KEXP Live at Iceland Airwaves 2017, Day 3: Gordi

Second on today's broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Australian artist Gordi. Gordi is the stage name of Australian Folktronica artist Sophie Payten, who began playing music while in university, and began to gain traction across Australia after she was featured in prominent radio station Triple-J’s “Unearthed." Her debut album Reservoir was recorded in Iceland and the US, and included collaboration with notable Reykjavik-based artist and musician Alex Somers, best known for his work with Sigur Rós. Maintaining her connection with Iceland, she toured her native Australia with Icelandic artist Ásgeir. 

Kex was packed with festival-goers eagerly waiting to catch the Australian up-and-comer. Gordi opened her set with "Myriad," her low, soulful, Nico-esque voice distorted and layered, creating a sublime, textured electronic soundscape with a nod to Imogen Heap. Her set wandered between more folk-influenced songs, like "Wanting," and more electronic, like "Heaven I Know," her voice dynamically shifting not only in range, but also in tone to affect the mood of the song. The climax of the set came with "On My Side," a full, brassy folk-pop that harkens to Of Monsters and Men, the kind of catchy earworm that can catapult her to stardom. Gordi's set was a real treat, a ray of sunshine on a dismal Icelandic winter day.