Sault - Wildfires

Take off your badge. We all know it was murder

Album: Untitled (Black Is) [3rd album]
Genre: Soul, Neo-Soul, Rhythm & Bass
Album Release: June 19th 2020 [released on Juneteenth]
Length: 3:26
Producer: Inflo [age 32]
Vocalist: Cleo Sol [age 30]
Label: Forever Living Originals

Official Audio

Charts, Streams & Sales

UK (singles): Certified silver in 2024
Spotify: 123,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 19,000,000 +
BBC 6 Music Best Albums of 2020: #1
NPR Best Albums of 2020: #1
Guardian Best Albums of 2020: #5
Uncut Magazine Best Albums of 2020: #17
MOBO Award 2021: Best R&B/Soul Act Nominee [losing to Cleo Sol, who is a member of Sault]

Credits & Gear

Bass, drums

Details

• The album was made to mark a perceived turning point in the Black Lives Matter campaign against police brutality. The death of George Floyd, at the hands of police, in May 2020 incited riots and political activism throughout America, which soon spread to other countries in the western world including the UK and France. During this time the public sentiment was that enough was enough and it felt like a moment of real political change. Sault's album 'Untitled (Black Is)' came out less than a month after the death of Floyd and was released alongside the following statement. "We present our first 'Untitled' album to mark a moment in time where we as Black People, and of Black Origin are fighting for our lives. RIP George Floyd and all those who have suffered from police brutality and systemic racism. Change is happening…We are focused."
  
  The album was initially available for free with profits from all subsequent sales going to an unspecified charity.
  
  One might question how the album was made and released so soon after the death of Floyd but the truth is that police brutality, especially in black communities, is nothing new. 'Wildfires', in particular, could be addressing the case of Floyd directly "We all know it was murder" but the song was written about the killing of Breonna Taylor, which is ghastly proof that such cases happen all too frequently.
  
  The album also features songs called 'Sorry Aint Enough' and 'Don't Shoot Guns Down' which is a slogan used by Black Lives Matter activists. Many protestors would shout "don't shoot" at police in the UK, where the vast majority of officers don't carry guns. This solidarity between marginalized groups showed a shared experience of police brutality on both sides of the Atlantic.
  
  'Untitled (Black Is)' was made as protest music and should be listened to as such. Its release marks a time and place: Britain during the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020. In an act of solidarity with the African-American community, the album was released on Juneteenth, which is a day celebrated in the states to mark the emancipation of black people from slavery.
  
  Black Lives Matter UK is often criticized for unnecessarily importing an American problem into Britain. Its detractors say that police brutality is minimal here and that the protestors would be better served spending their energy elsewhere. However, Baroness Casey published a report in 2023 describing the Met Police as institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic. In addition to this, British police are responsible for several unlawful killings, such as the high-profile case of former Aston Villa footballer Dalian Atkinson.
  
  Amidst the uncertainty one thing became clear, black British people identified with the events in America enough for it to feel relevant to their daily lives. However, the American murders had more resonance with British people than murders carried out in Britain. In 'Wildfires', the British singer Cleo Sol sings about the death of Breonna Taylor, not Dalian Atkinson.
  
  Although it's also possible that by singing about one she's singing about all. George Floyd was the face of Black Lives Matter, he became the icon, but for every Floyd, there were many others, mostly ethnic minorities, killed by police and gone too soon. 
  
  
• Much has been made about the mystery surrounding Sault. The group rarely do interviews, magazine covers, photoshoots or promotion of any kind but that isn't really anything new. The vast majority of music gets released without much fanfare onto services such as Soundcloud or Bandcamp. Most are ignored. The difference with Sault is that people noticed.
  
  Not having to rely on marketing and promotion allows the music to stand on its own merits. People aren't judging the work on the cool new music video or the artists fashion and brand ensorsements. They aren't told this is a party jam or a love song. It removes the visual element from music in an effort to keep it true to its essence: sound. With the visual comes the image and it's the image that marketing teams have used to promote an artist, especially in magazines and photoshoots, more than the music itself.
  
  Another way Sault put the focus on sound instead of image was by using simple album titles. Their first two records were given basic numbers as names, '5' and '7' respectively, and the next two were untitled. An albums title shows the direction of travel. A title like 'The Best of the Beatles' is a mere description whereas Pink Floyd's 'The Far Side of the Moon' informs the listener they're in for a unique, psychedelic experience by describing a far away place no human has ever set foot before. When Sault leave their album's untitled they're ostensibly allowing the listener to judge the music itself. Except that isn't all they're doing.
  
  The album isn't really untitled, it's titled 'Untitled (Black Is)', which was followed by their next release 'Untitled (Rise)'. Colloquially, people call them 'Black Is' and 'Rise'. It's a having your cake and eating it approach to marketing. The band didn't really have a lack of promotion because they knew people in the industry who would promote them through insider buzz and positive word of mouth. It's now known Sault consist of people such as Inflo and Cleo Sol who have deep ties to award winning artists such as Michael Kiwanuka and Little Simz. The problem with Sault's approach is that it wouldn't work for most people, but to give them credit, they effectively leveraged their insider connections to great success.
  
  In the early 2020's there were no shortage of column inches written about Sault because they provided journalists with something they couldn't ignore: an unanswered question. People love a good mystery, and the music press were all too eager to lap it up. Sault's approach to promotion turned out to be a savvy marketing strategy led by experienced hands who saved the group a significant advertising spend. This, in turn, allowed them to remain independent, retain creative control and produce music at an accelerated rate. The group released 10 albums from 2019-2022.
  
  
• Cleo Sol and Inflo are in a romantic relationship and have started a family.
  
  

Artwork