Gordi (aka Sophie Payten) has shared two special new releases: a cover of ‘One Crowded Hour’ by Augie March and a live recording of her 2020 single ‘Unready’.
‘Unready’ was initially released at the start of June 2020, arriving as the fourth single from Payten’s second album ‘Our Two Skins’. A stripped-back take of it followed later that month, and this new live release is much closer to that version than the original. It was recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, where Payten performed for this year’s VIVID Live.
In a press release, she said of the minimalist redux (for which she sung through a vocoder): “For most of this year I have been touring my solo show and when I think about it, it’s kind of like I’m playing a set of covers of my own songs because I have to turn the arrangements into something I can play with two hands. The one I enjoy playing most is ‘Unready’.”
As for Payten’s cover of ‘One Crowded Hour’ – which she first performed on The Sound in 2020 – she reflected on her history with the song: “My older brother bought Augie March’s album ‘Moo, You Bloody Choir’ on CD in 2006 and I remember holding the maroon textured packet in my hand. I was revisiting all the Australian tunes that I love and ‘One Crowded Hour’ sits high on that list.”
Listen to both of the songs below – ‘Unready’ arrives alongside footage of Payten performing the track.
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Announced alongside the two-track release was that Payten will support Bon Iver on their upcoming Australian tour. That run will see her and the indie-folk outfit perform at Brisbane’s Riverstage on Thursday March 2, sandwiched between pairs of back-to-back shows at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre (on Friday February 17 and Saturday 18) and Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl (on Saturday March 4 and Sunday 5).
Payten’s latest release as Gordi was the six-track EP ‘Inhuman’, which arrived in August on the back of ‘Way I Go’ and the title track. Last month, too, she linked up with Didirri for a new version of his recent single ‘Begin Again’.
Payten’s other recent efforts have included a remix EP for ‘Our Two Skins’ (which featured a striking redux of ‘Extraordinary Life’ from Georgia Maq), and the ‘Refracted’ short film and live EP. Last year, she released a piano-led cover of Dolly Parton’s hit ‘The Grass Is Blue’, and in 2020 made an appearance on triple j’s Like A Version and shared a 3D live album experience titled ‘Buried City’.
She’s also released collaborative efforts with Josh Pyke (‘The Hummingbird’), Troye Sivan (‘Wait’) and Alex Lahey (‘Dino’s’), and co-wrote Fergus James’ single ‘Slow Separation’.