Cavetown
Cavetown | ||||||||||
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Background information | ||||||||||
Also known as | brother[1][2] | |||||||||
Born | Oxford, England | 15 December 1998|||||||||
Origin | Cambridge, England[3] | |||||||||
Genres | ||||||||||
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | ||||||||||
Years active | 2012–present | |||||||||
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Associated acts | ||||||||||
Website | cave | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
Channel | ||||||||||
Genre |
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Subscribers | 1.87 million[12] | |||||||||
Total views | 270 million[12] | |||||||||
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Updated: 21 August 2021 |
Robin Daniel Skinner[13] (born 15 December 1998),[3] known professionally as Cavetown (sometimes stylized in all lowercase)[14][15] is an English singer-songwriter, record producer and YouTuber. His[a] style blends elements of indie rock, indie pop and bedroom pop with mellow, gentle ukulele ballads.[3]
By May 2021, he had amassed over 6 million monthly streamers on Spotify.[16] His YouTube channel, which he began in November 2012, sits at 1.79 million subscribers and 321 million video views as of December 2021.[17] Skinner released his fourth studio album, Sleepyhead, in March 2020.[18]
Early life[]
Skinner was born in Oxford, England on 15 December 1998.[3][19] His interest in music was inspired by his father, David Skinner, a musicologist and choir director, who taught him how to play the acoustic guitar at the age of eight.[20][21] His mother is a professional Baroque flautist and music teacher. He was raised in Cambridge and attended Parkside Community College from 2010 to 2015 and Hills Road Sixth Form College until 2017.[22]
Career[]
2012–2015: YouTube and Bandcamp[]
Skinner began his YouTube channel in November 2012 and uploaded his first video, an original song named "Haunted Lullaby", in October 2013.[23][24] The first song Skinner wrote and recorded was "Rain" in 2013.[25] Soon after, Skinner began releasing music to Bandcamp with his first album, Everything Is Made of Clouds, at the age of 14.[26][27] He released Gd Vibes, Nervous Friends // Pt. 1, Balance (as brother) and Everything is Made of Stars on Bandcamp over the following two years.[28][29][30][31] Critics expressed that he felt "the acceptance of ignorance" on Gd Vibes.[32] Skinner released his debut single "This Is Home" in August 2015,[33] before releasing his debut self-titled album in November 2015.[34] Critics described the album Cavetown as "an eclectic mix of acoustic and electronic".[35] Skinner continued to publish covers of songs onto his YouTube channel from artists such as Pinegrove, Twenty One Pilots and Joji.[21]
2016–2018: 16/04/16 and Lemon Boy[]
In 2016, Skinner released his second studio album, 16/04/16.[36] The album includes a mix of "warm, melodic bedroom pop" and "lo-fi indie rock".[3] The album was dedicated to his childhood friend, Jack Graham, who died of leukaemia on the album's titular date. 60% of the album's proceeds were donated to Cancer Research UK.[37]
In April 2017, whilst still at Sixth Form College, Skinner reached the final of the Cambridge Band Competition, winning both Best Acoustic Act and the Kimberley Rew Award for Songwriting, and went on to play at Strawberry Fair in June 2017. In 2018, he released his third album, Lemon Boy. As of August 2020, the album's title track has amassed 54 million streams on Spotify and 15 million views on YouTube.[38][39]
2019–present: Animal Kingdom, Sleepyhead and Man's Best Friend[]
In 2019, Skinner released five split singles which were later compiled into Animal Kingdom, a mixtape of ten tracks including covers and original singles with guest appearances from Sidney Gish, Simi, Chloe Moriondo and Spookyghostboy.[40][41][42] He produced the single "Prom Dress" by Mxmtoon, which has gained over 152 million streams on Spotify and has been used in over 100,000 videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok.[43][44][45] The single was featured on Mxmtoon's debut album The Masquerade, which was also fully produced by Skinner.[46] Skinner performed on the Acoustic Stage at Victorious Festival in August 2019.[47] He signed under Sire Records in 2019 where he released the single "Telescope" ahead of his upcoming album, later announced as Sleepyhead.[40] Skinner embarked on a series of sold-out worldwide headlining tours in October 2019. He played on tour at 31 venues in the US and 15 venues in the UK over the space of four months.[40] He was joined by Hunny and Mxmtoon for a few shows in the UK tour,[48][49] as well as Field Medic and Chloe Moriondo for a few shows in the US tour.[40] In October 2019, Skinner announced his headlining tour along Australia's east coast, which took place in January 2020, where he was accompanied by Spookyghostboy.[50]
In 2020, Skinner released his major label debut album Sleepyhead,[18] and appeared on the Recording Academy's Sessions series in support of MusiCares.[51][52] He cancelled the tour in support of Sleepyhead due to the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020.[53] In July 2020, Skinner collaborated with Tessa Violet on the single "Smoke Signals" and announced the launch of his unisex clothing line Cave Collective.[54]
In June 2021, he released his extended play Man's Best Friend.[55]
Personal life[]
Skinner has stated that he is on both the aromantic and asexual spectrums.[56][57] He came out as transgender in September 2020.[58] His pronouns are he/they.[59] Skinner currently lives in Cambridge.[3]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
UK [60] |
US Heat [61] |
US Folk [62] | ||
Cavetown[34] |
|
— | — | — |
16/04/16[36] |
|
— | — | — |
Lemon Boy[63] |
|
— | — | — |
Sleepyhead[64] |
|
52 | 12 | 16 |
Extended plays[]
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
US Heat. ENC [65] | ||
Dear.[66] |
|
6
|
Man's Best Friend |
|
—
|
Mixtapes[]
Title | Details |
---|---|
Animal Kingdom[69] |
|
Singles[]
As lead artist[70]
Year | Title | Certifications | Album/EP |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | "This is Home" | Non-album singles | |
2018 | "Just Add Water" | Dear.
