Robin Skinner has his face covered. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, he already had several surgical face masks stashed away—previously given to him by a very “health-conscious” friend. All covered up, and back home in his London flat, Skinner, a.k.a. Cavetown, is nowhere near stir crazy from this current self-imposed isolation. In fact, he embraced the unexpected time off, even if it meant that half of his tour was cut short.
After making his way through the first part of a world tour, he had no idea that his Brussels show would be his last for the unforeseeable future. Pre-coronavirus, everything was in place for the release of Cavetown’s first studio album, Sleepyhead, which is out now via Sire Records. Art gallery pop-ups featuring his own paintings, U.S. press visits, and fan events were all locked in.
Despite this sudden halt, the singer is making the most of his down time since Sleepyhead was released on March 27. “I’ve been looking forward to having some time off,” says Skinner. “It just kind of came earlier than I expected. I’m looking at it as an early break, even though it’s obviously terrible for so many people. But you gotta look for the good things in it—so at the moment, I’m relaxing and just being a person for a second.”
Tina Eves 