Latest news with #CleoSol
Time Out
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
All Points East has announced Cleo Sol as its next 2025 headliner
Festival season is in full swing, folks. Things kicked off a few weeks back with Field Day and Gala Festival, shortly followed by Mighty Hoopla and LIDO. And there's much, much more to look forward to. Among the festivals still to come is All Points East, which returns to Vicky Park in August. RAYE and Chase & Status are among the headliners that have already been announced for the multi-weekend event. Now, it's been revealed that acclaimed soul singer Cleo Sol will be topping the bill on the festival's opening night, in her biggest headline slot to date. On the same day, there'll be an opportunity to witness an incredibly rare performance from the mysterious multi-genre collective SAULT (led by Cleo herself and producer Inflo). Here's all the information you need to make sure you don't miss out. When is Cleo Sol playing All Points East? Cleo Sol is headlining the festival on Friday, August 15. Who else is on the lineup? Cleo will be joined by reggae artist Chronixx and anonymous collective SAULT, in what will be their second ever live performance following an appearance at Drumsheds in 2023. All Points East has promised that more names will be announced in the lead up to the festival. When do tickets go on sale? Tickets for Cleo Sol's headline show will go on general sale at 10am on Thursday, June 12. They'll be up for grabs here. Is there a presale? If you want tickets before anyone else you can sign up to the APE Presale here before 9.59pm on Tuesday, June 10. Those tickets will go live at 10am on Wednesday, June 11. There's also an American Express early sale that's live right now and open until Thursday for anyone who owns an American Express Card. How much will tickets cost? Based on presale, tickets for Cleo Sol, SAULT and Chronixx start from £89.95 (plus service fees). Tickets for the other All Points East dates have started from £64.95. Who else is headlining All Points East 2025? Chase & Status are headline on August 15, joined by Overmono, Sammy Virji and Nia Archives. Edinburgh producer and DJ Barry Can't Swim will headline on August 22, joined by Confidence Man, Shygirl. The next day, pop superstar RAYE will top the bill, supported by the likes of Doechii, Tyla and JADE. August 24 will see the return of the Maccabees, bolstered by a support bill that includes Bombay Bicycle Club, CMAT and Black Country, New Road.
Hindustan Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Do a little Sault-searching: Sanjoy Narayan writes on an invisible British band
In a world where artists constantly jostle for the limelight, the British collective Sault has made anonymity their signature. This refusal to play by the rules — they do no interviews, no music videos, have no public personas — hasn't dulled their impact. If anything, it has heightened the allure. With their latest album, 10, the band has reaffirmed their position as one of the most vital, enigmatic forces in contemporary music, their silence speaking volumes where others shout. Sault's music is a tapestry woven from the threads of Black musical heritage: neo-soul at its core, but shot through with post-punk's edge, funk's groove, Afrobeat's pulse, gospel's uplift, and glints of jazz, house and disco. Theirs is not casual genre-hopping. It is a deliberate act of reclamation and of storytelling. The collective's output is a living archive of struggle, hope, and resilience; a bridge between past and present, between pain and the promise of deliverance. And while elusiveness may be one of Sault's hallmarks, another is prolificity. Since their debut in 2019, they have released 12 studio albums and two EPs. They've been nominated for Brit and Mercury awards. Yet, no one really knows much about the band members. At the heart of their creative engine are producer Inflo (Dean Josiah Cover) and vocalist Cleo Sol (Cleopatra Nikolic), a husband-and-wife duo whose chemistry is palpable. Inflo's production is both lush and spare, layering orchestral swells atop hypnotic grooves, always leaving space for the music to breathe. Cleo Sol's voice is like a beacon of warmth, unguarded and brimming with conviction. Her style of singing turns every lyric into a shared confession, every chorus into a rousing call. Collaborators such as Kid Sister, Chronixx, Michael Kiwanuka and Jack Penate have added their hues to Sault's palette, but the collective ethos remains: no egos, no stars, just the music. 10 is Sault at their most transcendent. Its release was pure theatre; it was unveiled on Good Friday, briefly disappeared from streaming platforms, and was resurrected on Easter Sunday, echoing the album's themes of death, rebirth and renewal. That's typical. An earlier album, Nine (2021), was only available on streaming services and as a digital download for 99 days. On 10, the opener, The Healing (listed as T.H.), is a meditative invitation to vulnerability, its gospel harmonies and hand drums urging listeners towards self-awareness and connection. Another, Power (listed as P), struts with the swagger of classic funk, its basslines and horns a nod to James Brown. Know That You Will Survive (listed as K.T.Y.W.S.) is a balm, with lush orchestration and lyrics of quiet strength. Sault's minimalism is surgical; emotional arcs unfurl with subtle crescendos, mirroring the heart's unspoken triumphs. In 2022, the band stunned the industry by dropping five albums simultaneously as a free download, a gesture as punk as it was genuinely generous. Each Sault project is distinct, yet all of them are united by a commitment to artistic freedom and social commentary. Their 2022 album, Earth, leans into African rhythms and psych-funk, evoking Santana's Soul Sacrifice and Beyoncé's Lemonade era. The orchestral Air, also