Oklou's new EP choke enough is an addictive soundtrack for watching fall turn to winter. The French-born singer described the hook for the title track briefly on Instagram:
"i love this synth a lot in this track cause it feels like a womb idk how to say. i love being in water so freaking much when i have anxiety crisis i just get in a bath. im looking for softness everywhere as i belive it’s miraculous"
Oklou brings an edge to ethereal, electronic music. The soft, buttery tones of her voice in the chorus of "choke enough" pair beautifully with distortion effects that make them sound far away, or even submerged underwater. The gentle, boppy synthpop music flows effortlessly with her dreamy vocals but creates a beautiful discord with foreboding lyrics.
"if you get choked up now / Well, in the morning, they will find you on the road"
This balance of light and dark, of soft and sharp, persists throughout the EP with a consistent sense of submersion and cyclicality that makes the album something that can be played again and again. Oklou's music feels equally as appropriate for a club setting as for a peaceful night in. There is an intentional and notable absence of drums on "choke enough", but the song amazingly loses none of its edge, depth, or danceability.
Oklou captures an abandonment of inhibition yet a sense of isolation on "harvest sky (feat. underscores)" with its seductive chorus:
"In the night, slow dance for the harvest sky / And I don't know why I feel the pry tonight / Circle back, slow dance for the harvest sky / But I won't, no way, afar, I stay and watch"
It is this sense of observance, even meditativeness, that sets Oklou apart from most experimental pop or dance artists. I was thrilled this morning to wake up to new remixes of "harvest sky" (my favorite song on the album), by Danny L Harle and Milkfish. Oklou credited Harle with providing the riff that makes the song so infectious, and even more so in his sped-up remix with added bass and layered harmonies. The dance elements of the track are increased exponentially in the maximalist Milkfish remix, which really brings out the joyous and addictive, repetitive nature of chorus and verses. I love how each remix further closes the sense of distance present in the original version, pulling the speaker from the role of cautious spectator to raucous participant in its party vibes.
Oklous's notion of seizing power through softness, and the daunting task of trying to defend one's softness in a hard world, comes through most clearly on "obvious". Her sadness at being talked over and ignored in a world of self-aggrandizement is clear in the lyrics, "all the words that you say (on and on) / (isn't it obvious?) / One actor in the play (anyway) / (so obvious) / Speak louder than me."
"all the words that you say (on and on) / (isn't it obvious?) / One actor in the play (anyway) / (so obvious) / Speak louder than me"
The consistent inter-splicing of lyrics with soft background vocals and repetitive refrains creates the same sense of circularity as someone droning on without realizing they've lost their audience. Keeping with the subversive quietness of the album, this most scathing track is also the most sonically subdued and lyrically minimal of the project.
The song "family and friends" similarly wrests a sense of peace from feelings of isolation, capturing a sense of power through surrender, with a poetic and haunting opening.
"He said / Things I couldn't remember / Four days into December / For the ghosts to enjoy. / He said / That I'd never be able / To put my heart on the table for / Somebody to eat"
The sonic sweetness and smoothness of her work is always balanced by something cutting, blunt, or surreal. The lyrics speak directly of dissociation and an inability to express oneself, but surprisingly find a sense of peace by both questioning and accepting what is real or inevitable. Throughout the EP, Oklou consistently acknowledges her songwriting process and lyrical repetitions, not to create a meta-effect but to enact a sense of fatalism and entrapment that reads as uncannily positive due to upbeat musical pairings. The whole album celebrates the flow of life while staying alert to potential moments of connection, alienation, or irony in her day-to-day.
Oklou is a rare artist who always seems to create something unexpected while staying true to a core aesthetic and producing music of a consistently excellent quality. I can't wait for the full album to release, with a bladee collab yet to come on February 7th, 2025.
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