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Music has always been a deeply personal form of expression for Saba Lou, but the journey behind the upcoming album Nothing But Love reaches far beyond songwriting and musical experimentation. Through a collection of songs written over approximately six years, the artist documents an evolving relationship with identity, emotional vulnerability, spirituality, and the complicated process of learning to understand oneself. Bringing together scientific concepts, philosophical questions, and deeply introspective songwriting, the album reflects different stages of personal growth rather than attempting to present one definitive version of who Sabu Lou is.
At the heart of Nothing But Love is an exploration of liberation: questioning the identities we construct, recognizing the habits that quietly shape our lives, and learning to see ourselves beyond the physical and emotional limitations we have grown accustomed to. What makes this conversation particularly compelling is Sabu Lou’s willingness to acknowledge uncertainty. Rather than presenting personal growth as a finished destination, the artist approaches it as an ongoing process filled with uncomfortable realizations, necessary grieving, and opportunities to become someone entirely different.
Throughout this interview, Saba Lou opens up about the experiences that inspired the title track, the difference between believing something and genuinely living it, and the role that therapy and emotional awareness have played in understanding earlier musical releases. The conversation also looks back at a childhood spent creating music, beginning at just six years old, and considers how those early experiences continue to influence the artist today.
As Nothing But Love approaches, we spoke with Saba Lou to discuss the personal experiences, philosophical questions, and creative evolution behind the upcoming record.
The Interview
The term “Nothing But Love” carries a sense of acceptance and liberation. You described the title track as capturing your first glimpses of liberation from “tiny, restrictive body-consciousness.” Can you remember a specific moment when you realized how much of your identity had been shaped by the way you perceived yourself physically, and what did it feel like to begin questioning that perception?
“Yes, I can remember a specific moment. It was four years ago, and at the time I used to always wear a little silk kerchief around my neck. I was tying it and for the first time was not fully engaged in the habit of it, so I could see what I was doing anew. I tied it so tight, it was like a literal chokehold. I was shocked and in that moment I saw myself as something other than my body and the body as a storehouse for habits and memories, rather than not seeing the body at all, but seeing only from it, assuming I am it. It felt kind of bewildering.”
The album seems to explore the difference between intellectually understanding something and genuinely experiencing it within yourself. Have you ever discovered that something you believed deeply was only an idea you had adopted, rather than a truth you had personally experienced? What happened when that realization came?
“Yeah, this happens all the time. There are many healthy (impressive) habits I claimed to have before I actually adopted them. In the moment, though it was untrue, it wasn’t a lie. In a way it opened the door for me to actually do it, cause this way I was at least imagining this version of myself. The realization was uncomfortable at first. Now I can see how, dependent on outside affirmation, I unknowingly just said things to manipulate whoever I was with to give me that bump. The more I realize it the more I view it as just a necessary step on my particular path.”
Why do you think learning to love ourselves can sometimes require dismantling the very identity we spent years building? Was there a version of yourself you had to grieve in order to make room for the person you are becoming?
“The identity we built may not be capable of loving. There are constantly versions I had to grieve and give up in order to be who I am now and there is so much ahead of me! It seems like a good investment to get good at this grieving, cause if I ever longed for a point where change stops, that’s not good.
There is something particularly striking about this perspective. Instead of viewing personal transformation as something that eventually reaches a finish line, Sabu Lou recognizes that becoming comfortable with change may be just as important as the growth itself. The idea of repeatedly grieving past versions of ourselves introduces another layer to the album’s exploration of love. Sometimes, moving forward means accepting that the person we once were no longer reflects who we want to become. Rather than holding onto those identities, there is freedom in allowing them to exist as part of our history without letting them dictate our future.”
You have described Nothing But Love as the first song you consciously wrote about your spiritual path. What made you ready to express that part of your life through music now, when it might have remained something private or difficult to articulate in the past?
“Though I can see, in retrospect, how it was all necessary, I don’t think I was on a spiritual path before. Emphasis on ‘I think’ haha. I didn’t think/know I was, so for that matter I wasn’t. It can take quite a long time to process, but the songs I write are always reflecting what I am up to in some way or another and that was just what I was up to: thinking I am spiritual.”
When you talk about liberation from body-consciousness, what do you believe remains of a person when they stop identifying so strongly with their appearance, accomplishments, history, or the stories they tell themselves? Has your understanding of who you are fundamentally changed?
“I am still very much bound to body consciousness, it’s just not the only thing I experience now. And when we are less certain of what we are it allows for a much greater scope of who we can be. My understanding has changed in the sense that I realize I know very little about who I am and all things I have not deeply questioned, but have an answer to – those answers are not mine.“
This answer captures one of the most interesting ideas running through Nothing But Love: the possibility that understanding ourselves begins with admitting how little we actually know. Saba Lou doesn’t suggest that personal liberation means completely escaping the physical self or abandoning everything that makes us who we are. Instead, it is about creating space for experiences and identities that exist beyond the assumptions we have carried for years. There is an openness in that realization, one that allows identity to become something continually explored rather than something permanently defined.