from 2022, is a radical detour into contemporary classical, showing how Sault refuses to be boxed in by expectation. The collective's music is built on repetition and ritualistic grooves, creating hypnotic soundscapes that invite listeners into a communal, almost spiritual experience. Tracks such as God is in Control (from Earth) layer hand drums and harmonies that evoke Black musical traditions spanning continents, connecting listeners from Africa to the Americas. It is traditional Black spiritual music in a modern-day revisitation. Their anonymity amplifies their themes of resilience, community and Black pride, allowing the work to resonate without distraction. Even the About section of their artist page on Spotify simply says 'Add a little Sault to your life'. When they finally took the stage in late 2023, it was on their own terms. Each performance was a separate event, focused on a different album. These rare appearances feel less like concerts and more like rituals — fleeting, electrifying, and gone before one can grasp them. Of course, the collective is not immune to the frictions of collaboration. Recent reports of a legal dispute over financial matters between Inflo and the British rapper Little Simz, a long-time collaborator, is a reminder that even the most utopian ventures can face real-world pressures. It is also a reminder that behind the veil of anonymity are artists navigating the same challenges as anyone else. For those willing to embrace their mystery, Sault offers a journey that is richly rewarding: a trove of sound that reveals new layers of meaning and beauty every time you listen. In the end, Sault's greatest act of rebellion could be that in a world so full of clamour, they redefine power by refusing to be seen. (To write in with feedback, email
Los Angeles Times
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Enigmatic, British singer Cleo Sol makes her long-awaited L.A. debut at Hollywood Bowl
After years of quietly releasing center stage-worthy music yet averting the spotlight, British singer-songwriter Cleo Sol made her long-awaited debut on Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert took place just days after she performed stateside for the first time during a three-show run at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. The energy inside the 17,000-capacity, sold-out amphitheater was palatable as attendees, both new and old, understood two things: This was a rare opportunity to witness the prolific R&B singer perform, and that her deeply healing music was going to move them emotionally and spiritually. (Before the show started, several people in the crowd near me said they were ready to cry — and so was I.) Backed by an 11-member band including five background singers — all of whom had distinguishable tones and felt like they'd been handpicked by Cleo Sol herself — she opened the show at 9 p.m. with the introspective 'Rewind' from 2020's 'Rose in the Dark,' before effortlessly flowing into the project's next track, 'Rose in the Dark.' Clad in a gold-toned silk dress, Cleo Sol smiled brightly and playfully danced across the stage as she ran through other fan favorites from 'Rose in the Dark' including the seductive and jazzy 'When I'm in Your Arms,' romantic 'Sideways' and the yearning 'I Love You' and encouraging 'Young Love.' Without the aid of a back track, her soulful and silky voice carried throughout the large venue as she riffed and showed off her impressive vocal range. In between songs, she sipped on an electrolyte-filled drink, which she joked was helping her get through the night. Cleo Sol, who is also the lead vocalist for the equally elusive U.K.-based collective SAULT, could've easily dipped into their robust catalog — which spans 11 studio albums and two EPs — during Friday night's set. Instead, she chose to stick to her solo offerings, pulling from 2021's 'Mother' and her 2023 releases 'Heaven' and 'Gold,' which arrived two weeks apart. (She gave a shout out to her husband, Inflo — her producer and the mastermind behind SAULT — who was in attendance.) During her song 'Heart Full of Love,' which she dedicated to her son, Cleo Sol joined her background vocalists and sat on a stool. As they sang the lyrics, 'Thank you for sending me an angel straight from Heaven / When my hope was gone, you made me strong,' the crowd lit up the venue by holding their cellphones in the air and rocking from side to side. 'This is making me emotional, I'm gonna cry,' she said to the audience. 'It looks beautiful from up here.' More than halfway through the nearly two-hour show, Cleo Sol briefly left the altar and resurfaced in the stands, toward the middle of the venue to sing 'Know That You Are Loved.' She performed the deeply affirmative track that feels like both a mantra and a lullaby in the same fashion that she did during her viral Royal Albert Hall show in 2023 — getting closer to her fans, touching their hands and singing to them directly. Her tender vocal performance felt like a gigantic hug from a loved one. She then returned to the stage to perform the powerful 'Life Will Be,' which felt like a perfect ending, before running back out yet again to sing an electrifying encore of 'Why Don't You' from her 'Rose in the Dark' project. 'OK, one more!' she said, laughing. Much like her R&B predecessors, Sade and D'Angelo, who are also known for being reclusive and charting their own territory, Cleo Sol's performance on Friday proved that when you truly love what you do and the music comes first, you don't have to play into the industry's never-ending rat race. Cleo Sol follows the divine timing of her life and does what feels right for her, which has paid off in the long run. She's a testament to the fact that although fans might not want to wait for new music or to see her perform live, they'll excitedly show up for her whenever she's ready.
