Sophie Payten, known professionally as Gordi, is an Australian folktronica singer/songwriter. Payten is based out of Sydney, New South Wales, where she currently resides. Payten hails from the small town of Canowindra in the central west of New South Wales. Payten's music has been featured in various television series and films: her 2015 single "Can We Work It Out" featured in the seventh series of The Vampire Diaries, her 2017 single "Heaven I Know" featured in the tenth series of The Walking Dead, and her 2017 song "Something Like This" featured in the 2020 teenromantic comedy .
"That new relationship was coming to the fore a lot during Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey| same-sex marriage debate and I was coming to terms with a lot of new aspects of my identity."
Payten additionally described it as "the most devastating way to fall in love with somebody." Her 2020 single "Sandwiches" was inspired by her grandmother's passing.
Career
Payten began receiving both national and international attention after playing independently across Sydney whilst at university and releasing tracks online through government-funded national Australian radio station Triple J's Unearthed radio. Gordi was nominated for the 2015 Unearthed Artist of the Year J Award from Triple J, the 2015 Next Big Thing SMAC Award from FBi Radio, and was dubbed one of the 40 best new bands of 2016 by Stereogum. Payten signed record deals with Jagjaguwar in the United States in February 2016 and Liberation Music in Australia in April 2016. Gordi then released her debut EP Clever Disguise in May 2016. The EP was written entirely by Payten, collaborating with producers and mixers Ben McCarthy, Alex Somers and Francois Tetaz. Gordi has toured with Bon Iver, Of Monsters and Men, The Tallest Man on Earth, Highasakite, and Ásgeir. Payten also sang backing vocals for Bon Iver on their appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in September 2016. Gordi's debut LP Reservoir, released on 25 August 2017, was co-produced by Payten in part with Alex Somers in his studio in Iceland, Tim Anderson in Los Angeles and Ali Chant in New York City. On the album track "I'm Done", S. Carey is a featured vocalist. Payten is credited with singing backing vocals on S. Carey’s 2018 album Hundred Acres. She is also featured on "Postcard" from Troye Sivan’s 2018 album Bloom. Throughout 2019, Payten worked at Prince of Wales Hospital as a doctor, after completing her medical studies at The University of New South Wales in 2018. In January 2020, Gordi released her first single in almost three years called "The Cost", with profits going to the 2020 Australian Bushfire Relief. She also collaborated with Willaris. K on their single 'Indifferent'. Gordi's second studio album, Our Two Skins, is slated for release on 26 June 2020. The album, co-produced by Payten with Chris Messina and Zach Hanson, was recorded in a cottage on Payten's family farm in Canowindra. Singles released from this upcoming record include "Sandwiches", released in February, accompanied by a music video filmed in Payten's hometown; "Aeroplane Bathroom", released in March with a music video filmed in Bangkok; "Volcanic", released in May; and "Unready" and "Extraordinary Life", both released in June.
