Oklou / George Riley – live gallery and review from The Academy Dublin 03.12.2025

French singer, producer, and DJ Marylou Vanina Mayniel better known as Oklou brought her atmospheric blend of electronic pop and experimental club textures to a packed Academy in Dublin on December 3rd, 2025. With London R&B singer George Riley opening the night, the venue was already buzzing long before Oklou stepped on stage. Riley’s smooth, velvet-toned set warmed the room nicely, setting an intimate tone that contrasted sharply with the abstract, shifting world Oklou would later construct.

When Oklou emerged head torch beaming directly into the front rows, the set had opened with the drifting intro of “ict”, a motif that would later return to close the main set in full. From the beginning, the atmosphere was dense and immersive, her vocals gliding over spacious, skeletal production. The crowd, tightly packed and eager, responded quickly to familiar favourites like “take me by the hand”, “god’s chariots”, and “choke enough.” Sonically, Oklou was in excellent form. Her live arrangements felt textured and alive, with enough deviation from the recorded versions to feel genuinely special.

Midway through the performance, the momentum briefly faltered when “dance 2” and “viscus” both had to be restarted due to technical issues. The crowd took these hiccups in stride, and Oklou handled them with professionalism. She also surprised listeners with two unexpected covers Avril23’s “what’s good” and A. G. Cook’s remix of “fall” both woven seamlessly into her set and met with excitement from longtime fans familiar with her broader artistic circle.

Where the evening faltered was in the visual direction. The head-torch choice, though conceptually interesting, left some audience members literally dazzled in a way that felt more distracting than atmospheric. The overall lighting design leaned heavily into minimalism often dropping into near darkness before erupting into sudden, stark white flashes. While it clearly aimed to heighten tension and intimacy, the execution sometimes broke the flow of the performance rather than deepening it.

Still, musically, the night was superb. Oklou’s voice was warm and steady, her production crisp, and the setlist beautifully curated despite the minor technical setbacks. Ending the encore with two final tracks, she left the Dublin crowd buzzing a reminder that even when the visuals don’t quite land, her sound remains unmistakably compelling.

George Riley photos:

Oklou photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Ict – intro only
Thank You For Recording
Obvious
Plague Dogs
Take Me By The Hand
Endless
Galore
Family And Friends
Harvest Sky
God’s Chariots
Dance 2
Viscus
What’s Good (Avril23 cover)
Fall (A. G. Cook Remix)
Choke Enough
Ict
_____________________________
Want To Wanna Come Back
Blade Bird

Photos & words – Ian Mc Donnell @mcgigmusic