Marylou Vanina Mayniel (born 23 April 1993), better known by her stage name Oklou (pronounced "Okay Lou"; ˈəʊˈkeɪ luː),[1] is a French musician from Poitiers.
[5] She moved to Paris in 2015,[2] and self-released her first Oklou EP, First Tape, alongside a limited run of cassettes.
It was made as a part of Red Bull Music Academy France's 2018 Diggin’ in the Carts event.
[17] Mayniel also appeared on the late American rapper Chynna’s October 2018 single "Xternal Locus".
[21] In January 2020, Mayniel released a collaborative single with French experimentalist Flavien Berger, titled "Toyota", via Because Music.
[citation needed] Mayniel announced her debut mixtape Galore in July 2020, sharing three tracks, one of which ("unearth me") was accompanied with a music video.
[28][29][30] Additionally in 2020, Mayniel released remixes of Caroline Polachek’s "Door",[31] and Dua Lipa’s "Fever".
[35] In 2024, Oklou began talking about a potential new project, before releasing a first single "Family and Friends" in September 2024, accompanied by a music video directed by Gil Gharbi.
[37] Only a month later, in October 2024, a double single containing the tracks "Obvious" and "Harvest Sky" was released, the latter of which featured Underscores, an American hyperpop artist.
[38] This was followed only a month later with a fourth promotional track titled "Choke Enough", accompanied by an announcement for an album of the same name, set to release on February 7, 2025, on the French label Because Music.