Tender, raw, and achingly human, Arno Sacco’s soul-stirring debut “Blue Boy” introduces an artist unafraid to bare his soul. In conversation with Atwood Magazine, the London-based singer/songwriter reflects on the story behind his breathtakingly beautiful first single, exploring vulnerability, release, and the quiet strength that comes from learning to sit with your own emotions.

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Stream: “Blue Boy” – Arno Sacco

And I feel so blue, I think I lost myself, need guidance for my help…

* * *

To be blue is to feel everything at once.

Blue is the color of ache and introspection, of late-night thoughts that hum softly beneath the surface. Blue can mean sadness, yes, but it can also mean serenity, surrender, or truth. It’s the hue of the in-between: Of longing and letting go, of finding beauty in the melancholy. To be blue is to be awake to your own heart, even when it hurts.

An utterly gorgeous, soul-stirring confessional that immediately sets him apart from the pack, Arno Sacco’s debut single “Blue Boy” promises to stop listeners in their tracks. For nearly four minutes, we’re treated to the wondrous union of Sacco’s breathtakingly beautiful voice and a Spanish guitar: No tricks, no polish. You can hear the air between his words, the ache in his delivery, the quiet surrender in every breath. Enchanting, haunting, all-consuming – all of these words fail to capture the magic and majesty of this song, and yet they’re a good start.

I’m lost
Unable to be found
Stuck in this merry-go-round
Impatiently patiently waiting
for a miracle to come around
But I’m fading
And there’s no leftover space
to roam around in I feel alone
Escaping dying fields of happiness,
I think I’m losing my way towards home
You were my home

Released July 17th via Au Contraire Recordings, “Blue Boy” is a true ‘gentle giant’ of a song – a tender tempest that moves the heart and stirs the soul. “I feel so blue / I think I lost myself, need guidance for my help,” Sacco sings, his voice trembling like a candle in the dark. The whole thing aches: A portrait of self-loss and slow healing painted in soft, intimate strokes. Produced with Beni Giles and Joe Brown, “Blue Boy” was the first song Sacco ever wrote – a fact that only makes its depth and sensitivity more striking.

“‘It’s an ode to release – to shedding old skins, escaping worn-out cycles and finding grace in the ache of growing up,’” Sacco shares. “‘I hope it will serve as a soundtrack to make life feel a bit more soft.’”

And I feel so blue
I think I lost myself,
need guidance for my help
Oh I feel so blue
I think I lost myself
I need help

I’m blue, blue, blue, blue
I’m blue, blue, blue, blue

Born in Belgium with Caribbean roots, and now based in London, Sacco has become a quietly luminous voice within the Dutch and UK R&B scenes, moving in creative circles that include Naomi Sharon, Rimon, and BNNYHUNNA. But where many debut singles introduce an artist’s sound, “Blue Boy” introduces a soul. It’s the sound of a young artist taking inventory of his own heart, finding beauty in fragility and strength in stillness.

“I chose ‘Blue Boy’ as the first release because it felt like the purest representation of where I was emotionally,” Sacco tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s also the first song I’ve ever written so it holds this sincere ache, but also this quiet hope. It’s soft but intentional. It felt like a doorway, not just into my sound, but into the kind of emotional space I want to invite people into.”

Let me fall
Let me lose it all
Don’t let me crawl, back into your lap
Kiss me goodnight but I won’t say it back
Dreams of splendor wonder
through the halls of my brain
I’m going insane
Need a deeper force
to cleanse me from the night
And float away back to the start

That emotional space – spacious, raw, and deeply human – is what makes “Blue Boy” so breathtaking. There’s pain in its poetry (“Let me fall / Let me lose it all / Don’t let me crawl back into your lap”), but also mercy and release. You can feel him shedding something – not violently, but gently, like the tide letting go of the shore. It’s the quiet revolution of self-acceptance rendered in melody.

“It’s everything,” he says of vulnerability in music. “Even if the lyrics are abstract or the production is minimal. If it’s vulnerable, people feel that. It’s the difference between hearing a song and feeling it.”

Accompanied by a stunning visual directed by Rotterdam-based filmmaker Ashley Rottjers, the “Blue Boy” music video deepens the song’s emotional landscape through its vivid use of color and place. Bathed in shades of blue — from the midnight sky casting its glow over London streets to the pale dawn light and the deep blue of the ocean — the film mirrors Sacco’s emotional arc: The blue of settling and the blue of renewal.

“The video for ‘Blue Boy’ follows me through the neighborhood where I grew up, mirroring the song’s theme of trying to escape my past,” he explains. “Written during a time of personal struggle, ‘Blue Boy’ reflects that feeling of being stuck in a cycle. No matter how hard I try to break free, I always end up back at the place where it all began. The video captures this struggle of running from old memories, bad habits, and painful parts of myself, only to return, over and over.”

