Gordi has released a stunning live performance from the Sydney Opera House, alongside the news that she’ll be supporting Bon Iver on their upcoming Australian tour.
It seems only right that Gordi marks her set at the Sydney Opera House with an official release, with her debut at the iconic landmark postponed twice due to pandemic lockdowns.
Today’s two-track release contains a striking and sparse version of ‘Unready’ from her recent VIVID Live 2022 set at the iconic Sydney venue, as well as a cover of Augie March’s ‘One Crowded Hour’.
‘Unready’ was a highlight of the singer-songwriter’s acclaimed 2020 album Our Two Skins, but haunting lyrics like “An island like a silo in the emptiness / A quiet majesty in all its nothingness” are especially felt in the Sydney Opera House recording.
“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’ – we recorded a live version from my solo show at VIVID in the Sydney Opera House,” Gordi, real name Sophie Payten, explains.
The Augie March cover, meanwhile, was a long time in the making. “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,” she says.
Gordi will return to Sydney – although to the Aware Super Theatre this time – when she supports Bon Iver on their 2023 Australian tour. The songwriting powerhouses will also perform in Melbourne and Brisbane on the short tour (see full dates here).
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There’s even a touch of Bon Iver’s warped majesty to Gordi’s ‘Unready’ live version, who Gordi was supposed to support back in 2020 until COVID caused its cancellation. You can watch the live visual, shot in one take during soundcheck, below (shot by Sydney collective VERSUS).
Gordi’s ‘Unready (Live at Sydney Opera House)’/‘One Crowded Hour’ is out now via Liberation Records (AU/NZ) & Jagjaguwar.
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