| |
"Juliet" | Animal Kingdom: Sandy[b] | ||
"Boys Will Be Bugs" | Animal Kingdom: Comet[b] | ||
2019 | "Advice" | Animal Kingdom: Ash[b] | |
"Self Control" (Frank Ocean cover) | Animal Kingdom: Shells[b] | ||
"Hug All Ur Friends" | Animal Kingdom: Jackson[b] | ||
"Home" | Non-album singles | ||
"Feb 14" | Sleepyhead
| ||
"Telescope" | |||
"Things That Make It Warm" | |||
"You've Got a Friend in Me" (Randy Newman cover)[72] | Non-album singles | ||
2020 | "Sweet Tooth" | Sleepyhead
| |
"I Miss My Mum" | |||
"Smoke Signals (feat. Tessa Violet)" | Non-album singles | ||
"Sharpener" | Man's Best Friend
| ||
2021 | "Sharpener’s Calling Me Again (feat. Kina)" | Non-album singles | |
"Paul" (Big Thief cover) | Man's Best Friend
| ||
"Ur Gonna Wish U Believed Me" |
As featured artist[70]
Year | Title | Album/EP |
---|---|---|
2018 | "Devil Town" (with Kevin Devine) |
Devinyl Splits No. 11 |
2020 | "Is Your Bedroom Ceiling Bored?” (with Sody) |
Non-album singles |
"Lemons" (with Brye) | ||
2021 | “Struck By Lighting” (with Sara Kays) | |
"Trying Not To Cry" |
Bandcamp releases[]
as Cavetown[14]
- Everything Is Made of Clouds (2013)[27]
- Gd Vibes (2014)[28]
- Covers (2015)[73]
- Youtube covers (2015)[74]
- Nervous Friends // Pt. 1 (2015)[29]
- Everything Is Made of Stars (2015)[31]
as brother[1]
- balance (2015)[30][75]
- not anywhere (alex g cover) (2018)[76]
- bny rabit (2018)[77]
- i want to meet your dog (2018)[78]
- Hate (2019)[79]
Notes[]
- ^ Skinner uses "he/him" and "they/them" pronouns. This article uses "he/him" pronouns for consistency.
- ^ a b c d e The full mixtape album Animal Kingdom was released in a series of 5 single sets over the space of 4 months, starting with Animal Kingdom: Sandy which was released on 28 November 2018 and ending with Animal Kingdom: Jackson which was released on 28 March 2019.
References[]
- ^ a b "Music | brother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "albums – cavetown". Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020 – via Reddit.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Monger, Timothy. "Cavetown | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Cavetown's "Sweet Tooth" Will Leave You Craving More". Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2020 – via veniceoarsman.
The Indie rock/indie pop artist Robin Daniel Skinner, more commonly known as Cavetown, incorporates elements of low-fi and indie folk music into his bedroom pop-style music.
- ^ Perlow, Lexie (19 April 2018). "Cavetown Debuts with 'Lemon Boy'". The Hill News. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b c "My Bedroom Studio". cavetown. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Cavetown Uses a Kazoo". cavetown. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Cavetown Performs "Banana Bread" | Fender Artist Check-Ins | Fender". Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Cavetown – Juliet (Live)". YouTube. Event occurs at 3:50. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Cavetown". Sire Records. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Dear. – Cavetown | Release Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "About cavetown". YouTube.