Shot between his hometown and the Dutch coast, the video – as intimate as it is expressive – follows Sacco through familiar spaces as he confronts cycles of memory and return, embodying the song’s search for release and the beauty of learning to start again.

I chose “Blue Boy” as the first release because it felt like the purest representation of where I was emotionally. It’s also the first song I’ve ever written so It holds this sincere ache, but also this quiet hope.

* * *

“Blue Boy” feels like standing in the middle of your own storm and realizing you’re still whole.

It’s tender and raw, aching and alive – a breathtaking debut from an artist who understands that sometimes the softest songs can hit the hardest.

And with that, Arno Sacco opens the door to his world – one defined by feeling, reflection, and fearless honesty. In conversation with Atwood Magazine, he dives deeper into the story behind “Blue Boy,” the art of vulnerability, and the quiet strength that comes from learning to sit with your own emotions.

But now I feel so blue
I think I lost myself
Need guidance for my help
Oh I feel so blue
I think I lost myself
I need help

I’m blue, blue, blue, blue
I’m blue, blue, blue, blue

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:: stream/purchase Blue Boy here ::

:: connect with Arno Sacco here ::

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Stream: “Blue Boy” – Arno Sacco

A CONVERSATION WITH ARNO SACCO

Arno Sacco: Hey! Thank you for listening and for holding space for this conversation. I guess the main thing I’d want people to know is that my music comes from a really emotional, reflective place. I write to process, to feel things fully, and to try and make sense of what’s happening inside and around me. It’s not always polished or perfect but it’s honest. And if someone finds a piece of themselves in it, then I feel like I’ve done what I’m here to do.

Arno Sacco: I actually came into songwriting through theatre. I studied it for a while, and that exposed me to literature, poetry, and storytelling in a really immersive way. Language has always felt like home to me, especially the kind that holds emotion in subtle or layered ways. Over time, that love for words naturally started merging with my love for music. It was less of a plan and more of a quiet unfolding.

Arno Sacco: Frank Ocean is definitely one of them. I generally really connect with artists that aren’t afraid to be vulnerable and kind of treat their songwriting like a diary entry. Outside of music, I find a lot of inspiration in film. Classic movies like Moonlight by Barry Jenkins, In The Mood For Love by Wong Kar-wai or even more recent, Waves by Trey Edward Shults.

Arno Sacco: Yes. I didn’t know how I was gonna make it work cause I’m from a very small town in the middle of nowhere but I always knew that my purpose in this world was to make music and to share it with others.

For the solo project, I just want to keep building something honest. I’m still figuring out my sound but I feel like the people I want to make my debut EP with are fully in the sonic world I want to create in, so I’m very excited about that. I’m also not chasing virality or time. I’m chasing connection. If the music can make someone feel seen, or remind them they’re not alone in their weird little feelings, that’s everything to me.

Arno Sacco: Thank you, that means a lot. I chose “Blue Boy” as the first release because it felt like the purest representation of where I was emotionally. It’s also the first song I’ve ever written so It holds this sincere ache, but also this quiet hope. It’s soft but intentional. It felt like a doorway, not just into my sound, but into the kind of emotional space I want to invite people into.

Arno Sacco: “Blue Boy” came out of a time when I felt stuck physically and emotionally. I was looping through the same patterns, the same thoughts. The song became a kind of letter to myself. A way of saying, “You can leave this version of yourself behind. You’re allowed to want more.” It’s a gentle plea, not a dramatic escape. More like slipping out of something that doesn’t fit anymore.

It felt like a doorway, not just into my sound, but into the kind of emotional space I want to invite people into.

* * *

Arno Sacco: It’s everything. I think vulnerability is the thread that makes a song stick with someone. Even if the lyrics are abstract or the production is minimal. If it’s vulnerable, people feel that. It’s the difference between hearing a song and feeling it. For me, making music is an emotional offering and vulnerability is the language it speaks in.

Arno Sacco: “Blue Boy” is kind of like my emotional baseline. It introduces people to the part of me that’s always searching, always feeling deeply. There’s sadness in it, for sure but also tenderness, softness, and a quiet but strong kind of strength. That’s who I am, both as a person and an artist.

Arno Sacco: I hope listeners feel less alone when they hear it. That’s the biggest thing. Even if they don’t know exactly what it’s about, I hope it gives them a space to feel whatever they need to feel.

As for me, I’ve learned that letting go can be quiet and powerful. That you don’t need to scream to be heard. That sharing your truth, even if it’s small or tender or uncomfortable, can actually be the most resonant thing.

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:: stream/purchase Blue Boy here ::

:: connect with Arno Sacco here ::

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Stream: “Blue Boy” – Arno Sacco

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