Who is Oklou? Billie Eilish claims the French singer makes her "excited" about music in a new British Vogue interview

Modified Apr 16, 2025 17:55 GMT

Oklou, the French singer-songwriter behind the 2025 album Choke Enough, recently drew global attention after Billie Eilish praised her work in an April 14, 2025, British Vogue interview. When asked what gets her most excited about music these days, Eilish replied:

“Oklou gets me excited. Honestly, she’s the first thing that’s gotten me excited in a while.”

The endorsement highlights the French singer's rising influence, coinciding with her pregnancy announcement and the build-up to her debut album’s release. Born Marylou Vanina Mayniel in Poitiers, France, the artist blends classical training with experimental electronic-pop, collaborating with acts like Flume, Mura Masa, and Caroline Polachek.

Marylou Mayniel began releasing music as Loumar in 2014 with her debut EP Avril, according to Paste Magazine, before adopting the moniker Oklou in 2015. Her early career in Paris included co-founding the DJ collective TGAF (These Girls Are on Fiyah), which hosted radio shows and live events until disbanding in 2018.

During this period, she also acted in the short film After School Knife Fight (2017) and collaborated with producer Casey MQ on the EP For the Beasts. Her 2018 EP The Rite of May, released via NUXXE, featured collaborations with Bok Bok and Sega Bodega, blending ethereal vocals with glitchy production. Her 2020 mixtape Galore marked a breakthrough, earning spots on year-end lists by Gorilla vs. Bear and Rough Trade and a 2020 year-end list by Dummy Mag.

The project included collaborations with PC Music’s A. G. Cook and Shygirl, merging hyperpop textures with introspective lyricism. Subsequent remixes for Dua Lipa (Fever) and Caroline Polachek (Door) expanded her reach, leading to a 2021 US tour supporting Polachek.

In 2022, the French singer featured on Flume’s Palaces track Highest Building and joined his US tour, further bridging electronic and mainstream audiences. By 2024, she began teasing Choke Enough, her debut album, with singles like Family and Friends (featuring Zsela and Cecile Believe) and Harvest Sky (with hyperpop artist Underscores).

The album, set for release on February 7, 2025, via Because Music, promises her signature mix of haunting melodies and avant-garde production.

Oklou’s decade-long journey from underground collectives to Billie Eilish’s playlist

From Poitiers to Palaces: The evolution of the French singer (Image via Instagram/@oklou_)

Eilish’s praise arrives as Oklou navigates dual milestones: promoting Choke Enough while preparing for motherhood, as revealed in her February 2025 Stereogum interview. She has had classical training in instruments like piano, cello, and choir, as mentioned in an interview for Dazed in 2018.

Yet her genre fluidity, from the industrial beats of “entertnmnt” (2020) to the dream-pop of “unearth me,” defies easy categorization. While Eilish’s acknowledgment has broadened awareness of Oklou, the French artist’s career spans collaborations with Flume and Mura Masa, genre-defying releases like Galore (2020) and Choke Enough (2025), and interdisciplinary projects such as composing soundtracks for video games.

As Choke Enough approaches, Oklou’s music merges raw vulnerability with experimental soundscapes, a combination highlighted by Billie Eilish in her 2025 British Vogue interview, where she described the artist's work as reigniting her excitement for music.

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Covering all about Korean entertainment, food trends and pop culture at Sportskeeda, Anila Ghufran is an established writer with over 7+ years of experience in the field. Holding a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, she discovered her passion for content creation during her studies.

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