Q&A: LOW.BŌ, the Self-Producing Voice of Alternative R&B
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY NTHATILE MAVUSO ☆
Photo Credit: Eric Jovel
LOW.BŌ NAVIGATES THE TENSE AND QUIET ACHE OF LONGING ON HIS LATEST SINGLE “BLUR” – The track seamlessly transitions between warm indie textures and stripped-down R&B, capturing the haze of emotional in-between or what Low.bo describes as a “messy middle.” The yearning for someone whose feelings remain unclear, and the slow unraveling that follows. Co-produced by Scotty White and Elijah Bieuzieron, “blur” is one of the few collaborations on the artist’s upcoming album husk, and a standout moment of restraint and feeling.
Raised singing in the church in Baltimore and trained as a visual artist, Low.bō’s creative world began far from music. It wasn’t until a period of deep personal isolation that he turned to songwriting and production as a form of healing, teaching himself to produce, record, and shape his voice into what has now become a signature blend of alternative R&B, indie, and grunge. With praise from outlets like Billboard and OVO Sound Radio, an official SXSW artist slot, and a feature on Spotify’s Vanguard playlist, he’s quickly establishing himself as a genre-shifting artist to keep eyes on.
“‘blur’ lives in that messy middle,” Low.bō explains. “On the surface, it feels warm and familiar, but beneath the warmth is a quiet sadness. It’s not about toxicity, just a relationship that wasn’t meant to last.” That tension between softness and sorrow runs throughout husk, offering listeners a window into the vulnerability that characterizes Low.bō’s work.
Low.bō sat down with Luna for an intimate conversation about process, place, the tenderness behind “blur,” and what husk has to offer.
Photo Credit: Eric Jovel
LUNA: You’ve described your sound as alternative R&B. What does that label mean to you?
LOW.BŌ: To me, it means freedom. I’m rooted in R&B, but I don’t stick strictly to the traditional formula. I mix in elements from different genres because I am influenced by a multitude of genres– electronic, ambient, even indie—to express what I’m feeling. It’s about creating something that still resonates emotionally, but at the same time, is very much true to who I am and how I make music.
LUNA: You're based in New York, but you also have roots in Baltimore. How do those two cities influence your sound?
LOW.BŌ: Baltimore shaped my earliest musical memories, and this is truly where I learned to make music for myself. I come from a musically inclined household, so it is hard to even pinpoint exactly where and how I fell in love with music. In that sense, music feels like a home for me. On the other hand, New York opened me up to a wider world of sound. The pace here keeps you sharp, and the diversity in soundscapes pushes you creatively. I have been influenced by the people I have listened to and interacted with. As well as everything that is around me.
LUNA: You are a self-producing artist. What made you want to have full control of the creativity in your music?
LOW.BŌ: It started out of necessity, but I realized I enjoy the process. Producing myself gives me full creative control. It lets me shape the emotion from the inside out. I’ve collaborated in the past, but there’s something special about building the sound exactly how you feel it. Especially when I have struggled with having to explain how I want a particular arrangement to fit with the story I am trying to tell.
LUNA: You described your music as warm and familiar on the surface, but unsettling underneath, like a quiet tension. Can you talk more about that?
LOW.BŌ: I’m drawn to that “messy middle.” I write from moments that feel emotionally confusing or hard to define. On the surface, the music might sound soft or nostalgic, but there’s always an undercurrent of tension, like something’s not quite right. Feelings are not as cut and dry or black and white either, especially in situations where everything feels more complicated than it has to be.
LUNA: Is it intentional to make your music not as easy to interpret?
LOW.BŌ: The emotional layering comes to me seamlessly, so it is always there in what I write. Not everything needs to have a single, definitive meaning. Sometimes simplicity speaks volumes, and sometimes the ambiguity is the point, and it is appealing because of it.
LUNA: You collaborated with Elujay on this project. I am a huge fan of his work. What was that collaboration like?
LOW.BŌ: That was a great experience. Elujay brought a different energy and perspective. It taught me how to trust someone else’s input without losing my own voice. I’m open to collaborating again, but I just like it to happen naturally. A lot of the features on here occurred naturally and felt very organic throughout.
LUNA: How do you think your love for filmmaking influenced your creative output for this single and further the project, and what can we expect in terms of visuals in the future?
LOW.BŌ: I think because of how hands-on I am by nature, it's just made it easier to really be involved in every part of the process. I wanted to create a narrative that felt true to me, and this is the first time I’ve been able to fully execute my ideas exactly how I envisioned them. That right there is what you can expect more of moving forward: me being 1000% locked into the process of creating, from start to finish.
