British singer-songwriter Griff’s career has been an undeniable whirlwind. Less than two years after releasing her first single and completing her A-level exams she won the Brit Award for Rising Star. Then she opened for Dua Lipa. Then Ed Sheeran. Then Coldplay. Then Taylor Swift.
In between these appearances, solo shows and music releases, he worked on songs for his debut album, “Vertigo,” which is now released.
“The normal steps you take as a new artist are kind of upside-down,” 23-year-old Sarah Faith Griffiths said in an interview with The Associated Press. “An album is like a stepping stone, and it’s a milestone I’ve always wanted to reach.”
In that sense, this moment feels like the beginning of his career, he said. This immersive pop album tracks the emotions that come with that kind of whirlwind — as well as the feelings that come after other unsettled events, like growing up and feeling heartache.
Griff said the inspiration for the project came from, “funnily enough” passing through a spiral staircase in a house in which he wrote the album – in this case, a cottage belonging to musician and songwriter Imogen Heap. He said the physical reality of the experience easily offered itself as an emotional counterpart, and it has stuck with him ever since.
“It was a very real, tangible feeling that I had and still have at this stage of my life,” he said.
“Tears for Fun” and “Miss Me Too” capture that rousing spirit through layered productions that mirror the large-scale venues she’s already performed at. “Astronaut” features piano playing by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who encouraged Griff to turn an early draft of the song into a ballad. “You said you need space, so let’s go, astronaut,” she admits in her signature belt, the grounded approach giving even more force to her accusations.
“I’m a little greedy when it comes to songs,” she said, adding that she wants to combine heartfelt lyrics with catchy, upbeat performances. “For me, music is about making people emotional and evoking emotions.”
The process of catharsis is then shared between the artist and his or her audience, an approach Martin has encouraged, he said.
“He really believes that as creatives and writers we’re just kind of vessels, and creativity will flow through us and ideas will find their way to the right people,” she said. “And I think that kind of philosophy is really reassuring.”
Griff succeeds in her mission not only with her voice, but also with the visuals she and her team have created. Since the release of the album’s lead single, she has constantly worn a spiral in her hair. The song’s visualizers see her dancing in flowing clothing on the same spiral drawn in the sand. She, like her pop mentors, knows that an album “era” is a multimedia endeavor.
However, perhaps even more revealing about his inner life are Griff’s more casual glimpses of the producer. In preparation for his gig opening for one night of Swift’s Eras Tour in London, he documented the process of turning a blue and white fabric into a dress, inspired by a lyric from Swift’s “But Daddy I Love Him.”
“I was always wrapping sheets over myself,” she said of her childhood. “I was the only girl — I have two older brothers and lots of foster siblings — so it was my way of entertaining myself, playing dress up. I guess I just liked making things up.”
As Swift said from the stage: “This girl is so creative, on every level.”
In that spirit, Griff says she’s ready to keep creating.
“To be honest, I’m excited to be back in the studio,” he said. “I feel like I have a lot to offer.”
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