The Sydney artist talks self-doubt, sonic experimentation, and why sad music makes her happy.
Sydney-based artist Grid is redefining pop with a sound that bridges nostalgia and innovation.
The Perth-born singer-songwriter and producer, formerly known as Griddy, merges lush classical arrangements with electronic beats, drawing inspiration from icons like Tame Impala and Massive Attack.
Her sophomore single, ‘Why Would You Want Me,’ delves into self-doubt with cinematic production, blending Casio rhythms and psychedelic textures.
From DJing alongside industry heavyweights to her APRA mentorship with KLP, Grid’s journey reflects both introspection and bold experimentation.
In this interview, she unpacks her creative process, Sydney’s influence, and the emotional core of her music.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
GRID: It’s a Sunday as I’m writing this – I’ve been doing my normal Sunday life admin whilst listening to an artist/band I’ve just discovered for the first time called Télépopmusik. I heard this song of theirs called ‘Don’t Look Back’ and now I’m deep diving through their catalogue.
Today I’ve already pulled apart this song in Ableton, trying to analyse all the elements and figure out why I’m so drawn to it. I love discovering an amazing artist or band that I had no idea existed and question why I have never heard of them before.
It’s such an amazing feeling being so captivated and excited by music that resonates with you and your taste that you didn’t know was out there. They have soundtracked my entire weekend and I’m already looking forward to listening to them tomorrow at work.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from, what do you love about it?
GRID: I grew up in Perth and moved over to Sydney almost 2 years ago now. I love Perth for so many reasons – it’s the most beautiful, wholesome place to have grown up in and I’m so lucky that my family and friends are still there so I can go back and visit.
Going back there is like a big warm hug, I always get so sentimental and nostalgic when I go back. It was hard to leave but I knew I needed to in order to begin my career in music. There are so many more opportunities over here in Sydney.
HAPPY: The transition from Perth to Sydney must have impacted your creative process. How has this geographic shift influenced your approach to music-making?
GRID: I was lucky enough to find an incredible day job fairly quickly in the music industry here in Sydney – working for the independent record label Sweat It Out.
I feel so grateful to be at a job that has allowed me to learn so much in such a short amount of time and meet so many amazing people in the industry.
Being over here in the thick of the Australian music scene has been monumental in developing as an artist. I think the only hard thing I have found is trying to find time for writing now.
Life gets so busy over here and you wish you have all the time in the world to write and create music and to just get better and develop your skills constantly, but in reality you need to work hard to make every minute of spare time work.
HAPPY: You’ve blended vintage Casio rhythms with classic drum breaks in this production. Could you walk us through how you approached combining these different eras of sound?
GRID: I’m a strong believer that the style of drums used in a track can heavily influence the genre.
I think that’s why I love blending and layering different drum styles, sounds and samples together to make the drums unique and not define the genre too much. In my track ‘Why Would You Want Me’ there’s definitely a lot of different things going on with the drums.
That Casio drum loop was part of the song since the original demo, as well as the trap style hi-hats.
When I started working with Chris Arnott on the song he had the idea of bringing everything together with a slowed-down drum break, referencing the Big Beat era and bands like Massive Attack, Groove Armada, The Chemical Brothers.
I love the unconventional combination of all those things together, it gives the song so much more character and flavour than if we were to just hone in on just one style of drums.
HAPPY: The lyrics explore self-doubt within early-stage attraction. Was there a specific moment or experience that inspired this theme?
GRID: I wrote the lyrics a couple of years ago when I had just gotten out of a relationship and was newly single. I had just started developing a bit of a crush on someone new, which should be an exciting feeling right?
At this point in time I had become a lot better at being an observer of my thoughts and understanding patterns of behaviour and the type of person I was attracted to.
It was definitely a lightbulb moment for me to realise that I wasn’t just thinking about this person, but I was saying a lot of negative stuff about myself in my head.
