Q&A: Cavetown’s ‘worm food’ Brings Imagination and Storytelling to the Foreground

Q&AMusic

Nov 8

☆ By Gabby Macogay☆

TENDERLY CRAFTED WITH CARE — indie-pop icon Cavetown has done it again with his new full-length album, worm food. This highly anticipated release (the most recent since 2020’s Sleepyhead) has delivered sweetly, with notes of nostalgia and careful intricacy that blend together in a whirl of storybook-like lyricism and warmly recognizable vocal stylings.

Cavetown, also known as Robin Skinner, is notable for taking inspiration from his younger self in his work. Worm food is an intimate and delicately introspective dive into the deepest crevices of Skinner’s imagination. With a discography heavily inspired by his childhood and expansive creativity, Skinner’s distinct sound shines through in the brightest of ways throughout his newest release.

Now considered to be one of the most prominent artists in the bedroom-pop scene, Skinner continues to deliver new and exciting tunes for fans while still remaining true to his vision and sound as they grow alongside him, and worm food is a perfectly crafted example of such.

Read more below to find out exactly what inspired the name worm food, how Skinner expresses his thoughts best through his music and where he’s grown since his career in bedroom-pop began years ago.

LUNA: Worm food is out now — what can fans expect from this album? Are there any surprises to look forward to?

SKINNER: I hope they can expect some nice ear-tingly moments and catchy hooks! That's certainly how I feel about it. I think the biggest surprise would be the Vic Fuentes feature. It's been fun surprising my family and friends and label with that one so far and has been such an incredible treat to get to work with him :)

LUNA: Where does the name worm food stem from?

SKINNER: Just the title track, really. I felt that it was a cool-sounding track name, which matched the kind of dark vibe I wanted to go for with the album aesthetic. The lyric in the song refers to the comfort I find in the idea that someday I will be able to give my body back to the earth, feed the worms, and help the grass grow.

LUNA: “Frog” is about your girlfriend — how does music help you express your feelings for another person in a way that it may be difficult to otherwise?

SKINNER: I find that, ironically, I'm not actually very good at putting the right words together in conversations. But for some reason, writing words for a song comes easier to me, so it's a good way for me to get my jumbled up feelings out in a way that makes sense. I usually use my music to un-jumble negative thoughts so it's been refreshing to write a more upbeat love song and have it come to me so naturally, too.

LUNA: I saw that you keep a cupboard of letters from fans — can you recall a specific letter or fan interaction that you still think of to this day?

SKINNER: Oh man… My memory is not that good so I can't say I recall any specific letter. I do have some fond memories of hanging out with fans or seeing them at lots of shows, though. For example, there's a group of people in particular who have been coming to every LA show I've done for years, always being right at the front and bringing so much energy and smiles. It always makes me so happy to see them again :)

LUNA: You have experience performing, songwriting, and producing. Is there a specific pocket of the music industry that calls to you more one over the other, or do you like experimenting in all different types of roles?

SKINNER: Producing is definitely my favorite part of my job. I love making sounds I imagine in my head come to life, and the feeling of creating the perfect combination of sounds is always so exciting and makes me feel good about myself. I have a lot of moments where things don't go well and it can kind of ruin my day, but it's worth it for the days when I leave the studio feeling super hyped about what I've just created.

LUNA: From Lemon Boy to now, how do you feel you've changed as an artist? How do you feel you've stayed the same?

SKINNER: I've tried to keep as much of my process and values the same and so far done a pretty good job of it. The only ways I've changed have been in terms of becoming more experienced and learning how to work with myself. I've also of course upgraded my gear and recording setup to keep up with improving my sound. But ultimately I still write and produce on my own at home. I work slow and steady, try to take lots of breaks to pet my cat, and play Minecraft. It's the way that works for me, and I've been very grateful to have built a team around me who support me for that.

LUNA: Is there a certain song you've released thus far that feels the most “you”? What is it?

SKINNER: Hmm, I don't know! Every song is like a little piece of where I [was] at that time. I'm not sure what I would choose as the most “me” song, but there's definitely older songs of mine [that] don't feel like me anymore. And that's a good thing. I used to write a lot about my gender dysphoria and feeling stuck in it forever, and I don't really relate to that any more.

LUNA: What would you hope a first-time listener of Cavetown would gather from your music?
SKINNER: I just hope that any listener gets something they need from it. Whether that's a feeling of community or being understood, or just a catchy tune that makes them happy.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