by Hannah Barrett
Following Her Experience As a Doctor During the Pandemic, Musician Gordi Releases her Album Like Plasticine on August 8.
Lockdown was a difficult time for many, especially healthcare workers on the front lines. Gordi’s upcoming album Like Plasticine retells their story from her own perspective as a trained doctor and skilled musician.
Congratulations on the upcoming release! How are you feeling?
Excited! I’ve had these songs with me for such a long time, and they take on a new life when other people can listen to them. I’ve been ready for this stage for a while. [Now the date is here], I’m so excited to start that next chapter where the songs are almost reborn as people engage with the record.
You’ve released a few singles already: GD (Goddamn), Head Rush, Peripheral Lover… What’s the reception been like?
It’s been great. I had such a long period of not releasing a major body of work because of the pandemic and all the rest. I have a renewed sense of gratitude releasing each of these songs and seeing them do their thing: hearing them play on radio and seeing them come up on streaming playlists. They’ve had a couple of billboard moments in Times Square and there’ve been some ‘pinch me’ moments which have been very cool.
Why did you choose to talk about your pandemic experience through music?
It was a retrospective, because I really struggled for the first 18 months of the pandemic to write anything. I was constantly writing little sentences and words here and there, but I couldn’t get it together in the form of any meaningful songwriting. I was burnt out on long shifts, and the last thing I’d feel like doing is getting home and picking up a guitar and playing something.
The thing that I wanted to articulate in my writing was this role that healthcare workers were expected to play, which was new. I had some experiences where I would go in and deliver news to someone that you’d normally deliver with their family around, and that wasn’t an option. You sponged up all of that grief and emotion. So I think writing about that experience was finally my way of letting out those emotions that I really tried to contain for a long time.
It was a strange way for me to write, because I don’t usually do that ‘residency’ style of writing. Songwriting to me is like a constantly dripping tap, but that tap had turned off, so I went into this space to try and write. I was scared that nothing would come out, but it actually felt like I had an underground spring of stuff to tap into.
What helped you bring the creativity back?
I picked a different entry point for songwriting. Rather than sitting down with a guitar and waiting for a line to come to me, I’d go in each morning and create an atmosphere. That was my first aim. The space I was in was so beautiful, and it felt like having these sparse loops was much more inspiring.
I also had a playlist of songs I was listening to on the walk every morning to feed my subconscious different music, so I would make different decisions in the writing process.
What was that music?
Broken Social Scene, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack, Tegan and Sara, Folklore, Caroline Polachek.
You signed your first record deal while in your first year of university. How did you balance academia and creativity?
It is a lot of work, and that period of my life was insane. Trying to pass exams and trying to get a music career off the ground is hard work, but I think we make time for the things we love. There were times where I wanted to give up – like a lot of times! – but I had a really clear vision of what I wanted. I took on as much as I could handle and worked my arse off for those years. It’s rewarding if you can do what you’re passionate about for a living.
Your songs on Like Plasticine are a blend of different emotions. Alien Cowboy, for example, was a song about a queer utopia. Did the more upbeat songs come at the same time, or afterwards?
They came later, but I did the bulk of the record in those first two weeks. Like Plasticine is about the full spectrum of life, from ecstasy to agony and everything in between. I felt like there wasn’t enough ecstasy in what I had, so I wanted to inject some brighter, bolder colours into the record. Enter Alien Cowboy and Peripheral Lover, which feel separate from the rest of the initial stuff, but I wanted to really capture the essence of what the record meant, and that took priority over making them all fit in a nice, neat style.
I wanted the beginning to feel really intense and loud, and then it tapers into a more emotional, slower pace. My favourite moment is when Head Rush begins on side B, because it feels like you’ve been lulled and then the song kicks off and jolts you back.
You produced or co-produced every song on the album. How was that process?
I co-produced my second record, but this time felt like a different experience. Rather than work with the same people on the entire record, I curated the collaborators according to what every song needed. Brad Cook did a lot of heavy lifting on five of the records, then I worked with others on different songs.
It was a great learning experience and I felt like I could take my time, as opposed to the previous record where I had four weeks. That was cool in a different way, but this time I really appreciated having the time to sculpt it with the help of different collaborators.
What’s coming up post-release?
I’ve got some shows coming up in Europe, so keep your ears to the ground!
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