Forge Brief

Cleo Sol

2018-present (Sault collaborator); commercial peak 2021-present (Mother, Heaven)

Smooth, spiritual-jazz-soul, London-Sault-collective — neo-soul as London-via-Cleo-Sol-school Sade-Erykah-Badu-spiritual-revival ritual.

Forge a Cleo Sol-inspired song How we score

Genres

neo-soulbritish soulalternative r&bspiritual-jazz-soul

Vocal character

Cleo Sol: distinctive London-Spanish-English-accented mezzo-soprano with smooth, theatrical-jazz-influenced conversational verse delivery and chest-voice chorus peaks. Vibrato-controlled phrasing; multi-tracked harmonies on herself; neo-soul + British-soul + alt-R&B + spiritual-jazz-soul hybrid precision channeling Sade + Erykah Badu.

Production markers

Inflo (Dean Wynton Josiah Cover) productionneo-soul + British-soul + alt-R&B + spiritual-jazz-soul foundation (live electric-guitar + bass + drums + Rhodes piano + Hammond B3 organ + horn-section + string-section + female-gospel-backing-vocal-trio + jazz-rap arrangement)multi-tracked vocal harmony stacksreverb-soaked atmospheric vocal productionjazz-rap + spiritual-soul live-band arrangementForever-Living-Originals + Sault collective sonic

Lyrical themes

spiritual + meditation + healing celebration (Promises, There Will Be No Crying)romantic devotion + maternal-female-perspective (Mother dedicated to son)celebration of London + British-Spanish + Caribbean identityself-aware spiritual + meditation practicetheatrical first-person spiritual-soul storytelling

Signature moves

jazz-rap live-band foundation with Rhodes piano + Hammond B3 organ + horn-sectionsmooth chest-voice chorus peak with theatrical-jazz precisionmulti-tracked female-gospel-backing-vocal-trio responsespiritual + maternal lyric narrative

Avoid — off-brand for this artist

EDM dropsrap features as dominantmetal guitarauto-tune as crutchcountry productiontheatrical pop-vocal projection808 sub-bass

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