Although subtle suggestions of a new album on the not-too-distant horizon have begun to swirl in recent months, the fact remains that more than six years have elapsed since the early 2010 release of Sade’s last album Soldier of Love.
Since their 1984 debut LP Diamond Life, Sade (the band and the woman) have deservedly become one of the most passionately beloved acts in the world, despite a meticulously methodical recording pace that has delivered just six studio albums in 32 years, and just three in the past 24 years. No matter though, as the band’s musical repertoire exemplifies the virtues of quality trumping quantity, a notion that quite a few overly productive artists could learn a thing or two from.
Much has been made in the media about Sade Adu’s traditionally reclusive, press-shunning lifestyle. But ultimately, who cares if she opts to avoid the public eye and preserve her artistic allure, when she and her band of brothers have blessed the world with such consistently inspired music, most recently manifested on the exquisitely enchanting Soldier of Love.
In the behind-the scenes short film that Sony Music Entertainment UK released in conjunction with Soldier of Love, Adu addresses her ambivalence toward professional ambition and life in the limelight. “I didn’t ever want to be a singer,” she reflects. “I ended up being a singer. I mean, I’ve developed skills, I suppose, over the years. I’m more capable than I used to be. I’m more able to express what I want to. I’m less limited. But I never had the aspirations that a lot of singers have, and that’s probably why I’m quite, in some ways, uncomfortable with fame.”
The 11-minute documentary features confessional insights not just from Adu, but from bandmates Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman, and co-producer Mike Pela as well. Collectively, their commentary examines the vicissitudes, challenges and rewards of recording an album. “You’re kinda always making a record anyway, because your life and every day is all going to end up in there somehow, disguised,” Adu admits. “So it’s sort of a constant process.”
Watch Soldier of Love: Making Of The Album below, and then enjoy the videos for the title track and “Babyfather,” plus live versions of “The Moon and the Sky” and “Bring Me Home.”
WATCH: