Written amidst a period of isolation and personal turmoil, Payten recorded Our Two Skins at her parents’ farm in Canowindra with Chris Messina and Zach Hanson, two core members of Bon Iver’s acclaimed production team. The album is embellished with found sounds and quirks from recording in such a remote environment, acting as a contrast to the stark and personal nature of Payten’s lyrics.
Payten elaborated on the emotionally grueling process in a statement released today, saying that “A big theme of the record is: there’s nothing to hide behind. We didn’t have all the bells and whistles. You’re just standing there, with your hands in your pockets going: this is me. This is it. This is all I have.”
Today’s announcement is also bolstered by the release of new single ‘Aeroplane Bathroom’, which Payten wrote while pacing up and down an airplane corridor on a red-eye flight to Europe, saying that “The song is about feeling isolated. It comes at a very strange time now given we’re all locking ourselves in our homes, ‘socially isolating’ from our normal functional lives. There is no more dehumanising experience than to be cut off from everything you know. It can plunge you into total despair.” She’s also shared a video to support the single, which you can watch below.
My Two Skins, the new album from Gordi, arrives courtesy of Liberation Records on Friday June 19.
