Oklou’s quest for meaning in life

Text: Juule Kay

Oklou loves to take her time. Not only when it comes to releasing new music, but also when answering questions—and probably many other things in life. “I would have loved to work on the album for ten years, but I had to finish at some point because of the reality of life,” she jokes over Zoom, laying in bed on a gloomy winter day. “The person I was while making it went through many different things.” In fact, Marylou Mayniel has been reflecting a lot on her last years on the planet. She met somebody. She changed flats. She connected herself to new matters and disconnected from others, like internet culture. What sounds cryptic at first feels quite universal when it comes to change.

After her breakthrough full-length mixtape galore back in 2020, Oklou needed a few years to reconnect with what’s happening outside of herself, almost as a safety measure. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my message to the internet and getting inspired by what I see online,” says the French vocalist and producer, being physically tired of screens and algorithms. On her debut album choke enough, co-produced by Casey MQ, Danny L Harle and A. G. Cook, there are many hints of passing quotidien moments, like found field recordings. Almost as a reflection of existing and creating in a brief, transient life. “There was this sound that I heard outside my studio in Paris, which felt like a weird futuristic bird to me,” she says about the wholesome encounter you can listen to in “(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)” and “forces”, two tracks of the new album.

What initially meant to be a project full of dance music turned into an experimental soundscape defined by minimal club rhythms and ambient explorations featuring artists like Bladee and underscores. It’s a snapshot of time, featuring the many versions of Oklou. When asked if she feels more connected to herself after putting choke enough together, she answers: “I don’t think so. Releasing and making albums so far has never been about finding comfort and more about crystallizing the moment. Lots of questions, no answers.”

We still have some for you, even though they might be random at times.

“endless”: What feels endless to you but actually isn’t?

Some type of love. I think the romantic me has always wanted to believe that strong loves are eternal. Maybe they are, but at some point I came to realise: Is it eternal if it’s only eternal for me?

“thank you for recording”: What are you thankful for in life?

My family.

“family and friends”: If you can get a family and friend’s discount anywhere, where would you choose and what would you buy?

I’m renovating my house right now, so I’d go to a hardware store and get some really nice tools and paint.

“obvious”: What’s something obvious we forget about sometimes?

That intuition is important.

“ict”: As this stands for ice cream truck, what ice cream flavour combo do you always choose?

Yoghurt and something more fruity like cassis.

“choke enough”: What happens if you choke enough?

I guess you have to make a choice to either stop choking or die.

“(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)”: When was the last time you felt exactly like this emoticon?

Yesterday, I was on a train for almost ten hours and enjoyed really basic stuff like listening to music and looking outside the window. I discovered Mk.gee and have been listening to the album on loop, and it made me tear up out of happiness like this.

“take me by the hand feat. Bladee”: If Bladee took you by the hand, where would you guys go first?

We don’t know each other that well, but he’s a very quiet and chill person, so I think we’d go somewhere or do something that is relaxing.

“plague dogs”: There’s a film called like that about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility. What makes a good friend to you?

A good friend is somebody I can spend an hour with in the same room and not talk. This level of comfort and confidence means a lot to me.

“forces”: What’s your biggest mental or moral strength of power? What keeps you going?

To make sure that I wouldn’t do something that hurts people around me who love me and who I love.

“harvest sky feat. underscores”: What is a dream you remember?

I had this pretty intense dream a while ago and actually woke up crying. This really bad female chief made me do horrible things. Even while dreaming, I was thinking that I have to go to therapy for the rest of my life.

“want to want to come back”: If you come back, what part or moment would you want to relive again?

My teenage years. There were many things I liked about it. The innocent fun. Zero questions about the future and also about the past. 200% confidence.

“blade bird”: What would you bring with you for bird watching?

A really nice chair! Also, I would go by myself.

“choke enough” will be out on February 7th 2025 via True Panther.

Images by Gil Ghabri, Ariane Kiks and Oklou

Published February 10, 2025.