Oklou’s first solo track in nearly three years, “family and friends,” is disarmingly honest and lyrical — as we’ve come to expect from the French artist, born Marylou Mayniel. “Let me lie forever in bed,” she sings in the chorus, “Blessed by family and friends/ Starting life at the end/ Is it even real?” The single is an indicative taste of what listeners can expect from the artist’s forthcoming debut album called choke enough, out in February via True Panther.

The song’s sense of unreality is haunting; its accompanying video, directed by Gil Gharbi, only serves to amp up the intensity of that feeling. The video — filmed in her mother’s neighborhood — depicts Oklou and her friends running away from something in the suburbs. What, exactly, they’re running from, though — that we’ll likely never understand. “You’re not supposed to know,” Oklou says. “It’s about the feeling.”

The visual idea came about only once the single had been finished; the concept was suggested by Gharbi (who is actually Oklou’s boyfriend, too) and brought to life in Oklou’s mother’s neighborhood. The quest for meaning is one that carries through the entirety of choke enough.

Oklou has been working on the album for years now — a significantly longer marinating period than previous projects. This long process, she reflects, made the task of choosing a final tracklist a difficult task. “So much had happened during the writing,” she tells PAPER. “I had changed, things had changed in my life. I had to really cut it down.”

The final project comes in at 13 tracks, co-produced by Oklou’s friend and longtime collaborator Casey MQ, alongside heavy hitters like Danny L Harle and A.G. Cook. In discussing the ethos of the album as a whole, Oklou tells PAPER it’s not so much about one meaning as about searching for that meaning — running towards meaning, running away from it and reflecting on meaning-finding as a whole. In classic Oklou fashion, all this meaning-making is handled over a mix of ambient and club sounds that will appeal to both long-time fans and new listeners.

The latest single from the album, “choke enough,” is available for streaming now, and the full project releases on February 7, 2025. Oklou will be touring choke enough in February and March of next year, with stops around Europe, Canada and the US.

Photography: Gil Gharbi