It’s a tough thing, finding your place in the world – and it’s a topic that up-and-comer Sody gives a thorough airing with her new EP, ‘Star Potential’. Reckoning with feelings of inadequacy and how to forge your own path, it’s something of a ‘how to’ guide for anyone who needs a bit of a confidence boost. Here, she talks us through the release track by track.
Star Potential
I wrote ‘Star Potential’ over Zoom with my dear friend Lauren Aquilina from my home in lockdown at the beginning of 2021. I was explaining to her how I felt like I wasn’t good enough for the music industry. I had people around me telling me I had all the potential to be something, but opportunities weren’t being given, and I didn’t know why! The main line is: ‘I can’t pay my bills with all my star potential’, and it’s kind of tongue-in-cheek. We can’t pay our rent with just words of affirmation!
Frozen Lake
‘Frozen Lake’ was also written in lockdown over Zoom in 2021 but with my friend Jonah Shy. I told him I kept having this reoccurring dream about a frozen lake, so we looked it up to see what it meant. A Google search revealed ‘I was being held back in areas of my life and was unfulfilled with the direction I was going in’. I really felt that in my career at the time. It’s for anyone who feels trapped in an area of their life, whether at work, in a relationship or friendship. If you know it’s not right, break free from it!
Trust
I wrote ‘Trust’ with Charlie and Joe from writer/production duo The Nocturns, who are like brothers to me. Having your trust broken in any kind of relationship is literally the worst, so this one is for anyone that’s had theirs broken and has been left to pick up the pieces. The song sounds very upbeat, but the lyrical tone is actually quite sad! I love that about it, though. It feels somewhat cathartic. I played it for the first time at my headline show in London a few days ago, and I have to say… it did go off.
Imposter Syndrome
‘Imposter Syndrome’ was the last song I wrote for the EP in November last year. Originally the EP was just going to be the four, but I felt like something was missing. This song sums up all my feelings over the past few years. I felt so empowered becoming an independent artist again, but then all these feelings of inadequacy, lack of confidence and doubting my abilities came in a few months later. It was my first writing session with Fanny Hultman (who is now one of my fave collaborators!), and she helped me to articulate the struggles I was facing. This one is probably the most vulnerable on the body of work!
The Nest
‘The Nest’ is probably the most personal of all of them as it’s about my brothers. Olivia Sebastionelli and Toby Scott, who I’ve worked with since the beginning of my career, came up from Brighton to Lincoln (where I was living at the time) to write some songs for a few days. ‘The Nest’ was the last one we wrote on a whim, but it was the most special. It came about as I was telling them a story of how growing up, my brothers would say, ‘Stop singing in an American accent; sing in your English accent!’ whenever I would sing in the house. What they really were saying was, ‘Just be you’, and that has stuck with me ever since. Although my big bros drive me crazy, I’ve learnt that they always come from a good place!
Sody’s EP ‘Star Potential’ is out now.