- ^ Homewood, Ben (7 August 2020). "Making Waves: Cavetown". Music Week. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ a b "cavetown". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
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- ^ "cavetown". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ a b Zellner, Xander (9 April 2020). "Cavetown 'Sleepyhead' Interview: Emerging Artists Spotlight". Billboard. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Ginsberg, Gab (17 January 2020). "Welcome to Cavetown's World, A Place That Feels Like Home". Billboard. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Hughel, Phoebe (3 April 2019). "Cavetown (Robin Skinner)". The Seymour Owl. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Cavetown". Cambridge Live. 22 November 2018. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "About – Cavetown". Cavetown Official Website. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Ta, Kacie (26 September 2017). "a chat with youtuber and artist, cavetown". Tmrw magazine. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ - Haunted Lullaby -, archived from the original on 22 September 2020, retrieved 13 December 2019
- ^ Jenkins, Holly Tabatha. "CAVETOWN|ROBIN SKINNER INTERVIEW". Mixcloud. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Minaeva, Mariia (12 December 2018). "The Music of Cavetown: A Helping Hand for Mental Health Issues | Re:Views Magazine". Reviews Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Everything is Made of Clouds – cavetown". BandCamp. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Gd vibes – cavetown". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Nervous Friends // Pt. 1 – cavetown". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Album Information". Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Everything is Made of Stars – cavetown". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ Rogen, Ted (15 January 2015). "cavetown – Gd vibes". Insight & Critique. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "This Is Home – Single by Cavetown". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Cavetown – Cavetown". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Listen to Cavetown's latest EP". Bad Luck. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b "16/04/06 – Cavetown". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "16/04/16, by cavetown". cavetown. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Lemon Boy". Spotify. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Cavetown – Lemon Boy (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Cavetown Releases New Song via Sire Records". BroadwayWorld. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ Rettig, James (28 March 2018). "Sidney Gish Covers Jackson Browne's "Somebody's (Jackson Baby Browne Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Cavetown Can't Stop". Closed Captioned. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ Thioubou, Ndeye (25 June 2019). "Mxmtoon Breaks Down The Meaning of 'Prom Dress'". Genius. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "mxmtoon Gives Personal Insight in New Single 'seasonal depression'". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
mxmtoon is a 19-year-old bourgeoning artist
- ^ Wells, Madeline (4 August 2019). "Meet mxmtoon, the Oakland Teen Who Launched Her Music Career on TikTok". The Bold Italic. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "the masquerade / mxmtoon". Tidal. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Victorious Festival: Stage Times, Line-Up & More". Radio X. 25 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Hunny and Cavetown are teaming up for a UK tour early next year". Upset Magazine. 25 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Murray, Robin (4 June 2019). "mxmtoon Confirms First UK Appearances". Clash. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "CAVETOWN ANNOUNCES 2020 AUSTRALIA TOUR". Warner Music Australasia. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Ford, Sam (11 May 2020). "Recording Academy Sessions Series Announce This Wednesday's Lineup". V Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Wasylak, Victoria (13 May 2020). "This Stream is Today: Allie X, Empress Of, and more on SESSIONS". Vanyaland. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Cavetown has cancelled his upcoming headline tour". Dork. 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ "Cavetown and Tessa Violet ponder distance in tender acoustic video". Alternative Press. 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Young, Martyn (3 June 2021). "Cavetown – Man's Best Friend EP". Dork. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ Skinner, Robbie [@CAVETOWN] (16 September 2019). "Ace and aro are spectrums! I still identify with both :)" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 December 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Being Aro Is Fine (Advice #5)". Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Cavetown apologises for resurfaced anti-semitic, racist and transphobic comments". Gay Times. 12 September 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ Skinner, Robbie [@CAVETOWN] (24 July 2020). "i've always felt so defensive about telling people my pronouns for no good reason so today i put them in my bio for anyone who is wondering :) i mostly go by he/him but am also comfortable with they/them" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Cavetown | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Cavetown Chart History: Heatseeker Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Cavetown Chart History: Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Lemon Boy – Cavetown". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Sleepyhead – Cavetown". Apple Music. 27 March 2020. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ "Heatseeker Albums: East North Central – Week of Dec 8, 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Dear. – EP – Cavetown". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Man's Best Friend by Cavetown". Genius. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Cavetown - Ur Gonna Wish U Believed Me, archived from the original on 19 May 2021, retrieved 19 May 2021
- ^ "Animal Kingdom – Various Artists". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Cavetown – Singles & EPs". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "American certifications – Cavetown". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "You've Got a Friend In Me". Spotify. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Covers | cavetown". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Youtube covers | cavetown". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "balance | brother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "not anywhere (alex g cover) | brother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "bny rabit | brother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "i want to meet your dog | brother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Hate | brother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
External links[]
- Cavetown discography at MusicBrainz
- Cavetown discography at Discogs
- Official website
- Cavetown on Twitter
- Living people
- 1998 births
- 21st-century British singers
- Aromantic men
- Asexual men
- Bedroom pop musicians
- British indie pop musicians
- British indie rock musicians
- British Internet celebrities
- British male singer-songwriters
- English YouTubers
- LGBT musicians from England
- Male YouTubers
- Music YouTubers
- People from Oxford
- Sire Records artists
- Transgender and transsexual men musicians
- Warner Records artists
- YouTube vloggers
- LGBT singers from the United Kingdom
- LGBT songwriters
- 21st-century British male singers
- 21st-century LGBT people