Oklou, alias of French singer and producer Marylou Mayniel, is one of the most unique talents to emerge from the genre known as hyperpop. In contrast to the maximalist productions of Charli xcx or AG Cook, Oklou creates intimate and beautiful lullabies that reduce the aesthetics of the genre to their bare minimum. Oklou’s debut, ‘Galore’, released four years ago, is a small classic of international underground pop of the last five years, as demonstrated by the number of times it has had to be reissued, the support of superstars such as Dua Lipa, who counted on Oklou for an official remix of ‘Fever’, or the passions that the album arouses among her fans: it is, for example, Dora Jar’s favourite album, in her opinion, a “10 out of 10”.
The minimalist sound of ‘Galore’ shined in tracks like ‘God’s Chariots’, ‘Fall’ or the final masterpiece, ‘I Didn’t Give Up On You’. Oklou does not “give up” the light and twilight style of that album in her new single, ‘Family and Friends’, published this Wednesday.
After four years, ‘Family and friends’ is both faithful to Oklou’s original style and an evolution. Her R&B-influenced sense of melody is still very much present, as is the delicate touch in the processing of the vocals. Synthesizers once again provide the basis of the song, to which a subtle percussion arrangement is added that provides tension, and the medieval aesthetic that Oklou likes so much – very evident in her videos or live performances – re-emerges through the evocative sound of flutes and tambourines.
The result is a song that is a kind of dream transcribed in real time, in which Oklou reflects on her own existence, her longing to return to simpler times, or the monotony of life. In her “family and friends”, but also in music, in her work as a singer, Oklou finds solace from a life from which she feels disconnected. In ‘Family and friends’ she even fits a (self-)reference to her song ‘God’s chariots’.
‘Family and friends’ is Oklou’s first single since 2020, although not many months ago Marylou had appeared on a track by her collaborator Casey Q, ‘The Make Believe’. The two are working together again on the production of this new track.
