Back to Mine With Baby Weight

Baby Weight, aka Cara Eser, hails from Washington, D.C. and has burst through with a distinctive style of dance music that is rich in melody and designed for the party. She has served up albums and EPs that climbed high in the Beatport charts and picked up support from peers like The Blessed Madonna and Claptone. There is great emotional integrity in her music and she is in the middle of a busy run of gigs that take her from a huge He.She.They. showcase at Coachella to her European debut in August. Now the celebrated trans-woman offers up three tracks of freshly squeezed sonic bliss designed “to quench and revive” with her ‘Lavender Lemonade’ EP on What To Do. DMCWorldd goes Back To Mine With Baby Weight.

The Cranberries – Dreams

As a child of the 90’s, a lot of the alternative rock music of the era holds a very special place in my heart. This song is a core memory that I come back to time and time again: Dolores O’Riordan’s voice is so powerful and emotional and takes me back to a place of safety and, in a lot of ways, I try chasing the same feeling songs like this give me when I’m writing music.

LCD Soundsystem – Dance Yrself Clean

You can thank LCD Soundsystem for making me pursue DJing and electronic music. While “All My Friends” is my favourite song of theirs, it was experiencing “Dance Yrself Clean” live in 2010 that opened my eyes to the euphoria of dancing in a sweaty pit under a disco ball.

Prince – Partyman

This song is my earliest musical memory – I would rewind “Batman” on VHS as a small kid over and over just to listen to this song. It’s groovy, sexy, and just slaps so incredibly hard, but it’s Prince so what else would you expect.

Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism

It’s hard to pick one song by Death Cab for Cutie, but this song continues to haunt me. The raw heartache on display here in the songwriting is what I aspire to and, in a lot of the newer music I’ve been working on, it’s this candidness I’m aiming for.

Gossip – Standing in the Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)

Beth Ditto is quite literally one of my heroes. Her music with Gossip and her work as a solo artist continues to speak to me on multiple levels and her visibility as an out and proud queer, fat artist was instrumental in making me be the kind of artist I am today. This remix by Soulwax is an absolute banger and has been in my sets since I started DJ’ing in 2011.

Metric – Gimme Sympathy

Metric has been a band that constantly flows in and out of my life. “Gimme Sympathy” off their album Fantasies is so optimistic and bubbly while also spitting out some hard truths and it’s infinitely danceable. Real proof that sometimes simplicity is key!

Walker & Royce – Need Ya (feat. Forrest)

Everything on Self-Help by Walker & Royce is mind blowing and listening to this album for the first time basically rewired my brain and how I approached house music. This song is hypnotic and never ceases to create magic on the dancefloor during those early hours of the morning. The journey it takes you on just constantly evolves and its f*cking great.

Jamie xx – The Rest Is Noise

Balearic and emotional and uplifting, this song by Jamie xx tugs on my heartstrings every time I hear it. Going back to some of indie / alternative artists I love, there’s something about dreamlike music I always come back to when searching for inspiration.

Gay Marvine – Wait A Minute, Baby

My love for Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks is almost as deep as my love for artists and DJs who can recontextualize something via an amazing edit. This edit by Gay Marvine of “Sara” by Fleetwood Mac is on my Mt. Rushmore of remixes and edits: the first time I heard it was at a packed Pride event in 2016 and it was one of the first times I experienced queer joy. The category is unapologetic and transcendent.

Chappell Roan – California

Like a lot of queer girls, Chappell has been my life’s soundtrack as of late. And, as much as I love the absolute girl pop power she effortlessly emits just by existing, especially on tracks like “Pink Pony Club” or “Hot to Go,” this deeper cut from peak Covid era showcases how pop music can be capable of telling more personal stories. Seeing her glow up and watching this current wave of queer pop girlies having their moment, has been super inspiring and has done a lot to boost my confidence in choosing to dig deeper and be myself.

Baby Weight ‘Lavender Lemonade’ EP is out now on What To Do.

https://whattodo-love.bandcamp.com/album/lavender-lemonade-ep