Cleo Sol

A West London soul singer and the lead voice of the anonymous collective SAULT, who made her solo debut Rose in the Dark with the producer Inflo in 2020.

Origin: Ladbroke Grove, London, England
Years active: 2008-present
Genres: British soul, alternative R&B
Labels: Forever Living Originals
Also known as: Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic

Ladbroke Grove

Cleo Sol was born Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic and grew up in Ladbroke Grove, West London, to a Spanish-Serbian mother and a Jamaican father; Dazed reports that her parents met in a jazz band. The Blues Project says Sol comes from her Spanish heritage and means sun. Wikipedia and The Blues Project give her birth date as March 24, 1990, MusicBrainz as March 24, 1991. Her influences, per Wikipedia, include Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, and she grew up on reggae, Motown, jazz and Latin music.

She began writing and performing at 16. In 2008 she sang the chorus of Tinie Tempah's Tears, and in 2011 she signed to DaVinChe's Dirty Canvas and Island Records, with the singles High, featuring Gappy Ranks, and Never the Right Time (Who Do You Love) in 2012. Dazed reports that the album she recorded under the major deal went unreleased. She then spent about four years away from music, telling Dazed that she was not happy and was attaching her happiness to her music, before working with the producer Inflo, Dean Josiah Cover, from 2017.

Inflo, SAULT and the albums

Why Don't You, in May 2017, and Try and You Try, in November 2017, came first, then the EP Winter Songs on March 9, 2018 and the singles One and Sweet Blue in 2019. She is the lead vocalist of SAULT, the anonymous UK collective with Inflo; SAULT's 11 won the Ivor Novello award for best album in May 2023, and she was one of the recipients. Rose in the Dark followed on March 27, 2020, and she appeared on Little Simz's Selfish and, in 2021, Woman. Mother came out in August 2021, Heaven on September 15, 2023 and Gold on September 29, 2023, all on Inflo's label Forever Living Originals, and a fifth solo album, Gentlewoman, on August 20, 2026.

She rarely performs live. Setlist.fm lists a headline show at KOKO in London on June 7, 2022, two nights at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2023, her first US solo shows at Radio City Music Hall on March 23 to 25, 2025 and the Hollywood Bowl on April 4, 2025, and a SAULT headline set at All Points East on August 15, 2025. NPR's WLRN reported that songs from the debut album gained traction on TikTok and Spotify after her 2023 releases, which led to bigger venues. She was nominated for a BRIT Award for best R&B act in 2024, and The Blues Project says she won best R&B act at the MOBOs that year, a secondary source.

Records

Rose in the Dark 2020 · Forever Living Originals
Her first full-length record, produced by Inflo, with the same sound and some of the same people as SAULT.

Songs

Rewind Rose in the Dark · 2020
The fourth track of Rose in the Dark, a short song that leans on a voicemail from a friend and runs straight into the title track.
Rose in the Dark Rose in the Dark · 2020
The title track of her debut album, a song of faith that opened her first US solo show at Radio City Music Hall.

Where to go next

Official

Cleo Sol The official site.
Cleo Sol on Bandcamp Her releases.

Reference

Cleo Sol Biography and discography.
Rose in the Dark The album's tracklist and reception.
SAULT (band) The collective she fronts.

Writing and criticism

The Arts Desk: Rose in the Dark A five-star review.
WLRN: Cleo Sol will see you now On her first US shows.
The Blues Project: Cleo Sol A 2022 profile.

Interviews

Dazed: Cleo Sol cover shoot A long profile.

Live performance archives

setlist.fm: Cleo Sol Her documented shows.

Sources

Cleo Sol, Wikipedia
Rose in the Dark, Wikipedia
SAULT (band), Wikipedia
Cleo Sol: Dazed cover shoot, Dazed
Cleo Sol: Rose in the Dark, The Arts Desk (2020-12-18)
Cleo Sol will see you now, WLRN (2025-03-26)
Cleo Sol, UK R&B and neo-soul music icon, The Blues Project (2022-07)
Cleo Sol: Rose in the Dark, God Is In The TV (2020-04-20)