Throughout the 13 tracks, we hear Joy explore various topics, such as; immigration, break-ups, generational trauma, tory neighbourhoods and mental health. These stories are met with the entrancing sound of Neo-Soul, a genre which embraces influences from Jazz, Funk, R&B and much more. Crookes has a sound reminiscent of the great Amy Winehouse with a similar London songwriter style, yet blends her own Bagladeshi-Irish heritage within her music, setting her apart from comparisons.

The album’s lead single ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now’ saw Crookes embracing her heritage in the music video, stunning in a Saree and Bangladeshi accessories. She did this whilst incorporating the culture of growing up in London into her lyrics, in an empowering account to inspire listeners to stand their ground and fight for what they believe in. 

One of the most personal tracks on the album ‘Unlearn you’ sends a poignant message on the effects of sexual violence, and how when faced with such a difficult situation, you can be left wishing you could reject that someone hurt you in such an inhumane way.

Speaking on the song, Joy said; 

“I don’t know how I managed to get that one out. I had the lyric, ‘unlearn you from my body’, and I was interested in how, when you break up with someone, you still have phrases that you share and so you have to unlearn them. 

Then when I started to write the melody, I realised what I’m really trying to talk about is unlearning something that happened to me that was completely out of my control.

It’s something that happens to so many men and women. You’re in a situation where someone else takes control of your body, your mind, your everything and how do you survive? How do you, more importantly, find a way to unlearn that from your body and not blame your body and not blame yourself for something as scary as that.”

It’s clear that Crookes poured her heart into this album, with many songs covering personal topics that must have been hard to sing. However, there are uplifting moments, such as ‘When You Were Mine’, which takes us on the eventful ride of Joy discovering her first love was actually gay. She says that a celebration of their love is at the heart of the track, intertwined with the slight bit of jealousy she felt seeing her ex move into a different relationship, made perfectly clear within the lyrics; 

“I’m shook but you look good together

I had my hesitation, but I just can’t hate him”. 

‘Skin’ is an album which sets an endearing soulfulness alight, projected through personal and thought provoking topics that take the listener on a rollercoaster of bittersweet emotions, as is life.

Words By Nadia Clasper

_{Photo Credit: Toast Press/Sony Music UK}

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Cleo Sol is the London-based singer who effortlessly delivers captivating and dreamlike music straight from her soul. Her mature and jazzy vocals only shine brighter when accompanied with the raw percussion and flute melodies typically featured in her tracks. The 26-year-old is rare in the way her sound is simple and uncut. Rather than heavily using synthesisers and hi-hats in her tracks, she halos classical instruments: piano, cellos, flutes, percussions and gospel-style voice harmonisations to create music that is pensive and thought-provoking.

As the clocks go back and autumn inevitably approaches, Cleo’s 2018 EP ‘Winter Songs’ will definitely keep you warm. The four-track project which garnered 7 million streams on Spotify featuring ‘Still Cold’, ‘Miles Song’ and single ‘Why Don’t You’ are iconic for the way every instrument – including Cleo’s voice – are individually heralded but collectively work together to form a vibe and sound reminiscent of 90s Erykah Badu and Sade.

Her performance of ‘Why Don’t You’ on COLORSXSTUDIO has been particularly noticed online, garnering 9 million views and counting. Her live rendition of the track mesmerised listeners globally and projected her into the limelight for the way she carried herself and projected an earthy freshness with her suave vibrato voice.

Since COLORS, Cleo has released singles ‘One’ and ‘Sweet Blue’ earlier this year. Her lyrics manage to voice her opinions on current and decade-appropriate issues. In ‘One’, she sings “All the forests are dying, the people are crying / How have we, let this be, we watch freely on our TVs / They feed us fake food, it’s so easy” and seamlessly weaves her perspective on the global climate crisis into her lyrics. What makes Cleo so special is how she manages to extend the boundaries of R&B, a genre that characteristically focuses on love and relationships, to discuss contemporary concerns like climate change and civil complacency.

Her most recent track ‘Sweet Blue’ which dropped this May manages to create an airy and intimate atmosphere within the first seconds of the video. The elegant aesthetics of ‘Sweet Blue’ coupled with her quaint lyrics demonstrates the unique flair Cleo possesses – living true to her lyrics: “Just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I’m dumb”. Fans and listeners have compared the feeling her music brings to “drinking a warm cup of tea”.

Give her tracks a spin and you too would agree, Cleo’s music unquestionably succeeds in generating inspiration and introspection, to calm and uplift, and to simultaneously act as a pick-me-up and a relaxant.

Graphics by Aamir Potrick

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