Griff: Championed by Taylor Swift and Chris Martin, meet pop's next big thing

Refracting old-school sensibilities with new-age authenticity, Griff, aka Sarah Griffiths, is the answer to the question: what’s next for pop? She chats to Kate Demolder

Sun, 25 Feb, 2024 - 17:50

Kate Demolder

What do Taylor Swift, Chris Martin and Annie Mac all have in common? They all vouch for Griff, the freshly minted 23-year-old otherwise known as Sarah Faith Griffiths.

Raised in Hertfordshire, to a father whose Jamaican immigrant parents were part of the Windrush generation and to a mother whose family moved to England amid the Vietnam War, Griff, from a young age, understood the concept of her place in the world intensely.

“I think there’s definitely, like, a kind of experience that a lot of mixed race kids will understand,” Griff — whose name hails from the nickname her mother had for her father growing up — says.

“Which is like, you never quite belong to any group of people, because you’re made up of more than one, and so you never fully feel one at all. And so yeah, I definitely always felt kind of on the periphery, and just always kind of on the outside looking in.”

Her first taste of music, real music, came by way of an iPod Shuffle she was gifted at age eight, with Taylor Swift’s 2008 album, Fearless, already downloaded.

This kickstarted a love affair with truly authentic, easily relatable, three-minute masterpieces of emotional candour, something Griff has proven immensely talented at recreating.

'I definitely always felt kind of on the periphery, and just always kind of on the outside looking in.' Picture: Rich Gilligan

Her debut single, Mirror Talk, released in 2019 on the same day she signed to Warner Records, just weeks after her A-Levels, was described by Billboard as an “electrifying debut”, further praising her “powerful voice and vulnerable lyrics”.

Since then, her music has travelled; from Disney’s 2020 Christmas advert, to the British Top 100 to the top five of the British album chart by way of seven-track mixtape, One Foot In Front Of The Other, despite not officially being an album.

In February of that year, Griff won the Brits Rising Star award, following in the footsteps of Adele, Florence And The Machine, and Rag’N’Bone Man, who later went on to cover her work in BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge.

Her star rose significantly during lockdown, when she could practice her craft without pressures of the outside world.

“A blessing,” she says when referring to that time. “But also like being thrown into the deep end.”

When unleashed, she toured with some of the world’s most recognisable artists, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and Florence + the Machine, as well as landing support from Taylor Swift, who called out Griff’s latest track, ‘Vertigo’, entirely unprompted on Instagram. (“Damn griff i love this one,” Swift wrote in her Instagram story at the time.)

Griff won the Brits Rising Star award. Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage

Her latest release, vert1go vol.1, is an atmospheric, cinematic and intimate set of songs from Griff: More unguarded than ever, but the mark of an artist prepared to embrace the unknown.

The release was previewed by Vertigo as lead single, a track concerned with navigating change. For many, self-transformation is a terrifying exercise, so we look everywhere for capable guides. Griff is a good one.

“You felt alive, that’s chemical / You felt secure, that’s called a home / Couldn’t take the heat, that’s Mexico / You’re scared of love, well, aren’t we all?” she sings with a gasping delicacy, all the while unburdening herself from the process of change.

“A lot of my previous work so far has been super moody and insular and melancholic, and for me, Miss Me Too [her latest track, which drops later this month] is a bit more anthemic. I’m super excited for people to hear it.”

At times, when speaking, Griff appears almost oppressively low-key, as if euphoria is not in her emotional wheelhouse.

The only respite is when she talks of her time in Dingle for Other Voices, the festival which has become home for new and burgeoning talent and that has seen Amy Winehouse, Little Simz, and The National performing there.

“We were only there for such a short time. But it was amazing, really special. I was pulling pints and learned the best way to pull a Guinness,” she smiles, coyly.

It was also just like this very cosy atmosphere, like, almost like the opposite of a really intimidating big festival where there’s so many things going on.

"It kind of just felt like the community was the main selling point of the festival, and as artists we were just coming in and being a part of that, which was really quite nice.”

While there, Griff performed the lead track from vert1go vol.1 in St James’ Church, part of a bill that also featured CMAT, Kae Tempest, Yard Act, The Murder Capital, Gurriers and OXN.

Each performance will be featured in the latest Other Voices series for RTÉ, across six episodes from February 29, just before Griff returns to Ireland for her 3Olympia Theatre headline show on March 26.

“The first time I came to Ireland was to support Dua Lipa — so to come back along kind of feels full circle.”

While all of this sounds undeniably exciting, not to mention begetting unprecedented levels of frenzy and hype for the young star, Griff remains remarkably poised. Perhaps this is due to her faith.

Griff and her family belong to the Hillsong Church, a 150,000-strong global congregation that emphasises music and singing; she describes her Christian faith as a major influence on her creative process, but credit also goes to the artist’s incredulous verity, something that shapes her every move.

For someone barely into her mid-20s, she remains deeply aware of her industry’s pitfalls, and the onus on young women to be beautiful, marketable products.

Griff returns to Ireland for her 3Olympia Theatre headline show on March 26. Picture: Rich Gilligan

“I think it’s important, especially as a young girl coming up in music, to feel like I’ve got full agency of everything that I do,” she says. “And to feel like what I’m putting out is authentic.

"I think there’s just so much fakeness in music and entertainment that I just don’t think the world needs any more of that.”

Perhaps another part of Griff’s allure is that her aura scratches the nebulous aesthetic itch of Gen Z, the first cohort of music fans to largely shed all genre allegiances.

“I’ve never really thought about genre too much,” Griff says. “I grew up on a lot of soul and R&B and, I guess, I never would say my music was pop because it felt like a dirty word and, and also, I guess, again, as someone with my heritage, I just don’t think I ever saw myself conventionally fitting into a pop space.

"To me, I don’t really try to overthink or label what it is I’m making. It just has to feel right to me, and something that people can sing along to.”

Her work, from Black Hole, to her latest, Astronaut, a track which caused her to shed tears during her Dingle performance, is a nostalgic, poignant version of its influences.

Griff’s art is a fluid blend of sounds from different genres but isn’t beholden to any of them, slinking easily between indie, nu-age, balladry and perfect pop.

“ Other Voices is about celebrating what’s about to happen and Griff is one of the most happening and exciting artists right now. It was a delight to welcome her to Dingle,” says Philip King, founder of Other Voices.

“Griff serves as a reminder of the uplifting power of pop music,” echoes Other Voices’ head of development Molly King.

“Her performance was a real beam of positivity and she’s a total star, and it was so lovely to see her flit around Dingle, pouring pints, nipping into tourist shops and generally hanging out in Benners Hotel with everyone else.

"She gave an arena-worthy performance to just 80 people in the Church of St James. I’m so excited to see where her career takes her. She’s welcome back anytime.”