How Protests, Skin-Walkers & Trans Defiance Informed Cavetown’s ‘Cryptid’ Music Video

Trending on Billboard Comparing the 2020s to previous decades, there’s more discourse about trans people than ever before. But that isn’t necessarily a win for the LGBTQ community. Trans identity has become a dog whistle for conservative who are intent on legislating other people’s existence; you’d be hard pressed to find a politician or pundit who hasn’t weighed in on the issue more than once. But a trans person talking about trans identity? You might as well look for cryptid representation in media. After all, plenty of people talk about sasquatches, but you never hear Bigfoot speak out. Enter Cavetown ’s music video for “Cryptid,” a song from their latest album, Running With Scissors (out now on Futures Music Group, a joint venture between Neon Gold and Avenue A Records that formed in 2024). Via a sly, clever and potent allegory, the English singer-songwriter, who is trans, depicts the world of a vibrant but vilified cryptid community that finally rises up in the face of prejudice - not to attack, but simply to exist. Directed by Eden Mili, an Australian-born director and visual artist who, like Cavetown, is currently based on New York City, the “Cryptid” clip takes us from the sewers to the streets, where we watch deer-like cryptids come into their own power. Here, Cavetown (Robin Skinner) and Eden Mili walk Billboard through the making of the video (filmed in part at retro Brooklyn roller rink All Night Skate), its subtle references to queer history and what else influenced Running With Scissors. Did you know each prior to making this video? How did the collaboration come about? Eden Mili: No, the first time we met in person was the day of the shoot, which was kind of crazy. But we had obviously spoken about it before. Cavetown : I had a basic idea for the world and storyline that I wanted to create and I needed to find someone to help fill in the gaps and make it all cohesive. As soon as I read Eden’s treatment, I was just comparing all the others to hers. I thought graphic design was beautiful, all the colors, the font choices, the attention to detail. I get so many treatments where it’s just blank and white screen text and some random like picture they found on Pinterest. Eden’s felt like it was already in the world that I was imagining like aesthetically. The main thing that drew me to it was that it was very nonviolent. I think a lot of the treatments [for “Cryptid”] had been misconstrued as like, “the uprising is the deer kill the hunters.” And sure, maybe hunters deserve to get killed sometimes. But I don’t think that’s what we’re trying to say here. Part of the goal of the video, for me, was if someone who’s on the hunter’s side in the real world is to watch this - like a Republican or whatever - I don’t want them to see it and be like, “Well,...

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