Your album brings together seemingly different worlds: scientific concepts, emotional vulnerability, and spiritual exploration. When you write, do you experience these as separate parts of your identity, or do you see them as different languages for understanding the same reality?
“Since these songs were written over a period of about six years they document a lot of changes I went through. I probably see them more as different modes to operate from than parts of my identity. They have different languages, but they don’t describe the same reality. Some realities are more expansive than others and can encompass the smaller ones. Knowing when you are accessing a bigger view outside of yourself and when you just think you are is the really tricky part.”
The six-year writing period also gives the album an interesting dimension. Rather than representing one specific moment in time, the record becomes a collection of different perspectives and stages of development. The ideas explored throughout the songs were not necessarily understood in the same way when they were first written. As Saba Lou explains, the different subjects represent different ways of navigating life, each offering its own perspective and limitations. That willingness to let contrasting ideas coexist makes the record feel like a genuine documentation of change rather than an attempt to tie every experience into one neat conclusion.
What do you find more frightening: the possibility that the universe has no predetermined meaning, or the possibility that meaning is something we are responsible for creating ourselves? Has your answer changed as you have grown older?
“Whether it has a predetermined meaning or not doesn’t relieve us of having to create our own meaning. And yes, the responsibility of that has scared me. My opinion on what it is my responsibility to do in this life has certainly changed, but I can’t say it was between these two options. (I would be curious to hear your answer to this.)“
You began recording music at six years old, which means music has been part of your life for as long as you can remember. When you look back at the child who first entered the recording world, what do you think she understood about music that your adult self has had to rediscover?
“That it doesn’t matter what my music will trigger in someone else and I need to do it for no other reason than that it needs to be made. And no one but me can make it.”
There is something beautifully honest about this reflection, especially considering how easily creative expression can become tied to outside expectations. As artists grow older, it can become difficult to separate the desire to create from the desire for recognition, approval, or a particular reaction from an audience. Looking back at that younger version of herself, Saba Lou identifies something that can be surprisingly difficult to maintain: the freedom to create simply because something inside you needs to be expressed. It is a reminder that music does not always need to serve an external purpose to be meaningful. Sometimes, the act of bringing an idea into existence is enough.
You released Planet Enigma at fifteen and Novum Ovum while still a teenager. How do you reconcile the fact that some of your earliest artistic expressions were created by younger versions of yourself who may have understood their emotions differently from the person you are today?
“I am not sure I understand. Reconcile it with what? With how I understand my emotions now? If so – I didn’t have direct access to my emotions until this year really, something I have done extensive therapy to change, but though I was not aware of it, my earlier music seems to reflect I understood my emotions very well, I just didn’t feel safe enough to actually feel them. The immediacy of them was too overwhelming. That approach wasn’t working anymore, so I adjusted and now that I am seeing things from a different angle, I behave differently.“
Perhaps one of the most revealing moments of the conversation comes from this reflection on emotional awareness. Despite creating music from such a young age, Saba Lou explains that understanding emotions and actually allowing herself to experience them were two very different things. Through extensive therapy, the artist has begun developing a healthier relationship with those feelings, recognizing that earlier songwriting may have expressed emotions that were difficult to confront directly at the time. It also offers an interesting way to look back at Planet Enigma and Novum Ovum. Rather than distancing herself from those earlier projects, Saba Lou recognizes that they captured something meaningful, even when the person creating them wasn’t yet ready to fully understand what was being expressed.
A Continuing Journey of Self-Discovery
What makes this conversation with Sabu Lou so compelling is the refusal to present personal growth as a perfectly understood or completed experience. Throughout our discussion, the artist repeatedly returns to the importance of questioning assumptions, allowing identities to change, and recognizing that the answers we once accepted may not always belong to us. There is an honesty in acknowledging that spirituality, self-love, and emotional awareness are not necessarily things we master. They are experiences that continue to evolve as we learn more about ourselves.
With Nothing But Love, Saba Lou offers a deeply introspective look into the many ways a person can change over time. Spanning approximately six years of songwriting, the album carries the weight of different perspectives, personal discoveries, and moments of uncertainty. From the symbolism of a silk kerchief tied too tightly around the neck to the realization that music should exist first and foremost because it needs to be made, the stories behind this record reveal an artist willing to look inward, challenge familiar beliefs, and embrace the discomfort that can accompany transformation.
Perhaps the most powerful takeaway from this interview is Saba Lou’s understanding that we don’t necessarily need to have everything figured out to keep moving forward. Sometimes, recognizing how little we know about ourselves is where the most meaningful changes begin. And as the title Nothing But Love suggests, there may be something beautiful in learning to approach that uncertainty with greater openness, compassion, and acceptance.
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