Cleo Sol

Cleo Sol’s career began in earnest during the late 2000s with some high-profile featured appearances and a handful of promising pop-soul singles. After a few years away, the soul-rooted singer/songwriter returned during the late 2010s with a more artful and outward-looking approach with creative partner Inflo. The two have recorded extensively under the collaborative alias Sault, and they have also worked together on Rose in the Dark (2020) and Mother (2021), Cleo’s first two solo albums. After winning a 2023 Ivor Novello award with Sault, Cleo returned later that year with a third solo outing, Heaven.
The London native, born Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic, grew up in a musical family and absorbed numerous styles of music, including classic R&B, with Motown a heavy favorite. Before her teens, she gravitated to contemporary artists such as Destiny's Child and Alicia Keys. She made her first recorded appearances as a featured vocalist on 2007-2008 tracks such as Tinie Tempah’s “Tears” and Perempay N’ Dee’s “Time to Let Go,” and gained early support from DaVinChe. Featured on numerous tracks by the grime producer, Cleo was also signed to his Dirty Canvas label and in 2011 debuted as a headliner with the single “High.” “Never the Right Time (Who Do You Love)” followed on major-label Island in 2012.
Although she completed work on an album, Cleo opted to hold on to it, retreated from the industry, and returned in 2017 with “Why Don’t You” and “Try and You Try,” less commercially minded singles written with and produced by Inflo. The tracks were issued on the Inflo-affiliated Forever Living Originals label, signaling a close alliance that continued to develop throughout the next few years. After the half-old/half-new four-track Winter Songs EP appeared in 2018, Cleo was particularly busy in 2019, the year she issued the singles “One” and “Sweet Blue,” contributed to Little Simz’s Grey Area, and released two albums as part of the boundary-pushing Sault — all made with Inflo.
The momentum continued throughout 2020 and 2021. During these two years alone, Sault released three more albums, including Untitled (Rise), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Mercury Prize. Cleo also recorded the solo full-lengths Rose in the Dark and Mother, deeply introspective affairs that were likewise produced by Inflo. Additionally, Cleo contributed to the making of another Inflo-produced Little Simz LP, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. She co-wrote and was featured on the single “Woman.” In November 2022, without preamble, Sault released five new digital albums all at once. One of those albums, 11, went on to win the 2023 Ivor Novello award for Best Album, with Cleo and Inflo listed among its recipients. Her third solo album, the understated Heaven, arrived in September of that year. ~ Andy Kellman