In a world where tech giants rule our online algorithms, Marylou Mayniel, aka Oklou, is ready to touch grass. Her debut album Choke Enough, which was released on Friday, February 7, is a love letter to the thrills of life only attainable by logging off.
Choke Enough blends pop, trance, classical and folk music with the help of longtime collaborator Casey MQ, as well as PC Music figureheads A.G. Cook and Danny L. Harle. If pandemic-era mixtape Galore was about online introspection, then this 13-track album is about chasing adventure out of sight from the watching eyes of social media followers.
Sonically, this album sounds as if Oklou had taken her synthesiser back to 17th century France. Y2K trance rhythms mix with folk guitars, harpsichords and brass instruments. Choke Enough attempts to bridge the gap between two seemingly opposing genres: rave music and traditional music. Bravo, Oklou, very Bardcore of you.
Track two, Thank You for Recording, sounds like a neo-medieval sonnet that would have been presented at the throne of a lord or lady. But it’s the mechanical-sounding breaks arriving halfway through that pull us back into the age of technology and remind us that a digital life is never truly inescapable today.
Lead single Obvious uses other traditional instruments like the clarinet to enhance these middle-ages vibes, but production from Danny L. Harle leaves the song sounding like a Eurovision contender. Its Balkans-pop driven rhythm picks up at the chorus as Oklou sings the disaffected lyrics: “It’s fairly obvious”, over a sensual flute and saxophone solo. The music video for this song is also well worth the watch.
On Choke Enough, Oklou sees life through the eyes of a child again and reacquaints herself with the world beyond her monitor. On ICT, Oklou whimsically sing-songs over a PC Music-esque chord ascension about simple childhood joys. The song unravels into a brass outro as Oklou’s fleeting childhood memories reach a crescendo.
Like previous mixtape Galore, Oklou is masterfully uses field recordings and ambience to elevate quieter tracks. On Plague Dogs, Oklou sings gently over a video-game synth and a chopped-up sample of a helicopter. Forces layers a hazy doom-metal bass over the wail of a fire alarm.
On Harvest Sky, featuring hyperpop vocalist Underscores, Oklou sings about watching festivities at French catholic celebration La Fête de la Saint-Jean, as she revealed in an interview with CRACK Magazine. But despite the song’s religious themes, Oklou litters the song with references to folklore as she sings over a hedonistic, club-ready bassline.
Oklou closes with Blade Bird, a downtempo ballad led by a poignant guitar melody. Bittersweet, she accepts that she has to end things with her lover so that they can be free: “You are what you are / And I feel like a cage”. I would recommend Oklou’s ice-rink performance of this song on YouTube as supplemental viewing.
Featured Image Credit: True Panther Records
Student journalist with a passion for music.
