Oklou

Based between Paris and London, French producer, singer and songwriter Oklou, born Marylou Mayniel, has developed since the mid-2010s a hybrid approach to electronic pop. First noticed on SoundCloud and as part of the Parisian collective TGAF, Oklou made her name with releases that blend ambient textures, slowed RnB rhythms and a voice treated as a melodic instrument. A first discographic landmark is the mini-album The Rite of May (2018), which already outlines an introspective pop nourished by synth pads, muted bass and minimalist arrangements. Oklou pursued this exploration with Galore (2020), a project that merges electronic songs, melancholic ballads and instrumental interludes, and strengthened her presence on European stages — from clubs and festivals to more intimate live formats. At the same time, Marylou Mayniel has multiplied collaborations and remixes within a sphere close to experimental pop and slowed club music, while composing for visual media. Oklou’s world rests on precise work with the voice — often foregrounded but surrounded by digital processing — and on songwriting that borrows as much from chanson traditions as from the fragmented structures of contemporary electronic music.