Caity Baser is bringing back the playful and cheeky pop songwriting that saw Lily Allen, Kate Nash and Kesha ruling the mid 2000’s pop-space, and bringing a new 2023 perspective to it. There’s a brash directness that shine’s through the British singer-songwriter’s tone that is addictive and relatable. From her first couple of releases in 2021, she captivated listeners with admissions of being an average student, saying f u to haters, and calling out slut shaming. But recently she’s really coming into her artistry with an even bolder approach sonically, lyrically and even with her vocal delivery with songs like “Pretty Boys”, “2020s”, “X&Y”, and “Leave Me Alone”. 

Recently she featured on Sigala’s smash hit “Feel This Good” with Mae Muller and Stefflon Don, and has since introduced herself to a whole new audience who are now acquainting themselves with her fast quips and infectious melodies. “Why Can’t I Have Two (2468)” is her current hit that is making the rounds on TikTok and once again sees her using humour to broach an important topic with some underlying vulnerability. 

I recently chatted with Caity Baser about the playful energy behind her new single “Why Can’t I Have Two? (2468)”, explored the quirky lyrics of “DILF”, and questioned what people can expect from her live show when she hits Australian shores for some exciting headline shows and SXSW Sydney. Check it out BELOW:

THOMAS BLEACH: Your new single “Why Can’t I Have Two? (2468)” is out now, and it’s a bonafide banger. What did that writing and studio session look like when you were bringing it to life?

CAITY BASER: A studio session is like a therapy session for me. So you kind of walk in, and they just go, “what’s going on, Caity? How are you feeling? What’s going on in your brain?”. And on that day I was going through a situation where I was fancying two people at the same time. And they were like, “oh, this is exciting”. Then, they had the melody for the “2468” bit and the first set of lyrics, and then the whole thing just kind of came together.

It was like telling a story. Once you’ve got the main message, it’s like chapter one, and then chapter two, the main message, chapter 3, chapter 4. It all just came out quickly. I wrote it in like 20 minutes. We had so much fun. It was basically just me jumping around the studio all day.

TB: How many versions did that song go through to get to where it is now? 

CB: One. I actually hate recording vocals. I hate it, and I really hate re-recording vocals. It’s the most boring thing ever. But anyway, I’m very lucky that I do get to do that, so it’s not the worst thing in the world actually. But I did record the vocals a few times and then we took the best one and never messed with it again. 

TB: The bridge has a really important sentiment that I want to point out where you sing “Why should boys have all the fun? Not a slut, just a woman. And if you can, I can too?”. What led you to immortalizing that in a song, because it is such an important statement to make. 

CB: I’m friends with a lot of boys and I always hear them talking about multiple girls, and I never bat an eyelid. I’m just like, “that’s amazing for you, I hope you treat them well, and I hope you’re not an idiot”. But the minute that I’m ever talking about one guy, they’re like “oh, alright, okay, sorry, calm down”, and I’m like, what do you mean? Girls get some too, and girls want some, so shut up. I thought it was important to put in a song because when they were kind of embarrassing me for it I just wanted to tell anyone else who was going through a similar situation to do what they want, because it doesn’t matter. I’ve told those boys now that I don’t fuck around with that sort of stuff and they are super respectful now. 

TB: You released this song alongside the playful “DILF” which gives me massive Lily Allen, Kate Nash and early 2000’s vibes. What were your specific references for this track?

CB: My friend has a really hot dad. Like, you know the dads that you see in the movies? Like “Stacy’s Mom” where everybody knows it? That level of hot. So, my label was like “can you go into the studio and make a quirky song?”. And I was like “yeah, sure” and then I came out with “DILF” and I was like “is this quirky enough for you? Release it now! I want the whole world to know how quirky I am”.  I don’t think this is specifically what they expected, but oh well *laughs*. 

I wanted it to sound like a circus. That probably doesn’t make sense to you, but in my brain it does. I wanted the whole track to be a journey of jokes. And I think progressively it starts off really sweet, and then gets filthier. When I perform it live I’m like, “guys I’ve recently fallen in love and I’m really nervous to sing this song. So be nice to me”, and then I start singing it and it goes into the chorus, and people’s reactions are so good.

TB: “And you might have his eyes, but you’re half the size. I prefer how he’s built” is so vivid that it made me giggle. When you wrote this song was there any moment that you were like “are we actually gonna release this?”.

CB: I mean, I was clearly going through something that day. I was a bit de-lulu delusional in the studio *laughs*. Honestly, it gets kind of confusing in the music industry because I wanna stand out and I wanna say crazy things, but sometimes there’s points where I’m like, “can I do this? Can I say all this stuff?”. And I get in my head about it but then finally realise I can and who really cares. Also the producers I work with give me the space to just be whoever I want to be and say whatever I wanna say. So anything I was doing, they were going “Amazing. More. You can be worse. Do it more”, so it really encouraged me to have that energy of “Alright. Bye. Watch me!”. 

