Meet Griff, the British Singer-Songwriter Making New Waves

British songwriter Griff, 23, was probably one of the most anticipated acts of the “We Play Here” school tour last August 13; the half-Jamaican’s performance at the University of the Philippines College of Science Amphitheater marks her first in the country. Many Filipino fans have grown to admire the artist’s unique style. She’s an artist in multiple ways, often dancing in her music videos and sometimes making her own clothes. 

On being recognized by world-famous pop artists

At an early stage in her career, she has already opened for artists such as Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Dua Lipa. She will also be opening for Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short N' Sweet Tour.” And, while performing to such large crowds for renowned artists may strike others as intimidating, Griff says that it has motivated her even in the midst of her own self-doubt.

“There are moments where you’re like ‘Should I be doing this?’ or ‘Is this any good?’,” she revealed in a press conference before the show. “Having artists like Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa wanna take me on tour... it’s a nice, quiet affirmation that I might be doing something right.”

In terms of dream collaborations, Griff prefers to take things as they go. “I didn’t plan on going on all of these amazing tours,” she humbly says. “I figure I’m just gonna not have any expectations and see what happens.”

On her debut album, Vertigo

During her set in “We Play Here,” she performed what she called the “sad” version of “Miss Me Too,” one of the tracks in her debut album Vertigo. The stripped down version of the otherwise danceable song made a few of the concertgoers emotional. 

But what is the meaning behind her unique album name? “It’s kind of like a physical condition where you feel dizziness, and you feel like the world is spinning. And there’s this feeling of upside down,” she shares. “And I think that’s the emotion of the album.” It was more of an emotional vertigo, as she described. Each of the 14 songs on the album feels personal to her, although she says she really loves “Astronaut” and “Everlasting.” 

On her signature look

It seems that every pop girl has her own trademarked style. If Sabrina Carpenter has her signature curtain bangs and Chappell Roan has her recognizable makeup, then Griff has her own distinct bubble braids. Her spiral bangs are also featured in her Vertigo album cover. 

When it comes to creating such concepts for her albums, she says that she normally spends hours scrolling on Pinterest to look for what she likes. 

“I think the spiral became this big symbol for the album,” she said. The artist also spoke about how hair became one of her outlets for self-expression, especially with her being half-Jamaican and not seeing Afro hair represented in the media. 

“We have strange relationships with our Afro hair because we don’t see it in the media,” she says. “It’s not like a beauty standard, right? [But] I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that Afro hair is so fun, because you can do so many sculptures and stuff to it. And that’s why I can do the big bubble braid, or I can have the big spiral, because [I] can be so much more creative with my hair texture.”

She’s also taken control over her own fashion creativity, even going as far as sewing her outfit for the Era’s Tour. The singer took fans behind the scenes in an IG post where she showed her process. Her artistic eye for fabrics and colors is clearly shown in each piece she wears—whether it’s in a music video or for an album cover.

A true artist in every way, there’s no doubt that Griff’s upward spiral in pop is well on its way. 

Text by Tim Marasigan

Special thanks to Warner Music Philippines

Lead photo from @wiffygriffy