# Cleo Sol
**Cleo Sol** is the stage name of Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic, a British neo soul and alternative R&B singer-songwriter from [Ladbroke Grove](https://www.edgepedia.org/ladbroke-grove) in [West London](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-london), born in 1990, and the lead vocalist of the anonymous UK collective SAULT.[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cleo%20Sol) • [2](https://jazzapedia.com/artists/cleo-sol) Working closely with her husband, the producer Dean Josiah Cover, known as Inflo, she has released the EP *Winter Songs* (2018) and the studio albums *Rose in the Dark* (2020), *Mother* (2021), *Heaven* (2023), *Gold* (2023), and *Gentlewoman* (2026), alongside her extensive work with SAULT.[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cleo%20Sol)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic, born 1990 in Ladbroke Grove, West London[2](https://jazzapedia.com/artists/cleo-sol) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) |
| Family background | Raised by a Serbian-Spanish mother and a Jamaican father, both jazz musicians who met in a jazz band[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) |
| Discovery | Posted early tracks on MySpace in her late teens and was found by the UK grime producer DaVinChe[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) |
| Solo catalog | *Winter Songs* EP (2018); *Rose in the Dark* (2020); *Mother* (2021); *Heaven* and *Gold* (September 2023, two weeks apart); *Gentlewoman* (2026)[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cleo%20Sol) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/gold/1708971575) |
| SAULT | Lead vocalist of the anonymous, politically minded London collective, which released 11 albums in roughly four years without interviews, photos, or live shows[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) |
| Creative partner | Inflo (Dean Josiah Cover), her husband, co-writes and produces her solo records and runs the independent label Forever Living Originals[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) • [6](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/cleo-sol/1513851) |
| Recognition | 2023 Ivor Novello award with SAULT; BET Award nomination for Best International Act in 2024[6](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/cleo-sol/1513851) • [4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) |
## Early life and musical roots
Cleo Sol grew up in Ladbroke Grove in West London in a household where music was an everyday presence. Her mother, of Serbian and Spanish descent, and her Jamaican father were both jazz musicians who had met in a jazz band, and the music she heard at home ranged from [Bob Marley](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-marley) and the Fugees to Motown, reggae, Latin music, and soul figures such as [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder), Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott.[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) • [7](https://sheenmagazine.com/the-velvety-sound-of-songstress-cleo-sol/) • [8](https://soulculture.com/cleo-sol-get-familiar-interview/) In a later interview she credited her mother with pushing her toward music, saying she "always pushed me to be my authentic self."[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee)
Her formal training was limited. She has said her mother could not afford music schools, so she developed her singing at a local youth club, recording her own tracks and posting them on MySpace.[8](https://soulculture.com/cleo-sol-get-familiar-interview/) That route led to her discovery by DaVinChe, a British producer and songwriter known for his work in the UK grime scene, while she was in her late teens.[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee)
## First career, 2007 to 2014
Her first recorded appearances came as a featured vocalist on pop-grime era tracks, including [Tinie Tempah](https://www.edgepedia.org/tinie-tempah)'s "Tears" and Perempay N' Dee's "Time to Let Go" in 2007 and 2008.[9](https://eclecticartists.com/cleo-soul/) The Tinie Tempah feature brought her traction and label attention, and she was signed to Dirty Canvas, a sub-label under [Island Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/island-records).[10](https://blackmusicscholar.com/cleo-sol-2/) Her debut single, "High," a reggae-infused track featuring the dancehall artist Gappy Ranks, was released in September 2011, and she was tipped as one of MOBO's "Ones to Watch" for 2011.[8](https://soulculture.com/cleo-sol-get-familiar-interview/) A Motown-inspired single, "Never the Right Time (Who Do You Love)," followed in 2012.[2](https://jazzapedia.com/artists/cleo-sol)
She then stepped back from the industry. Although she completed work on an album, she chose to hold it back and retreated from public view for several years.[9](https://eclecticartists.com/cleo-soul/) She later described this period as one in which she had been listening to everyone else's advice on her career rather than her own judgment.[11](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/61435/1/cleo-sol-dazed-cover-shoot?amp=1)
## Return and the solo albums
Sol re-emerged in 2018 with the EP *Winter Songs* and the singles "Why Don't You" and "Try and You Try," less commercially minded material written and produced with Inflo.[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cleo%20Sol) • [9](https://eclecticartists.com/cleo-soul/) From that point the partnership became the core of her solo work: Inflo co-wrote and produced every Cleo Sol project, released through his independent label Forever Living Originals.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) • [6](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/cleo-sol/1513851)