TB: Earlier this year you put out your debut EP “Thanks For Nothing, See You Never”. So from putting that body of work out, what’s that kind of taught you about what this next chapter is going to look like?

CB: Honestly? Nothing. Because the world is so big and everything is always changing. One minute you think it’s all going perfect and you think you know exactly how to smash it and make your mark, and then trends change and people want something else. So honestly it’s taught me how to stay resilient and how to keep going, and how to just never be afraid to try new things like “DILF”, and just say what you want, and be an idiot, in a nice way.

TB: The music video for “Leave Me Alone” had me giggling a lot. Do you have a funny experience or story that you can share with us from making that music video?

CB: Well, the house that we were in was being completely refurbished. So it was covered in plastic film, and everything was boxed and boarded up. And I remember getting there and being like, “what is going on? Why are we filming in this zombie apocalyptic home”. There was a pool on the outside, and the pool water was green. It was scary. It was like Shrek’s swamp. But then, the beauty of it was how we made it look so pretty. If you watch the video back, it looks so gorgeous, and I’m like no one has any idea how terrifying it was, and that’s really funny to me. 

TB: The guy holding a sign saying… “To Me You Are Slay” – please tell me a guy has never actually said that to you?

CB: *Laughs* I mean, if they ever have  it’s my fault because I use “slay” like it’s the only word in my vocabulary. I used to say it unironically but now I can’t shut up with it. Slay slay slay slay. 

TB: Now “Pretty Boys” is a very relatable and honest song, which feels like it could be the perfect rejection song. Have you ever just sent a guy this song when you got the ick from them? Because if I was you, i would *laughs*. 

CB: I never have, but I have been with them and I’ve just gone, “you’re such a pretty boy”. And they’re like… “what do you mean?”. And to me there is no other explanation, they are just a pretty boy, and that’s it.

TB: You collaborated with Sigala on “Feel This Good” which has had a bit of a life of its own since its release. Where is the most random place you’ve heard this song playing?

CB: Budapest! I went to Budapest with my friend recently, and I was in a little off-licensee shop, and I was tapping away, and I was like, “hang on a minute, is that me?”. And it was! Super random but really cool. 

TB: Now we also have to talk about the infectious “Dance Around It” with Joel Corry. That song is a banger, and the sentiment is really interesting as it hears you confessing that you don’t want to talk about your feelings and instead wanna dance around it and try to forget them. Are you someone who actually tries to find an escapism from feelings? As I personally am someone who tries to find a “lol” in serious moments.

CB: I genuinely cannot have proper deep conversations about my feelings. If I’m feeling something towards someone, I actually can’t. I can’t do it. Well, I can with time, but it takes a long time. I’d rather just say nothing, and let everything happen. I’d rather make a song about it. I’d rather dance around it, like, genuinely, and no pun intended. Whenever something happens to me or I’m going through something, I’m just gonna go out with my friends and dance all night long. It always works. 

TB: You’re heading to Australia for the first time this October. You’re currently on the road and playing a bunch of festival dates in the UK, so from playing this new music live and seeing how the crowd is reacting what is something you’ve learnt about how you wanna keep growing the show?

CB: People just like it when I’m being myself and tell little stories about what the song’s about, or when I’m really specific about a time that inspired the song. They also love when I run down through the crowd. I think they love that I include them in the show. During all the festivals in the summertime, I would walk down the pit during “Why Can’t I Have Two? (2468)” and get in everyone’s faces. I then always pick two boys or two girls and be like, “I love you. I love you. I want you. I want you”. So I think it’s definitely important for me to keep it fun, be myself, and have lots of jumping around and amazing outfits.

TB: What song feels like a top tier Caity Baser moment in your live show currently? 

CB: Honestly, “DILF”. It’s crazy because people get so caught up with numbers, data, and streaming, and “DILF” hasn’t received the most streams of a song I’ve ever released, but it’s the song that always gets the biggest reaction in the live set. 

TB: Let’s talk about expectations for Australia…. What do you imagine when you think of Australia and think of your time here?

CB: I think of the ocean. Okay, that might be because I love the ocean a lot. It goes singing, performing, ocean. I love it. I love it so much. And all I want to do is be put on a boat and then dropped in the ocean. I want to just be left there. I want to say hi to the sharks and say hi to rays and turtles. I just want to see it all. I love the outdoors. I love nature. I’m a simple girl really. I just want to look at things. 

“Why Can’t I Have Two? (2468)” is out now!

Caity Baser Australian Tour

Wednesday 18 October – Sydney SXSW Showcase 

Thursday 19 October – Mary’s Underground, Sydney *All Ages*

Saturday 21 October – Howler, Melbourne *18+*