Gordi (Australian singer‐songwriter)

Sophie Payten (born 28 December 1992), known professionally as Gordi, is an Australian folktronica singer/songwriter. Her 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 season of The Walking Dead, and her 2017 song "Something Like This" featured in the 2020 teen romantic comedy To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. 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. Payten was nominated for the 2015 Unearthed Artist of the Year J Award from Triple J, the 2015 Next Big Thing SMAC (Sydney Music, Arts & Culture) 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. Payten 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. Payten 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. Payten'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 junior doctor, after completing her medical studies at The University of New South Wales in 2018. She quit the position in January 2020 to work on her second studio album, Our Two Skins, but went back on call in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2020, Payten released her first single in almost three years called "The Cost", with profits going to the 2020 Australian Bushfire Relief. She also released a single "Indifferent" with Willaris. K, which appeared on his EP Lustre. Payten released five singles ("Sandwiches", "Aeroplane Bathroom", "Volcanic", "Unready", and "Extraordinary Life") ahead of the release of her second studio album Our Two Skins 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. Payten released her EP Inhuman on 19 August 2022. It was Payten's first non-remix, live, or acoustic EP since the release of Clever Disguise in 2016. Payten featured on John Raymond and S. Carey's 2023 album Shadowlands, including on the single "Steadfast". In March 2023, Payten released "Broke Scene", which was co-produced by Ethan Gruska, followed by her single "Lunch At Dune" (with SOAK) in October 2024. Both singles appear on her third studio album Like Plasticine, which was released on 8 August 2025. Singles "Alien Cowboy", "Peripheral Lover", "Cutting Room Floor", "PVC Divide", "GD (Goddamn)" and "Head Rush" also appear on the record. In August 2023, Payten was appointed as one of eight members of the newly-formed Music Australia Council, a division of Creative Australia (formerly Australia Council for the Arts). Payten has been in a relationship with singer-songwriter Alex Lahey since 2017. In 2021 the two released a single, "Dino's", with a music video directed by Nick Mckk. Payten's 2020 single "Sandwiches" was dedicated to her late grandmother. The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Gordi has received three nominations. The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018. The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005. The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. "Can We Work It Out" is also included on the album Reservoir, whilst the RAC remix of "Can We Work It Out" is only included on the remix EP Can We Work It Out (Reworks). Rancani, Laura (1 October 2014). "Listen: Gordi – "Nothing's As It Seems" [Premiere]". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 25 June 2020. "Gordi – TV & Movie Placements". What Song. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020. "Here are your 2015 J Award nominees | Music News | triple j". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "2015 FBi SMAC Nominees Announced - Music Feeds". Music Feeds. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "Stereogum's 40 Best New Bands Of 2016 - Stereogum - Page 2". Stereogum. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "GORDI - Clever Disguise - Music Feeds". Music Feeds. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "Gordi scores Bon Iver tour slot and 'Best New Artist of 2016' nod | Music News | triple j". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "Gordi pens two international deals and is named as support for Of Monsters and Men tour |". hhhhappy.com. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2017. Tredinnick, Jessamy (30 November 2016). "Gordi Is Ready To Support Her Hero: The Tallest Man On Earth". scenestr.com.au. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "GORDI signs to Liberation Music & debuts new single 'Wanting' from her 'Clever Disguise' EP out May 13 - Liberation Music". liberation.com.au. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "ÁSGEIR · Handsome Tours". handsometours.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017. "Watch Bon Iver Debut "8 (circle)" On The Tonight Show". Stereogum. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2017. Quinn, Belinda (26 June 2020). "Music as medicine: why Gordi quit her job as a doctor for new album 'Our Two Skins'". NME. Retrieved 8 September 2023. Triscari, Caleb (7 April 2020). "Gordi returns to her medical career amid the coronavirus pandemic". NME. Retrieved 8 September 2023. "Gordi stalked by giant lobster for Inhuman, title track of new EP". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022. "Gordi – "Broke Scene"". Stereo Gum. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023. Newstead, Al (22 August 2023). "Meet the Music Australia Council tasked with solving local music's struggles". Double J. Retrieved 30 September 2024. Newstead, Al (22 June 2020). "Gordi's emotive second album is shaped by love, loss... and a sheep farm". ABC. Retrieved 24 June 2020. Martin, Josh (12 February 2021). "Alex Lahey and Gordi team up to pay tribute to a Nashville dive bar on 'Dino's'". NME. Retrieved 21 July 2021. Rockman, Lisa (20 June 2020). "A panic attack at 30,000-feet inspired Gordi to tell her story on album number two, Our Two Skins". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 24 June 2020. Kenneally, Cerys (25 February 2020). "Gordi pays tribute to her late grandmother on new single