Oklou Shares New Single 'Take Me By The Hand' Featuring Bladee

French vocalist, producer and composer Oklou has shared her new single “take me by the hand” featuring Swedish rapper Bladee. The single follows the announcement of Oklou’s debut album choke enough due Feb 7th via True Panther/Because Music.

Oklou will be performing a string of North American and European tour dates in February and March. The tour begins in Europe with sold-out stops including Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris and London and then continues on to North America with dates in Toronto, Montreal, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Find tickets here and full tour routing below. 

"I wanted this song to sound like something ethereal but also very earthy - Bladee’s voice is helping to keep the feet on the ground” explains Oklou.

Developed with co-producers Casey MQ, Danny L Harle and A. G. Cook, the album is a reflection on the subconscious and conscious demands of an artistic psychology, as well as existing and creating in a brief and transient life. choke enough is filled with warm production, pairing ambient sounds with minimal club rhythms, delicate synthesizer arpeggios and found sound samples. 

The new single follows several recently released tracks including “choke enough,” “harvest sky,” featuring Bay Area artist underscores, sensuous companion, “obvious” and “family and friends,” which came alongside a Gil Gharbi directed music video. As a whole Oklou speaks about the forthcoming album sharing, “I see it as built on a permanent conversation between a life anchored in reality and another in fantasy. I can’t imagine a life without daydreaming, without spending time appreciating beauty, but I need to be anchored to the ground to continue paying attention to what’s happening around me."

Born Marylou Mayniel in the countryside of Western France, Oklou’s first musical experiences consisted of classical piano and cello lessons before she fell in love with electronic music and took up production. Mayniel eventually moved to Paris, where she hosted weekly radio shows and performed her first live shows as Oklou. After two EPs, 2017’s For The Beasts and 2018’s The Rite Of May, Mayniel received international acclaim, accelerated through collaborations with Mura Masa, A. G. Cook and EASYFUN (the last two both producers of Charli XCX’s Brat) and culminating in her full-length mixtape galore in 2020. It was a turning point in her artistic life, heralded as an innovative and introspective work by fans and media, with Dazed praising as, “sophisticated in its composition yet totally cutting edge in its sound.” International touring followed, including support tours with Oneohtrix Point Never and Caroline Polachek as well as a much-heralded feature with Flume. 

Tour Dates: 

Europe
25/02/25 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega Main Hall SOLD OUT
27/02/25 - Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Theatre - SOLD OUT
01/03/25 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg - SOLD OUT
02/03/25 - Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique - SOLD OUT
04/03/25 - Paris, France @ La Cigale - SOLD OUT
05/03/25 - Paris, France @ La Cigale - SOLD OUT
07/03/25 - London, UK @ Heaven - SOLD OUT
11/03/25 - Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Apolo
13/03/25 - Paris, France @ Trianon

North America
18/03/25 - Toronto, Canada @ Axis Club
19/03/25 - Montreal, Canada @ Le Studio TD
21/03/25 - New York, NY @ Elsewhere - SOLD OUT
22/03/25 - New York, NY @ Elsewhere - NEW DATE
24/03/25 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
25/03/25 - Austin, TX @ 3Ten ACL Live
28/03/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey
29/03/25 - San Francisco, CA @ Independent

Photo credit: Ariane Kiks

To post a comment, you must register and login.