Griff Is Hitting Reset On Her Creative Process

After a whirlwind several months on the road, Griff is ready to write some new music. In 2024, the 24-year-old British musician hit career milestones many artists could only dream of: opening for Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, releasing her debut album with Warner Records, and headlining a tour across the UK, US, and Canada. Now, she’s settling into a quieter routine to start her next project.

“I'm really excited to write again, especially because this was a year of firsts,” she tells NYLON. “It was the first year of properly touring a record and understanding how that resonates [with fans]. I've got more new energy now than before. I want to upscale with production and nerd out on buying synths and figuring out new sounds.”

She also plans to spend time between Los Angeles and London to switch up the scenery — and to force herself to be aligned with her thoughts, she says. The quiet and stillness she finds on writing trips is what drew her to her latest project as the global campaign star for North Face’s Mountain Jacket Collection, dropping Feb. 25. “It's something quite different for me,” Griff says. “I wouldn't usually do sportswear, but North Face is a really classic brand. Creatively, they always do interesting stuff, so it felt right to make the exception.”

Below, the “Vertigo” singer shares more about the outfits on her recent tour, her latest single “last night’s mascara,” and what’s in her Notes app.

You’re a fashion girl, but this kind of an unexpected project for you. What’s your connection to nature and being outside?

Griff: People always say I'm from London, but actually I'm from the suburbs, a tiny little village just outside of London. At heart I’m more of a country girl. There wasn't a lot to do [around me] growing up, hence how I got into music, because the choices were either to go for a walk and see sheep or make songs. That was the dichotomy of my childhood.

That sounds lovely. I wish I could go for a walk outside and see sheep.

Griff: It is quite dreamy. It's very slow as a kid when you're trying to have a social life and be inspired or stimulated. But getting older, I think everyone has a slight fondness for their hometown and upbringing.

Speaking of fashion, you make a lot of your own clothes. Did you make the outfits from your recent tour?

Griff: I did, yeah. All the outfits were custom — I was designing them and sewing bits on. We got some help from an amazing student because I used to have so much time to stitch everything together, whereas now I'm on the road so much, so it was nice to have a helping hand.

The concept was taking things that are traditionally considered undergarments and putting them on the outside. We made cages you'd usually put underneath petticoats to create shape. Halfway through the show, I'd take off the cage and there would be a new layer. I loved all of them, and it was fun picking out the different fabrics and changing things up for the American and UK shows.

Your single “last night’s mascara” has been a hit. What’s it been like to see the love it’s getting, after it didn’t initially make the cut for your album?

Griff: It's been quite empowering. The creative process in making my first album was confusing because I was so in my head about what people wanted to hear from me. I couldn't really see the forest from the trees, which is why there was a graveyard of demos like “last night's mascara” that didn't make it on. There was something so freeing about being a few months out from my album and starting the Sabrina Carpenter tour, and going, "You know what? I might play a new demo just for the fun of it, to see how people react."

It was cool to do something that was completely fan-fueled and not think about the metrics. Then I put the official mix [of “last night’s mascara”] on TikTok, and people were like, "No, it doesn't sound as good as the live version." So I went back in and changed it. It was a fun way of cutting out all the opinions and directly talking to fans.

You mentioned a “graveyard of demos” that didn't make the album. Will any more of those see the light of day, or are you writing all new stuff?

Griff: I think it's all new stuff now. I need to rid myself of that chapter and press refresh in a fun way.

Does that mean there’s new music coming?

Griff: I hope so, but honestly, nothing in the works at the moment. I'm going to spend the next few months writing again and get a plan together and figure it out.

I need to rid myself of that chapter and press refresh in a fun way.

When you spoke to NYLON last spring, you said you use your Notes and voice-memo apps to write down ideas. Can you share the last thing you wrote?

Griff: I have a to-do list to post my Vinted postings because I'm trying to clear things out. And then there are too many embarrassing things. It will make sense in my head when I'm writing an idea down, but saying it out loud is too much.

My Notes app is the same. It’ll be a grocery list and then a text draft of me telling someone, "You did me wrong."

Griff: Exactly. "Hi, I just wanted to check back in, this really pissed me off."

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.