Oklou enhances excellent debut album with bold Milwaukee concert

French experimental pop artist Oklou performed at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee April 25 following buzzy performances at Coachella.
Her debut album “Choke Enough” was one of the best-reviewed albums of 2025, with the live show deepening the music’s hypnotic, dreamy nature.
A swing, illuminated instruments and a human disco ball were among the inspired, homespun visuals at the Milwaukee concert. But Oklou stayed grounded (sometimes literally) in service of the music.

For Oklou, who performed at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee April 25, the stage is a playground.

She even had a swing.

To kick off her 19-song, 78-minute set, the French experimental pop artist born Marylou Maniel sang the introduction to “ICT” from atop that swing, swaying over a white-sheet covered stage and in front of a towering curtain, while on each side, collaborators Casey MQ (on keys and occasional vocals) and Florian Le Prisé (on guitars and mixers) added to the arty ambience.

The playtime continued with inspired visuals. A glowing orange recorder Oklou played for “Thank You For Recording.” Dancing ghostly figures, evoking The Nazgûl from “The Lord of the Rings,” projected on that curtain for “Family and Friends.” Blue lasers shining from the head of Le Prisé’s guitar during “Endless.” A bright orange light blasting from below that swing as Oklou swayed through “Dance 2.”

It all led to the most inspired visual of the evening, for “Choke Enough.” The theater awash in hypnotic electronic music, a bright spotlight from above the stage slowly moved through the room, casting fans on the floor and in the balcony in the harsh white light. The light found its way to the stage, slowly illuminating the artists below, resting for a moment on Oklou’s foot as she sat on stage. And as she began to sing, the light moved to her head, covered in a mirrored headpiece, turning Oklou into a human disco ball.

Early last year Oklou released her debut album, also called “Choke Enough.” It stayed with critics. Review aggregator Album of the Year – which tracks music critics’ annual best albums lists – placed it ninth for all releases in 2025. Collaborations have followed with likeminded alternative pop artists PinkPantheress and FKA twigs, and Oklou is fresh off buzzy performances at Coachella earlier this month.

“Choke Enough” the album is a case of compelling confidence through quiet contemplation. There’s a direct lyric here and there, like on “What’s Good,” with Oklou at the Pabst singing painfully, but subtlety, “I tried to say goodbye, but it’s hard to give up your eyes.” But the album is largely about feeling more so than clarity, the combination of Oklou’s reserved voice – sometimes unfiltered, other times absorbed in Autotune – complemented by gentle synths and guitar washes. Listening to it is like being stuck in an uneasy dream state, and Oklou, to her credit, never offers a big, cathartic, waking moment.

On the album, anyway. Live, “Harvest Sky” at the halfway point offered fans that wondrous release, a setlist equivalent to dark clouds giving way to cleansing rain. But it was the steady drive of the music that lifted fans in the balcony to their feet. Oklou didn’t amp up fans with big stage energy or cheer-baiting hype. Even the visuals for this song were among the most basic of the evening, with blasts of strobing lights. Even for this concert’s “big” moment, the intimacy was still intact.

And the visuals for the music in Milwaukee – inspired but still homespun – generally enhanced the mood of Oklou’s music without sabotaging the intent. Her vocals stayed gentle. Oftentimes, she performed while sitting on the stage, guitar or bass occasionally in hands. Even for that magical disco ball moment, fans were on their feet, but Oklou wasn’t. Like her moving music, on stage, she stays grounded, quite literally.

“This is the best job in the world,” Oklou said at one point late in the set. Given the imaginative and engrossing performance she gave fans in Milwaukee, a promotion to larger venues is likely just around the corner. But should she become a major art pop star like PinkPantheress and FKA twigs, Oklou made it clear she’ll be doing it on her terms.

Three takeaways from Oklou’s Milwaukee concert, including a special fan moment

About halfway through the set, Oklou mentioned that a few days ago, her stylist Pierre in France had found a fan of hers who had been replicating Oklou’s outfits. That fan, Mandy, happened to be from Milwaukee, and was in the very front and very center of the pit right at the edge of the stage. Oklou invited her on stage to huge applause, giving her a hug and admiring the craftsmanship of her outfit – including rhinestones intricately stitched into her jeans and a slim belt identical to one Oklou was wearing at that moment – and gave her some merch.
Oklou joked about trying and struggling to reach an orange light hanging overhead so it could swing and cast shadows as she played keys and sang for “What’s Good.” A roadie came on stage to try to help but couldn’t reach it either, but the towering Le Prisé ran over to that side of the stage and literally leant a hand.
It was quickly evident why Oklou and her opener and fellow French artist Vickie Cherie were friends and collaborators. Across a 40-minute set, Cherie also displayed a fondness for intimate electronic music matched with quiet, ethereal vocals. But Cherie still has a very distinct vision, her music, largely sung in French, journeying from hypnotic trance to twitchy hyper pop. The most arresting aspect of her art is the live show – with Cherie performing barefoot behind a translucent screen for her 40-minute set. A series of vibrant visuals flashed in front of her – crashing waves, blurry nighttime cityscapes, closeups of the eyes of horses and owls, the Hollywood sign saturated in blood red. Hit by strobing lights, Cherie offered her own quiet theatricality, singing while gently extending her arms, or bending over and swaying, her hair draped down toward the floor. The visual art and the artist merged magnificently for “Dying To Go,” with Cherie behind the screen looking toward her projected digital doppelganger – cast completely in white – as images of falling snow graced the screen.