Northern Dial Artist Profile

Koko Love

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Montréal artist, producer and songwriter Koko Love developed his approach through years of performing in public spaces, including busking in the city's metro system, before recording under the name Miko and eventually relaunching under the Koko Love identity. That background helps explain the directness of his music: rather than separating production craft from performance, he built a sound around live musicianship, alternative pop, soul and indie rock while remaining closely involved in writing and production.

The 2025 debut album The Cost of Freedom became the clearest statement of that approach. Written, produced and recorded with Soran, the project brought in collaborators including Zach Zoya and Yuki Dreams Again and was mixed in Montréal before being mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound. "Man I'm Not," featuring Zach Zoya, became a notable Canadian radio moment, reaching No. 3 on CBC Radio and later appearing on CBC's list of the 100 best songs of 2025. Around the same period, Koko Love toured North America with Kyle Dion and contributed production work to Dion's music.

Koko Love is still an emerging artist, but his career already reflects a useful Montréal story: a musician moving from street-level performance and an earlier artistic identity into a self-produced project with national radio traction and increasingly international collaborators. His significance lies less in awards or legacy milestones than in the way his work connects Montréal's alternative, R&B and producer communities through a hands-on, independent recording practice.