Cashmere Cat is one of the most unique producers working in pop music today, so it was a shame to see a somewhat sanitized version of his previously teased track with Ariana Grande, “Be My Baby,” appear on the “Bang Bang” singer’s new album last week. Today, the 26-year-old Norse DJ remedied that concern by releasing a blippy alternate “Be My Baby” take on his SoundCloud page.
It has a “Paper Planes” kind of vibe to it, with some muted gunshots and rattling rainstick beats that all scream “this is interesting!” much more loudly than the version that ended up on My Everything. Grande’s vocals are murkier, Cashmere’s synths are more ear-prickingly syncopated, and those mini-breakdowns that punctuate the chorus are inspired. To his credit, Cat has been tweeting about the singer’s album all week, clearly pleased with his contribution to the final product, but there’s something just inexplicably cooler about the producer’s alternate mix, which you can hear below.
All Ariana has to do now is work on that choreography and maybe Rihanna will stop laughing at her. Baby steps.
