On her debut EP, singer-songwriter Joda Kgosi presents a metaphoric tale of a romance well beyond its best-before date. Pulling you in across its seven songs, Sour Milk intimately maps the varying stages of a relationship on the wane. Imbuing her balmy vocals with profound storytelling and raw emotion, Joda earnestly probes through her experiences of love and loss. “As a whole, I’m reflecting on things that have happened,” she tells Apple Music. “I’m welcoming you into my thoughts and inviting you to go through my sorrow with me.” With immersive soundscapes, rhythmic strums and resonant basslines accompanying a range of emotions, for Joda the sense of freedom is most prominent. “It felt good to finally get stuff off my chest,” she says. “This story is about how you’re not everything bad that has ever happened to you. It’s unfortunate that it’s over—it was fresh and now it’s sour, but we move.” Here, she talks us through the EP, track by track. Pity Party “‘Pity Party’ is me feeling really sorry for myself. This person left me without an explanation and sometimes you just want to know why—even if it’s a stupid reason, just… why? I didn’t get that closure and this person doesn’t actually care that I’m hurt. When someone just leaves you, you become insecure asking ‘Am I the problem and is something wrong with me?’. I never got a response to that; he never told me. That’s the reason to just sit there and cry, ‘cause now I’m wondering, ‘Am I ugly; did your friends say something; is my personality wack; does my breath stink?’ Crying is the soul’s washing machine, and I was so sad at that time, everyone could just see through me. I was like, ‘Watch me cry... it’s free’.” Sour Milk “There’s this popular quote people say to the ones they love: ‘In a room full of art, I’d still stare at you’. That’s ‘cause they’re the most beautiful thing to ever happen to them. I say, ‘In a room full of art, I’d still stare at the art, ‘cause I know for a fact, the art won’t break my heart’. I might see something beautiful that makes me cry, but it won’t make me feel the hurt that person did. It’s like goodbye, peace out... our good relationship turned sour and I know you regret what you did, but I don’t care.” How Dare You “This one is me taking responsibility for getting my heart broken because I wasn’t direct about my feelings in the beginning. I’m like, ‘How dare you make me love you?’, but why would I just love someone without telling them what my intentions are? As much as that person led me on, I should have known that those kisses meant nothing.” Meant To Be “So ‘Meant To Be’ is a no-strings-attached type of thing… we’re besties that hold hands sometimes, you know? We’re just having fun so don’t catch feelings—this time, we addressed it in the beginning. I do catch feelings and I’m saying ‘I really think you like me back. I see how you look at me, and how you speak to me is different from how you speak to anyone else’. I’ll go away if you say so, though. If you don’t actually want me, I’ll leave you alone.’” Energy “Guys say this line all the time: ‘I don’t want to put a title on it because it’s gonna mess things up.’ We’re together, but with no title, it means they can do whatever they want. So I get mad that there’s this girl sitting on his lap and he’s like, ‘Relax bro, we’re not dating’. I go do the same thing and now he’s mad—why? Keep the same energy and don’t get mad at me for things I shouldn’t get mad at you for. No double standards.” Empty Sinner “‘Empty Sinner’ is me being honest; it’s so raw and real. A lot of the time when we write heartbreak songs we’re on the receiving end, but sometimes we inflict pain as well and need to be aware of that. I’m explaining that this milk turned sour because of me now. I sort of lost contact with this person after the situation between us. I’m saying ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere and I need you. I know you’re hurt, but rather get hurt by me than anybody else’. The relationship is over but I’m holding on because we’re meant to be together. I’m apologising, saying, ‘I don’t know why I do the things that I do—it’s meaningless and you mean more to me than the things I did to mess up our relationship. I did something wrong… and I'm sorry’.” I Miss You “‘Sometimes when you think of a relationship that ended badly it’s like, ‘This person sucks’, but you really did have a good time with them. Even though they decided to leave I miss their presence and having someone who’s genuinely concerned about me. Despite them having hurt me in the end, it doesn’t make them a bad person.”