Griff shares ‘One Night’ (Stripped Version)
Griff shares ‘One Night’ (Stripped Version)
Praise for debut mixtape, ‘One Foot In Front Of The Other’“Perfection” NME *****“Earworms and wise words to burn…Griff is a talent deserving of the hype” The Observer ****“Brutally good…destined to be hollered back to Griff in arenas worldwide” Sunday Times, Record of the Week“Gracefully carving out her own legacy…Griff is pushing beyond the bounds” CLASH, 8/10“Pop’s next powerhouse.” Vogue
Griff has today shared a stripped-back version of latest single ‘One Night’, which is available now on Warner Records. This continues a whirlwind run for the Brit Award winner, who has recently appeared everywhere from Strictly Come Dancing to curating an intimate, female-focused show in support of Warchild – all off the back of first mixtape ‘One Foot In Front Of The Other’, which charted at #4 in the Official UK Charts earlier this year (the first female artist to go Top 5 with a mixtape). The one-of-a-kind singer, songwriter, producer and fashion designer plays her next London date at an immediately-sold-out O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on October 27th, with European tour dates now scheduled for early 2022.
Pared back to its soulful roots, Griff’s alternative version of ‘One Night’ allows the 20-year-old’s remarkable voice to shine brighter than ever. Beneath the original banger is a rawly vulnerable song about the fears you carry round with you even when the lights go off (as Girff explains).
“One Night’ is about feeling like you’re always carrying this darkness or burden. I think in the daytime we can feel distracted because we’re around people and we’re busy, but that moment between going to bed and falling asleep, there’s just enough silence for those burdens to get louder. Essentially this song is trying to understand why I can’t shake it, and the chorus comes to this breaking point of desperately wanting at least ‘One Night’ alone.”
‘One Night’ (Stripped Version) Video Still
Griff’s story so far takes the anxieties within ‘One Night’ and turns them into a source of power. Born in the sleepy town of Kings Langley, she started writing music aged fifteen, also realising at an early age – from her Chinese-Jamaican heritage to their lively family household, who also foster children – that she was different. Griff found inspiration from strong pop heroes like Lorde, Banks and Taylor Swift (now, famously, a fan) as well as, increasingly, from the lack of representation in her industry. Suitably, Griff taught herself to produce music, turned a casual Textiles A-Level into making many of her own clothes (including her and her band’s performance outfits for the BRITs), and adopted an iconic bubble-ponytail before she had released her first ever EP: the astonishingly accomplished ‘Mirror Talk’, and Griff’s first instance – shining brighter still on ‘One Night’ – of looking your insecurities straight in the face.
In the last year or so, Griff has – largely, confined in that same bedroom – found herself hailed the new queen of British Pop: a steep learning curve for any young artist, making her breakthrough all the remarkable having been done over Zoom. A series of DIY singles (‘Good Stuff’, ‘Forgive Myself’) trod a path for the inescapable hit ‘Black Hole’, and first project ‘One Foot In Front Of The Other’: a mixtape vividly capturing those highs and lows of modern teenage life (as suspended by the pandemic). For songs often written about feeling out of control, it’s remarkable to find a young artist as in control (and now, determined to make a difference) as Griff. As she ventures out to her devoted fanbase for the first time IRL, what cuts through in Griff’s work is the importance of friendship, family, and ignoring the voices lurking beneath ‘One Night’ to ultimately only listen to yourself.
UPCOMING GIGS
OCTOBER
22.10.2021 || Glasgow || King Tuts
23.10.2021 || Manchester || Deaf Institute
25.10.2021 || Birmingham || O2 Academy
327.10.2021 || London || O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
‘One Night’ artwork
STREAM ‘One Night’ (Stripped Version)
WATCH the video for ‘One Night’ (Stripped Version)
STREAM ‘One Foot In Front Of The Other’ mixtape
WATCH ‘Black Hole’