{"id":137545,"date":"2025-05-14T17:32:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T21:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=records&p=137545"},"modified":"2025-05-14T18:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T22:34:11","slug":"oklou-choke-enough","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/oklou-choke-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklou – Choke Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oklou is the pseudonym of Frenchwoman Marylou Maniel, who has been scouring the London club scene for some time. Choke Enough<\/em> is her first full-length album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the second “track, thank you for recording,” it’s clear that the young lady is classically trained, with a predilection for Bach and Baroque. On the other hand, don’t look for too much complexity in the arrangements. Oklou is a pop musician, looking above all for catchy melodies. But her classical background is nonetheless noticeable and sets her apart from other synthetic pop musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There’s also a love of folklore, with sounds of tambourines and synthetic flutes. Oboe and trumpet are also occasionally heard. But Choke Enough<\/em> remains a pop album dominated by synthesizers and oscillators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oklou’s pure voice is also used as an instrument. She sometimes overuses the vocoder, but fortunately not always. When she does harmonies, you can hear that the young lady has quite a versatile vocal range. Which she could perhaps explore further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more danceable tracks, like the title track. On the whole, however, the album is one of introspective, self-reflexive, fairly quiet pop. Sometimes a little repetitive, but interesting. Personally, I prefer those moments when the baroque mixes with the synthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marylou Mayniel seems to have created a buzz in the Anglo-Saxon music world. Her trajectory is one to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reservation: why systematically sing in English when you’re a French-speaking artist? I know: I’m old-fashioned. But I persist.
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