Agnes Obel released The Meaning of Flowers on September 18 through Deutsche Grammophon. The twelve-track project is her first studio album since Myopia in 2020 and was written, recorded, arranged and produced in her Berlin studio.
The release announcement describes an album shaped by motherhood, ideas about growth and transformation, and reading that includes Enheduanna, Hannah Arendt and Emanuele Coccia. Obel performs vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizers and samples, with guest musicians contributing strings, winds, percussion and other instruments.
Specific reference points include the title track’s connection to Coccia’s writing, the Enheduanna influence behind Blood so Red, and the instrumental Tangerine, which combines saxophone, celesta and piano. The statement also identifies Danish pop and 1970s film scores among the influences.
Following the credits into the music
The useful distinction is between creative references and actual sound sources. A book may help explain an idea behind a song; the instrument list offers a different guide to how that idea is arranged. Neither replaces hearing the finished recording.
Listeners approaching the album can follow one instrumental color across several tracks, then return to the words and titles. That offers a focused entry point without trying to decode every literary reference at once. The official announcement includes the artist’s fuller account and the tour schedule as it stood when the album arrived.
Source: Official release announcement.
