AGNES OBEL - "RIVERSIDE" (PHILHARMONICS, 2010). HUG YOU FROM DENMARK

“I think when you work with quiet music - something that’s minimal and some parts are quieter than each other – it’s important that you have good contact with your audience, otherwise they won’t get all of those different things. That is important for me – not just to recreate the atmosphere but to have that special single concert.”

In her first concept album, she explains: “I was reading Der Spiegel on tour in 2014: this long article about the concept of the gläserner berger – about how these days, as people, we’re all meant to be made of glass.” 

In person, Agnes Obel is tiny and warm – she’s aware that being inspired by broadsheet features isn’t entirely in cahoots with rock’n’roll – but she’s also alert, like a bird, and direct. 

“The idea that we’re meant to tell everyone the stories of our inner and outer lives, to publish them online, to be completely open and transparent, and how big a change that is for us all as human beings. That subject is fascinating to me."