In the past I would have just ignored that and continued to pursue the connection, which to me was a sign that maybe I had always begun my relationships with that self-deprecation that always lead me to being with someone that probably wasn’t right for me.
“The energy feels so good right, so why don’t I try put up a fight?” It’s just funny that this person would have no idea the impact they ended up having on me and how much I learnt about myself, just by simply being a fantasy for me and that’s it.
HAPPY: Your production style draws from diverse influences, from ELO to Massive Attack. Are there any Aussie artists that particularly influenced you?
GRID: My major musical influences are actually all quite different to one other, but there are definitely some key similarities between them. ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) is a band I grew up listening to.
Jeff Lynne was pretty revolutionary for his time in the way he combined pop-rock with classical, orchestral elements. I always wanted to write a pop song that began with a really dramatic string and piano interlude and then turned into something different, and that’s how ‘Why Would You Want Me’ was born.
The Aussie artist (and fellow Perthian) that has had the same level of impact on me is Tame Impala. I love Tame’s early albums but the obsession for me really began when Currents came out.
I was in year 11 at the time, a monumentally turbulent time in my life where I was going through all these crazy adolescent emotions and experiences for the first time ever.
What made these songs so great to me was that they were pop songs about love and self-discovery but they were so much more than that. The psychedelic and experimental nature of the production made the album feel like one big dream when you were listening.
HAPPY: Could you tell us about your relationship with classical arrangements and how you integrate them into your electronic pop framework?
GRID: I have always played the piano, ever since I was about 6 years old.
When I was about 10 I composed my first ever song on the piano and showed it to my music teacher. She loved it and wrote sheet music for it and taught the school orchestra to play it at assembly.
I thought it was the coolest thing ever. My relationship with the piano has always been so special. In high school whenever I was going through something I would just sit at the piano and play and get lost in it.
It was the ultimate alone time. I would find a chord progression that struck a feeling in me and play it over and over. When I write music now, it’s a non-negotiable to me to firstly choose a chord progression on the piano that gives me that same feeling.
HAPPY: As a sophomore single, how does “Why Would You Want Me” represent your growth as an artist since your debut?
GRID: My debut single ‘Go Easy’ felt like the perfect starting point for me. The song felt very authentic to who I am as an artist and how I wanted to begin my journey as Grid.
And there’s so much room to grow and explore now after this song. I want to experiment. I want to capture people’s attention. I want to blend genres, cross boundaries and give the world something to remember.
When you find a song that really touches you inside and everything disappears around you and you feel like the only person in the whole world – that’s what I want to create. ‘Why Would You Want Me’ is exactly that to me.
I feel like I’ve managed to combine so many of my musical influences and sonic preferences into one song – it’s dramatic, it’s psychedelic, it’s experimental, and yet it’s really just a sad-girl pop song.
HAPPY: The track manages to be both experimental and accessible. How conscious are you of striking this balance when you’re in the production process?
GRID: I think naturally I’ve just always been drawn to artists that can write a bloody brilliant, often emotionally-driven pop song, and in a unique way that hasn’t been done before.
And without trying too hard to be exactly like any one artist that has inspired me, I want to nail this same balance. I want my music to be accessible in a way that anyone who listens to the lyrics can relate to these feelings or experiences I’m talking about.
HAPPY: And finally, what makes you Happy?
GRID: I’m massive on prioritising mental health, practicing self-love and self-care, meditation, seeing a psychologist, going to therapy, etc. And when you are focusing a lot on these things and working on yourself it’s easy to think you don’t need anyone else around to make you happy.
But at the end of the day, as much as I try to not rely on others to make me happy, I’ve realised lately more than ever that quality time with friends and family is so important in making you feel fulfilled and a part of something.
Sometimes it’s hard to say that writing music by myself makes me happy, because I love sad music. And I love writing sad music. I love writing about the things that scare you and the things that make life feel so chaotic. But writing also helps me understand myself – kind of like journaling in a way.