**Rose in the Dark and Mother.** Her first full-length album, *Rose in the Dark*, appeared in March 2020 and was at times addressed to her younger self.[12](https://cleosol.bandcamp.com/album/rose-in-the-dark) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) In 2021 she and Inflo had their first child, and that same year she released *Mother*, an album drawn from her experience of becoming a parent and from her relationship with her own mother; its cover shows her on a sofa cradling her baby beneath a photograph thought to be of her mother.[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer)
**Heaven and Gold.** In September 2023 she released two full albums two weeks apart, *Heaven* and *Gold*, both co-written and produced by Inflo.[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/gold/1708971575) • [13](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cleo-sol-steps-sault-two-175057641.html) *Heaven* is built around minimalist jazz compositions that leave room for her voice, and its songs deal with faith, love, courage, and self-respect; the Guardian's review described her work as the "yin aspect" to SAULT's more rhythm-forward, politically edged yang.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) • [14](https://music.apple.com/us/album/heaven/1706762000?at=10l4PB&ct=albumAM&uo=4) *Gold*, a ten-track, 42-minute set, carries touches of gospel, funk, and reggae and was framed by Apple Music as a spiritual offering from a singer who had become a voice of optimism in the R&B and soul space.[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/gold/1708971575) The single "Fear When You Fly" followed in 2024.[6](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/cleo-sol/1513851) Her album *Gentlewoman* was released in 2026.[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cleo%20Sol)
## SAULT and collaborations
SAULT is a deliberately anonymous London collective led by Inflo, with Cleo Sol as its most prominent vocalist; its members have also included Kid Sister, Chronixx, and the instrumentalists Kadeem Clarke and Jack Peñate.[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) The group's music addresses the modern Black experience, blending vintage funk, punk, disco, and modern R&B, and it operates without interviews, photographs, or live performances; by 2023 it had released 11 albums in a few years.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) • [13](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cleo-sol-steps-sault-two-175057641.html) The Inflo and SAULT circle earned a 2023 [Ivor Novello](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivor-novello) award, and Inflo's productions for clients such as [Michael Kiwanuka](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-kiwanuka) and [Little Simz](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-simz) have collected Mercury, MOBO, Ivor Novello, and Brit awards.[6](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/cleo-sol/1513851) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer)
Sol has also appeared outside the collective, notably as a featured vocalist on Little Simz's "Woman" (2021) and as a credited composer on Little Simz's *Sometimes I Might Be Introvert* and *Grey Area*, Dua Lipa's *Live from the Royal Albert Hall*, and [J. Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-cole)'s "Port Antonio."[15](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cleopatra-nikolic-mn0003879850)
## Performing and public profile
Unlike SAULT, Sol performs live and maintains a social media presence, though she keeps a low public profile and releases music with little warning or promotion.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) In 2022 she played her first London headline show, at Koko, where a Guardian reviewer found her a natural live performer with an intimate, commanding stage presence.[16](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/08/cleo-sol-review-koko-first-london-headline-little-simz-chronixx) In 2023 she sold out two nights at the [Royal Albert Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-albert-hall).[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) Her nominations include Best International Act at the 2024 [BET Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/bet-awards) and a MOBO Award nomination for Album of the Year.[4](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee) • [7](https://sheenmagazine.com/the-velvety-sound-of-songstress-cleo-sol/)
Critically, her style is placed in the lineage of 1990s neo-soul and 1970s soul fusion, with jazz inflections, touches of dub, reggae, bossa nova, and gospel, and a warm, controlled vocal approach that avoids showy melisma.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer) • [11](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/61435/1/cleo-sol-dazed-cover-shoot?amp=1) Her songwriting centers on faith, love, self-development, motherhood, and personal healing, often addressed to herself as much as to others.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer)
## References
1. [Cleo Sol, Last.fm artist profile](https://www.last.fm/music/Cleo%20Sol)
2. [Cleo Sol, Jazzapedia](https://jazzapedia.com/artists/cleo-sol)
3. [Kitty Empire, "Cleo Sol: Heaven review – soulful succour from the Sault singer," The Guardian, 23 September 2023](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/23/cleo-sol-heaven-review-soulful-succour-from-the-sault-singer)
4. ["BET Awards 2024: Get to Know UK Singer-Songwriter Cleo Sol," BET, 23 May 2024](https://www.bet.com/bet-awards/articles/3ro69o/bet-awards-2024-who-is-cleo-sol-international-nominee)
5. [Gold – Album by Cleo Sol, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/gold/1708971575)
6. [Cleo Sol Discography, Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/cleo-sol/1513851)
7. ["The Velvety Sound of Songstress Cleo Sol," SHEEN Magazine](https://sheenmagazine.com/the-velvety-sound-of-songstress-cleo-sol/)
8. ["Cleo Sol: Get Familiar," SoulCulture, 14 November 2011](https://soulculture.com/cleo-sol-get-familiar-interview/)
9. [Cleo Soul, Eclectic Artists](https://eclecticartists.com/cleo-soul/)
10. ["Cleo Sol," Black Music Scholar](https://blackmusicscholar.com/cleo-sol-2/)
11. ["Cleo Sol: The enigmatic singer breaks her silence," Dazed, winter 2023](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/61435/1/cleo-sol-dazed-cover-shoot?amp=1)
12. [Rose in the Dark, Cleo Sol, Bandcamp](https://cleosol.bandcamp.com/album/rose-in-the-dark)
13. [Jem Aswad, "Cleo Sol Steps Out From Sault With Two Serene R&B Outings, 'Heaven' and 'Gold'," Variety via Yahoo Entertainment, 29 September 2023](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cleo-sol-steps-sault-two-175057641.html)
14. [Heaven – Album by Cleo Sol, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/heaven/1706762000?at=10l4PB&ct=albumAM&uo=4)
15. [Cleopatra Nikolic – Credits, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cleopatra-nikolic-mn0003879850)
16. [Jumi Akinfenwa, "Cleo Sol review – rare gig shows neo-soul star is a natural live performer," The Guardian, 8 June 2022](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/08/cleo-sol-review-koko-first-london-headline-little-simz-chronixx)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 2010s to present › Surnames P to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license