I’m SABRI, a singer/songwriter based in The Netherlands. My real name is Loubna Sabri, and I was raised by my Moroccan father and Algerian mother.
By the age of four, I was already intrigued by R&B, soul and hip-hop, which I absorbed through listening to the likes of Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah and Mary J. Blige. These are the powerful female voices that encouraged me to embrace music and singing.
Melding these influences into my own sound, I also explores elements of pop and house music in her artistry, and I recently dropped my debut EP called Actually, I Can, where you can here all these sensibilities come together.
The project is filled with strong intent and power right from the title I chose for it, and it made up of stories about love, heartbreak and the ups and downs of relationships. I think this is a beautiful introduction to who I am, and the world that I have created for my sound to live within.
Actually, I Can is about the phase I’m in as I enter my thirties. The days of insecurities and hardships are over. I grew as a woman and now it’s time to fucking shine and live the life I deserve. ‘Actually, I Can.’ symbolises independence, growth, self-confidence and self-love.
I wanted to make a project that would showcase my songwriting abilities but also the versatility in the different genres I like to create in. I have a big love and passion for soul music and that will always be my core foundation, but I like to experiment with different directions as I’m creating and writing in the studio.
Actually, I Can kicks off with the jazz-inflected 2021 single “Wish The Love Never Died”, which organically accumulated over 2.5 million Spotify streams. The track is led by a simple nostalgic hip-hop instrumentation, which allows my vocals plenty of space to run on the record.
Next up is my recent single “Broken Promises”, led by dramatic piano chords. Slowing down the pace is the sensual third track “Ready”, which leans into the R&B world that influenced my entry into music. This leads into the fourth EP cut “Falling Off You”, a bluesy soul number that demonstrates my ability to deliver delicious melodic hooks.
Following this is the single, “Too Perfect To Be Loved”, which leads into my debut single “Lost In You”, an infectious tune that pairs the huskiness of my voice with electric guitar and soaring organ to great effect.
“Something I Know” is the penultimate record and charted on the radio charts in 2020. The EP rounds off with “So Long To You”, a piano-led offering that details me walking away from a relationship and moving on to better things in life.
The project is accompanied by my very first music video ever! “Broken Promises” describes how sometimes you already see a break-up coming but you keep holding on to promises that have been made previously. This process can be very lonely. While listening to the song I envisioned myself standing in a dark space all alone with my own thoughts.
In all honesty I didn’t even put too much time into pre-production. Not because I was lazy but just because I wanted it to be as authentic as it can be. I figured it all out while I was on set with my director. It only shows that we sometimes can be the hardest critics of our own art but if you let it go, you can create the nicest authentic work.
Did I mention we shot the whole video on an iPhone? Watch the video and listen to my new EP below.
