<\/p>\n
Severance<\/span><\/i><\/a>, the hit TV show about people who use a brain implant to split into a personal self (an \u201coutie\u201d) and a work self (an \u201cinnie\u201d), with neither persona able to access memories of the other, may seem like science fiction, but it\u2019s eerily close to how Sophie Payten, aka recording artist Gordi, has had to live her life while creating new album <\/span>Like Plasticine<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a junior doctor who worked at Prince of Wales hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, Payten had to manage two professional personas: the celebrated singer-songwriter whose emotive music has won her a legion of fans, and the health professional who had to keep it together during one of modern history\u2019s darkest eras.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just finished watching the latest season of <\/span>Severance<\/span><\/i>, so I\u2019m kind of thinking in that vein of like, I walk through the hospital doors and suddenly, I switch my brain out.\u201d She smiles. \u201cBut yeah, not quite as dramatic as that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As diametrically opposed as those two roles may seem, Payten suggests they are more linked than they appear on the surface.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that binds music and medicine together is this sense of connection and storytelling.\u201d \u2014Gordi<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that binds music and medicine together is this sense of connection and storytelling,\u201d she says. \u201cIn songwriting, it\u2019s this really unfiltered approach of telling a story and trying to connect with someone out in the ether, or someone at a live show. In a medical setting, it\u2019s someone else\u2019s story, but in the same way I\u2019m having to package it up and redeliver it to the patient in a way that makes sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cObviously the stark difference is how you allow your emotions to become a part of that process. With songwriting, the more emotions involved, the better the result. But in medicine, you replace feeling everything so deeply with compassion. As an innately emotional person, I definitely find it challenging to sometimes separate all that out. There are those few moments where something really stays with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian\/New Zealand music and globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In her life as Gordi, Payten is going from strength to strength. She\u2019s had songs of hers synced in TV shows like <\/span>The Walking Dead<\/span><\/i>, she co-wrote the theme song to the Oscar-nominated animated film <\/span>The Mitchells vs. the Machines<\/span><\/i>, has performed with the likes of Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers, collaborated with Troye Sivan, and has released two critically acclaimed albums, 2017\u2019s <\/span>Reservoir<\/span><\/i> and 2020\u2019s <\/span>Our Two Skins<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Third album <\/span>Like Plasticine<\/span><\/i> sees Payten stretching her wings even further, exploring territory both dark (the moving, pandemic-inspired \u201cPVC Divide\u201d) and light (\u201cPeripheral Lover\u201d, a Robyn-esque banger that\u2019s Payten\u2019s most upbeat song to date).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nLove Music?<\/h2>\n