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Category: Electronic

Oklou – God’s Chariots

Oklou – God’s Chariots

Marylou Mayniel is a French musician known by the stage name of Oklou, a young singer-songwriter who creates cosmic cotton candy with an ethereal voice and soothing synths. The result is a sound that combines the seductive side of Dido with the brilliant beats of James Blake.

God’s Chariots shows Mayniel has talent galore – Galore being the title of her debut mixtape, which she released in September 2020. It’s the product of an increasing fascination with electronic music that came to light after a classical education for piano and cello during her early years growing up in the countryside of west France.

A relocation to Paris in 2015, followed by a move to London, allowed Mayniel to become immersed in DJ culture, which further fostered her development as an artist. Her narrative dreamscapes feature an almost whispered intimacy that draws the listener into her experimental sound.

In the Internet Age, when practically anyone with a laptop computer and a bedroom can aspire to make music, it’s easy to dismiss new artists who are desperate to be heard. But Mayniel is the real thing, so remember the name of Oklou as someone to watch. There’s an unmistakable delicateness to her sound that is positively empowering.

Eivør – Í Tokuni

Eivør – Í Tokuni

There is something unexplainable about the allure of discovering something new. The experience provides an undeniable thrill that is very real and revelatory.

For the aurally adventurous, there is nothing quite like being excited by an artist who was previously unknown. It is the emotional equivalent of sightseeing in a new country for the first time.

The music of Eivør Pálsdóttir is likely unknown to most people in North America and most would struggle to locate the singer’s native Faroe Islands on a map. But both are beautifully evident in the song, Í Tokuni, which many will find magical and mysterious.

Located roughly halfway between Iceland and Norway, the Faroe Islands is a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark and it is where Eivør puts her distinctive voice to work. Her music is hauntingly hypnotic in its ability to create an atmosphere that is absolutely mesmerizing. The song’s dynamics – the catchy keyboards, the banshee-like quality of its chorus – are matched by the choreographic connection between her stylized performance and its sinister but seductive tone.

Eivør has an otherworldly quality that is very pure and pleasing. For further proof of her powerful talent, check out the vocal acrobatics evident in her performance of Trøllabundin during an outdoor concert at a mountain farm in the fjords of Norway. It is utterly breathtaking.