Agnes Obel
The Meaning of Flowers
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デンマークのSSW
Since she almost quietly entered the music scene with her debut album Philharmonics in 2010, Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel (if she really fits into that category) has been garnering critical praise, as well as large audiences – but not because she is your typical ‘singer-songwriter’ that presents her introspective thoughts along with a strumming acoustic guitar or tinkering piano.
There has always been something deeper and musically richer there, more connected to Obel’s obvious talent and musical education, all reflected in the fact that her follow-up Aventine (2013) made it quite big all over. Her next two albums, Citizen of Glass (2016) and Myopia (2020) not only did more for her reputation (and success), but confirmed that we are dealing with a serious musical talent that needs full attention.
So what is it in Obel’s music that made her make a connection with both critics and wide audiences? Sure, Obel obviously has classical music background, and she certainly is not the first artist to be able to skillfully (and often brilliantly) combine that background with other, more modern musical forms. The key with the accessibility and quality of her music almost never relied on her knowledge of classical music, but rather on an intuitive, instinctive way of combining different musical elements that made them fit together almost perfectly.