If the project has anything in the way of themes or consistency going for it, then we may be in for another sibling album to match Air. 2019 came with albums 5 and 7, then 2020 brought Untitled (Black Is) and Untitled (Rise). 2021 then gave us Nine… which didn’t come with a pair, but maybe this can be lumped in with 5 and 7 to give us a trilogy? I don’t know. Maybe we’ll get another surprise SAULT album called Fire, or Water in the next few months… both? But Nine was given a bit of a special release last year anyway, only making itself available for 99 days after release, so maybe that one doesn’t count. Regardless of its unorthodox release, the album was still nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Air is now on sale now at SAULT’s online store. You can look into =bagging a physical copy here. Presumably, this will come with the usual proceedings we’ve come to expect. That being: not a lot. If you’re not able to get ahold of a physical copy though, you can still get usual access through streaming or Bandcamp, and I do recommend that you do. Air is a little different to SAULT’s previous output, its suspenseful choral sounds take a very different path to what we’ve heard so far. However, if you were into SAULT for Cleo Sol’s vocals then you might be disappointed with the level of input she seemed to have this time around.

The 5 nominations for best album are, admittedly, quite a breath of fresh air. With the general niceties that The Grammys keep going for, it’s good to see bands like Sleaford Mods get a shred of attention, their album, Spare Ribs, may not be the best in their discography, but it’s dealing with COVID at the time was almost quite new on the scene. Cleo Sol’s Mother, SAULT’s Nine, and Little Simz’ Sometimes I Might Be Introvert are the 3 albums that got nominated, and all give production credits to Inflo. Laura Mvula’s fantastic Pink Noise rounds out the list. Listen to “Got Me” below.

Ivors judge, and previous winner in 2001, Shaznay Lewis commented on the awards, “It’s been a standout year for music and I am full of admiration for the 77 talented songwriters and composers we are celebrating this year,” adding, “Their work and words touch on a dizzying range of emotions, and I count myself lucky to have heard their stories. As it has every year since 1956, The Ivors celebrates the outstanding creation of music, and I’d like to say a huge congratulations to every nominee.”

 The Best Contemporary Song category also has its own almost hidden gems, in terms of awards shows anyway; Russ Millions and Tion Wayne’s “Body”, James Blake’s “Coming Back”, FKA Twigs’ “Don’t Judge Me”, PinkPantheress’ “Just For Me”, and Inflo’s fourth and final nod with Little Simz’ “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert”. Slightly less interestingly, but arguably the most important award for the night, Songwriter of the Year throws in some particularly boring choices; Adele, Coldplay, Dave, Ed Sheeran, and RAYE. I thought the fact that Sheeran is still getting nominations for songwriting was a thing of the past. How foolish of me, he’s been nominated for 3 awards throughout the evening. Adele, and Little Simz also took 2 nominations.

Inflo is almost ubiquitous in UK music despite most not knowing his name or who he is. Many would be surprised to know he is the leader and main producer of the band SAULT, a band known for their intersection between neo-soul, chill-hop, funk, and UK rap.

In the last 6 years, Inflo has  produced a critically acclaimed string of albums, starting with Michael Kiwaunka’s Love & Hate, Jungle’s For Ever, Little Simz’s GREY Area and Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and most recently, Adele’s 30.

With the last two aforementioned albums, Inflo has credits on two of the five albums nominated for BRIT Awards’ album of the year.

He has also produced albums for fellow SAULT member Cleo Sol, both Rose in the Dark and last years Mother. 

Not only is he the first Black artist to win in this award category, but indeed the first non-white person to win it at all.

“There is no one more deserving of this award”, says rapper Little Simz.

“Flo is a true creative in every sense of the word. Music is in his DNA. He really loves, lives and breathes this.”

Speaking of the win, Inflo says “I feel honoured to be a part of change.

“All the Black producers before me, I’m in awe and have studied you. I am you. Thank you for both paving the way and for your integral contribution to British music.”

The award, traditionally given to producers of rock and indie music, including producers like Paul Epworth, Brian Eno, and Peter Gabriel, is now being increasingly given to artists of electronic and hip-hop music. 2020 saw Fred Again win the award, an artist who went on to produce for drill artist Headie One. Now with Inflo, we are seeing the industry increasingly recognise the underground music emerging from the UK.

This years BRIT Awards is to be the most ‘inclusive’ iteration of the ceremony, with the erasure of gendered categories for the Best Artist catergories, along with more female artists nominated than ever before. Voting for the BRIT Awards closes on the 3rd of February and can be found here.