TS Graye
TS Graye - or Graye for short - has never been anything but direct.
Hopes, fears, upheavals, ecstasies: they’re all there, boldly laid out in searing songwriting that serves as something of an emotional exorcism for Graye and listeners alike.
At the age of 14, Graye was approached to audition for a girl band, only to be taken on by her current management as a solo artist instead. She put out her debut track ‘MY2’ in 2018 to rave reviews, following it with a string of singles. These early successes led to collaborations with dance acts Rationale and Dimension – both of which have since racked up millions of streams – and saw Graye being selected as live support for Sasha Sloane and DRAMA. And yet, it’s only now – on her debut EP – that the London-based singer believes she has truly found her focus.
Examining rape culture, toxic relationships, sex and self-loathing, Graye Area is an unflinching exploration of what it means to be a woman in 2022, and cements its creator as one of the UK’s most essential young voices. With the lion’s share of the record co-written with long-time collaborator Oscar Scheller (PinkPantheress, Ashnikko) in March and April of 2021, it was a set born out of necessity following a period of emotional turmoil and growth.
Graye’s lyrical candour is, in itself, an act of defiance; a refusal to be cowed by a society that still seeks to diminish women. Playlisted on BBC Radio 1, the lo-fi garage bounce of ‘Pretty Sad’ sees her struggling to mask emotional pain in public, and turning up to parties and instantly wanting to disappear. Meanwhile, ‘Guest List’ sees her realising her own worth as she calls time on a toxic relationship mired in drugs, infidelity and codependence.
Self-love is an idea that Graye returns to repeatedly in her songwriting, reflecting on her own struggles with self-esteem and panic attacks. By funnelling her personal experiences into her art, Graye hopes listeners will be inspired to be honest with themselves too. “It’s about people opening up and talking about things that they don’t necessarily know how to talk about.” As is implicit in the EP title, in a culture obsessed with absolutes, Graye is far more interested in human imperfections and uncertainties.
