Robin Daniel Skinner (born 15 December 1998), known professionally as Cavetown (sometimes stylised in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing systems ...

), is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

. His style blends elements of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

and

bedroom pop Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or music production, production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a delibe ...

with mellow, gentle

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

ballads. As of March 2024, he had amassed over 6.6 million monthly streamers on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. His YouTube channel, which he began in November 2012, sits at 2.25 million subscribers and over 612 million video views as of May 2025. Skinner released his fifth studio album, ''Worm Food'', in November 2022.

Early life

Skinner was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England, on 15 December 1998. His interest in music was inspired by his father, David Skinner, a

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

and

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

director, who taught him how to play the acoustic guitar at the age of eight. His mother is a professional

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

flautist and music teacher. He was raised in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and attended

Parkside Community College Parkside Community College is a secondary academy school with 600 places for children aged 11–16, situated in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. It is part of the United Learning Cambridge Cluster, along with Parkside Sixth, Coleridge Community Coll ...

from 2010 to 2015 and Hills Road Sixth Form College until 2017.

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. Soon after, Skinner began releasing music to

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

with his first album, ''Everything Is Made of Clouds'', at the age of 14. He released ''Gd Vibes'', ''Nervous Friends // Pt. 1'', ''Balance'' (as ''brother'') and ''Everything is Made of Stars'' on Bandcamp over the following two years. Critics expressed that he felt "the acceptance of ignorance" on ''Gd Vibes''. Skinner released his debut single "This is Home" in August 2015, before releasing his debut self-titled album in November 2015. Critics described the album ''Cavetown'' as "an eclectic mix of acoustic and electronic". Skinner continued to publish covers of songs onto his YouTube channel from artists such as Pinegrove,

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up h ...

and Joji.

2016–2018: ''16/04/16'' and ''Lemon Boy''

In 2016, Skinner released his second studio album, ''16/04/16.'' The album includes a mix of "warm, melodic

" and "lo-fi

". The album was dedicated to his childhood friend, Jack Graham, who died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on the album's titular date. 60% of the album's proceeds were donated to

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

. In 2018, he released his third album, ''Lemon Boy''.

2019–2021: ''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, and

Chloe Moriondo Chloe Moriondo (stylized in all lowercase as chloe moriondo) (born September 29, 2002) is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her style blends elements of indie pop, indie rock and bedroom pop, with the occasional hyperpop. Her YouTube ch ...

. He signed under

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

in 2019 where he released the single "Telescope" ahead of his upcoming album, later announced as ''Sleepyhead''. Skinner embarked on a series of sold-out worldwide headlining tours in October 2019 in support of this album. He was joined by Hunny and Mxmtoon for a few shows in the UK tour, as well as Field Medic and Chloe Moriondo for a few shows in the US tour. 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. In 2020, Skinner released his major label debut album ''Sleepyhead.'' He cancelled the tour in support of ''Sleepyhead'' due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in June 2020. In July 2020, Skinner collaborated with

Tessa Violet Tessa Violet Williams (born March 20, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter, social media personality, actress, music video director, and former child model. Originally a vlogger under the username Meekakitty, Violet has since focused primari ...

on the single "Smoke Signals" and announced the launch of his unisex clothing line Cave Collective. In 2021, he released the extended play ''Man's Best Friend''.

2022–present: ''Worm Food and Little Vice''

In 2022, Skinner released several singles, three of which were part of the album ''Worm Food'', released later that year. ''Worm Food'' features guests such as

Pierce the Veil Pierce the Veil is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 2006. It was founded by brothers Vic Fuentes, Vic and Mike Fuentes (musician), Mike Fuentes after the disbanding of Before Today, which formed out of the San Diego Pu ...

Beabadoobee Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus (born 3 June 2000), known professionally as Beabadoobee (; '), is a British singer-songwriter. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays (EPs) under the independent label Dirty Hit: ''Lice'' (2018), ''Patc ...

, and Chloe Moriondo. In 2024, Skinner released the extended play ''Little Vice''. In June 2024, he returned to Bandcamp to release a cover of "

My Love Mine All Mine "My Love Mine All Mine" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mitski. It was released as the third single from her seventh studio album '' The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We'' on September 15, 2023. The song features country-influenced piano ...

" by

Mitski Mitsuki Laycock (born September 27, 1990), also known as Mitski Miyawaki, and known professionally as Mitski, is an American singer-songwriter. She Self-publishing, self-released her first two albums, ''Lush (Mitski album), Lush'' (2012), and '' ...

. Skinner later released multiple collaborative singles, including "magic 8 ball" with artist

Frankie Cosmos Greta Simone Kline (born March 21, 1994), also known by the stage name Frankie Cosmos, is an American musician and singer. She is known for her independent releases, inspired by Frank O'Hara's poetry, Do it yourself, DIY ethics of K Records and ...

, in advance of his 2024-2025 tour with Mother Mother. In December 2024, Skinner released an extended play consisting of lofi versions of some of his songs. In 2025, Skinner released an extended play of covers, including the previously released cover of "My Love Mine All Mine" on his Bandcamp, titled ''SONGS I LIKE IN 2025.''

Personal life

Skinner has stated that he is on both the

aromantic Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is d ...

and

asexual Asexual or Asexuals may refer to: *Asexual reproduction **Asexual reproduction in starfish *Asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or lack of interest in or desire for sexual activity. **Gray asexuality, the spectrum between asexualit ...

spectrums. He came out as

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

in September 2020. His

pronouns In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun ( glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not con ...

are he/they. Skinner lives in

as of 2019. He has

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other certified songs

Bandcamp releases

as Cavetown *''Everything Is Made of Clouds'' (2013) *''Gd Vibes'' (2014) *''Covers'' (2015) *''Youtube Covers'' (2015) *''Nervous Friends // Pt. 1'' (2015) *''Everything Is Made of Stars'' (2015) as brother *''balance'' (2015) *''not anywhere (alex g cover)'' (2018) *''bny rabit'' (2018) *''i want to meet your dog'' (2018) *''Hate'' (2019)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* *
Official website

Cavetown
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavetown 1998 births Living people 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English male singers Aromantic men Articles containing video clips Asexual men British ballad musicians Bedroom pop musicians British indie pop musicians British indie rock musicians English LGBTQ singers English LGBTQ songwriters English male bloggers English male singer-songwriters English people with disabilities English transgender men English transgender musicians English video bloggers English YouTubers LGBTQ bloggers LGBTQ musicians with disabilities LGBTQ YouTubers Musicians from Oxford British music YouTubers People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Singers with disabilities Sire Records artists Transgender asexual people Transgender male musicians Transgender people with disabilities Transgender singers Transgender songwriters Warner Records artists Mass media people from Oxford YouTubers from Oxfordshire British YouTube vloggers People educated at Hills Road Sixth Form College