth charities across the US, UK, and Europe, in the hopes of “creating safe spaces, mental health support, and community.” Because as it is right now, the state of LGBTQIA+ healthcare in the UK and US, he says, “is shameful.”
“The system has gotten so much worse and I can only imagine how much harder it is to access care and support today,” he says. “It’s shitty to feel like you have to place your life in the hands of governments who disrespect your very existence on the regular.”
Cavetown describes transitioning as a “tedious and painful process,” and he’s “so lucky,” he says, to have gone through “the worst of it early in life.” But not everyone is as lucky. That’s why he urges the community, especially those in positions of privilege, to leverage their platforms for good.
For his part, Cavetown aims to fund more gender-affirming surgeries and support ally organizations “in making systemic changes to save the lives of people like myself.” “I simply hope to support and uplift individuals like myself who need it,” he says. “As a community, we have to look out for each other.”
