Caity Baser, by her own admission, can “sit very calmly in chaos.” It’s a particularly handy skill for one of the most buzzed-about emerging pop stars in the UK – whose new mixtape, Still Learning, is on course to make a seriously strong debut on the charts this Friday.

Initially rising to prominence through viral videos on social media, the Southampton-born artist has had no problem translating that virtual success into real-world accolades, including nominations for both the BRIT Awards’ Rising Star honour and the BBC’s Sound of 2024 poll.

“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Surely this has to be a video game,’” she tells me. “This isn’t real – someone’s just playing my character, and I’m going to wake up and it will be like: ‘Kidding!’ But so far, I keep waking up, and having the same things I did when I fell asleep...”

Part of Caity’s appeal comes down to the fact that, at her core, she’s an unapologetic messer, who brings a playful irreverence to everything she does, both inside and outside the recording studio.

“I feel like that type of energy is in everybody,” the 21-year-old reflects. “People are either with it confidently, or they’re with it behind-the-scenes. I describe it as just being a kid. I’m alway going to have the energy and excitement of a kid, even when I get older – just because I love life, and I love experiencing things. I try to encourage everybody to just have fun with it.”

She’s also partial to a bit of piss-taking, as she showcased in the campaign leading up to the release of Still Learning – one aspect of which poked fun at the overblown drama of celebrity apology videos.

“The world is so serious,” Caity smiles. “I’m serious when I need to be, but most of the time I’m just in the corner laughing with my friends or family. I think that should just be consistent throughout everything I do. Because why not?”

Surprisingly, she also claims to have been “the best-behaved girl in school.”

"I was a little neek, revising in the library!” she laughs. “It’s actually kind of fucked up, but it was because the teachers were like, ‘If you don’t do well in school, you are literally going to be a failure.’ They drilled that into us, from Year 7. It was like, ‘If you don’t get good GCSEs, there’s no point. You might as well give up.’

“Then I got to college,” she continues. “And I was like, ‘Nobody gives a fuck… And we’re going into lockdown. What is life?’ So that’s when I started getting gobby. The real me started coming out, and I was just cussing everybody out – even the teachers…”

That confidence was always within her, she reckons – it just wasn’t always easy to express it.

“In school, I just hated everything,” she resumes. “People were so mean, and so rude, but I would just get on with it – because I wanted to have friends, and I wanted to be cool. So I would mute myself. People would be like, ‘You’re so loud, Caity! God, stop – you’re too much.’ And I’d go, ‘Yeah, sorry…’

“But now my mentality is, ‘Oh, I’m too much? Well, you’re not enough!’ I’d always wanted to be like that. So when I realised, in lockdown, that nothing matters, I was like, ‘Lol, the world is not ready for this fucking shit show!’”

Still Learning is also a response to the pressure to be perfect, both on and offline.

“There’s so much pressure to have it all figured out,” Caity nods. “Some of my friends’ siblings are like, ‘Oh, I haven’t got my life planned out!’ And they’re like 13. Chill out! I’m 21 and I don’t know what I’m doing – and I’m not going to know what I’m doing when I’m 30, or 40.

“Once I started teasing this mixtape, I had people of all ages messaging me, being like, ‘Yeah, that never changes.’ And why would you want that to change? Life is an experience. Enjoy it all, the good and the bad.”

Does she feel society’s gotten any better at celebrating loud, confident women, rather than viewing them as a problem?

“We’ve still got a way to go, but it’s definitely more accepted and celebrated now,” she states, before listing some of her favourites, including Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.

“When ‘WAP’ came out, and they did that video, where they’re just shaking ass… I loved it,” she recalls. “And all these men were like, ‘This is ridiculous. It’s so disrespectful.’ Shut up! But it’s so nice to see strong women that don’t give a fuck. It’s so empowering, and makes me just want to rage and shake ass!”

Another artist she’s been admiring lately is CMAT.

“She is fucking insane,” she enthuses. “The way she performs is so theatrical and so engaging – I love it."

Of course, Caity’s also been making some impressive moves of her own – including her decision to tackle rising ticket costs, and keep her shows affordable.

“Life is so difficult now, especially for young people, financially,” she says. “There’s just so much shit going on. Most of my demographic are students and young people. And I’m a young person – and I’ve struggled, and it’s not nice. I grew up with nothing, pretty much. Going to a gig or a festival was only on a special occasion – or only if I saved up beforehand.

“It shouldn’t be like, ‘If I go to a gig, am I going to be able to afford an Uber home? Or am I going to be able to get my food shop?’ I just want them to come, forget about everything, and have a good time. Music is something that brings people together, and money is something that separates people. So why are the two best friends at the minute?”

The Still Learning Tour kicks off in less than a week, and will see her make her eagerly anticipated return to Ireland – having previously played Indiependence in Cork, and the Green Room at The Academy, Dublin.

“Everyone’s insane,” she laughs, summing up her experiences of Ireland. “So I fit in perfectly!”

Still Learning is out now. Caity Baser plays The Limelight 2 in Belfast (March 31) and The Academy in Dublin (April 1).