[2] Payten began receiving both national and international attention after playing independently across Sydney whilst at university and releasing tracks online through government-funded national Australian radio station Triple J's Unearthed radio.

[5] Payten signed record deals with Jagjaguwar in the United States in February 2016 and Liberation Music in Australia in April 2016.

[6] The EP was written entirely by Payten, collaborating with producers and mixers Ben McCarthy, Alex Somers and Francois Tetaz.

Gordi has toured with Bon Iver,[7] Of Monsters and Men,[8] The Tallest Man on Earth,[9] Highasakite,[10] and Ásgeir.

[11] Payten also sang backing vocals for Bon Iver on their appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in September 2016.

[12] Gordi's debut LP Reservoir, released on 25 August 2017, was co-produced by Payten in part with Alex Somers in his studio in Iceland, Tim Anderson in Los Angeles and Ali Chant in New York City.

She quit the position in January 2020 to work on her second studio album, Our Two Skins, but went back on call in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[13][14] In January 2020, Payten released her first single in almost three years called "The Cost", with profits going to the 2020 Australian Bushfire Relief.