Agnes Obel readies first album in six years, The Meaning of Flowers

The follow-up to 2020’s Myopia was written, recorded, arranged, and produced by Obel in her Berlin studio. Across 12 tracks, it draws on sources such as the poetry of Enheduanna, the Old Sumerian priestess often credited as "the earliest known named author in world history," as well as Hannah Arendt’s concept of natality, and Emanuele Coccia’s writing on plants and metamorphosis. Guest musicians contribute violin, viola, cello, bass, lap steel, harmonium, flute, sax, percussion, and backing vocals.

After recording Myopia, Obel had her first child, and The Meaning of Flowers is dedicated to her daughter. “She who has changed me and raised me and taught me so much – and I can feel so much more awaits to be learned,” Obel said. On the title track, she said she wanted to “get close to the feeling of a new beginning,” describing “a new expansive feeling of love that will never end.”

“Blood so Red” came from reading Enheduanna’s hymns to Inanna, with Obel noting the text “made its way into the song, lifting up my own epiphanies on childbirth and the laws of the body.” “Gemini” and the first single “Laymelli” also take cues from the ancient poems.

Obel has released three other studio albums since her 2010 debut Philharmonics. The Meaning of Flowers marks her first new music in six years.

The Meaning of Flowers artwork