{"id":66461,"date":"2020-02-12T10:55:52","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T15:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=66461"},"modified":"2020-02-12T18:39:02","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T23:39:02","slug":"interview-singer-songwriter-and-musician-agnes-obel-talks-about-her-atmospheric-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/02\/12\/interview-singer-songwriter-and-musician-agnes-obel-talks-about-her-atmospheric-music\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Singer-Songwriter And Musician Agnes Obel Talks About Her Atmospheric Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Agnes
Agnes Obel in Paris, 2011 (Photo : Stefano81 under a CC 3.0 license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A<\/span>tmospheric pop? Neoclassical new age? Chill out? All of the above? The music of Agnes Obel defies compartmentalization.<\/p>\n

While she may not be a household name in North America, the Berlin-based, Danish-born singer-songwriter and musician has been building a career in the music business for the last decade. Her albums have won multiple Danish Music Awards, and her songs have been used in TV and movies, including the theme music for the Canadian series Cardinal.<\/em> Her albums hit the top five in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Belgium. She has a loyal following in Berlin, where she\u2019s lived since 2006, and online, with more than 217K YouTube subscribers.<\/p>\n

Agnes is currently on tour in Europe in advance of her fourth album, Myopia<\/em>, set for release on February 21. The tour hits North America in April, with a Toronto date on April 26.<\/p>\n

Born in Copenhagen, both parents were musical. Her father was a former jazz musician, and her mother a talented pianist. \u201cIt\u2019s true my Mom played piano a lot,\u201d she says. She doesn\u2019t remember a specific time when playing music wasn\u2019t a part of her life. \u201cI started piano lessons when I was very young, and went to school where there was a lot of music,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve been playing piano since as long as I can remember. It grew with me somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was around 12 or so when she started to write her own music. \u201cI think I started writing instrumental pieces \u2014 just mimicking what I was playing.\u201d From there, she moved on to cover bands and Beatles songs in high school. At 17, she met her first songwriting partner, and her work began to develop its own style.<\/p>\n

She describes many influences that led to her unique style, including Joni Mitchell. \u201cIt\u2019s so personal and so idiosyncratic,\u201d she says of her music. She lists other influences from Debussy, Satie, and Ravel to Scott Walker.<\/p>\n

Her NPR Tiny Desk concert (2017):<\/p>\n