Agnes Obel Releases THE MEANING OF FLOWERS Album

Deutsche Grammophon has announced that The Meaning of Flowers, Agnes Obel's first studio album since Myopia (2020), is out now in all formats.

On The Meaning of Flowers, Obel explores the vivid sense of interconnection with all living things she experienced during pregnancy, finding inspiration in ideas about birth, growth and metamorphosis in the world around us, among other themes. Her 12 atmospheric tracks draw on a range of sources, from the poetry of Enheduanna (the world's first named author) and the philosophical writings of Hannah Arendt and Emanuele Coccia, to the Danish pop scene of the 80s and 90s. The album is dedicated to Obel's daughter: 'she who has changed me and raised me and taught me so much.'

Written, recorded, arranged and produced by the artist in her Berlin studio, The Meaning of Flowers features Obel herself on vocals (some pitch-shifted), piano, keys, synths and samples, with guest musicians adding violin, viola, cello, bass, lap steel, harmonium, flute, sax, percussion and backing vocals to the mix.

'The Meaning of Flowers' was the first track written for the album. Its title came from Obel's reading of Coccia's The Life of Plants and Metamorphoses. As she said in a recent interview, 'Flowers are these tiny things that exist within an insanely huge and complex planet of mountains and oceans, but they also have their own hyper-complex biology … So, for me, the song had to be something small and beautiful, but enormous at the same time, in the title at least.'

Blood so Red, about the primal experience of giving birth, was influenced by Enheduanna's hymns to Inanna – goddess of childbirth, love, sex, song and war. Gemini and Laymelli too were inspired by Enheduanna, but also by Obel's awareness of a complex universe 'held together by the beauty and power of life and metamorphosis', again based on ideas discussed by Coccia. The other influences on the album include 70s movie scores (Don't Look Down) and Danish pop (Never Been), while its only instrumental track (Tangerine) features sax arpeggios, celesta and piano, their upbeat combination of sounds forming a 'bubbly new wondrous friendship.'

Agnes Obel – Forthcoming Tour Dates

2026:

Sep 24 – Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane

Sep 26 – Hamer Hall, Melbourne

Sep 27 – Sydney Opera House

Sep 29 – New Zealand International Convention Centre, Auckland

2027:

Sep 21 – Tonhalle, Düsseldorf

Sep 23 – Olympia, Paris

Sep 27 – Royal Theatre Carré, Amsterdam

Sep 28 – Muziekgebouw, Eindhoven

Sep 29 – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht

Oct 1 – Sentrum Scene, Oslo

Oct 2 – Konserthuset, Stockholm

Oct 3 – Operaen, Copenhagen

Oct 13 – Teatro Duse, Bologna

Oct 14 – Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome

Oct 16 – Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, Geneva

Oct 17 – Halle aux Grains, Toulouse

Oct 19 – Paral·lel 62, Barcelona

Oct 20 – The Music Station, Madrid

Oct 23 – Teatro Circo, Braga

Nov 2 – Bozar, Brussels

Nov 3 – Stadsschouwburg, Antwerp

Nov 4 – Eventim Apollo, London

Nov 6 – Amphithéâtre 3000, Lyon

Nov 9 – Liederhalle (Beethoven-Saal), Stuttgart

Nov 10 – Meistersingerhalle, Nuremberg

Nov 12 – Laeiszhalle, Hamburg

Nov 13 – Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin

2027 European tour tickets are on sale now.