Hear Agnes Obel’s ‘Laymelli’ From ‘The Meaning of Flowers’
The 12-track record explores birth, growth and metamorphosis, with ‘Laymelli’ arriving today.
Danish-born, Berlin-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Agnes Obel has announced her new studio album The Meaning of Flowers, due September 18, 2026, through Deutsche Grammophon. The 12-track record will be released digitally, on CD and on vinyl, with the first preview, “Laymelli,” available to stream and download now. Across the album, Obel considers birth, growth, metamorphosis and a heightened sense of connection to the natural world.
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Obel wrote, recorded, arranged and produced The Meaning of Flowers in her Berlin studio, performing vocals, piano, keys, synths and samples herself. Some of her vocals are pitch-shifted, while guest musicians contribute violin, viola, cello, bass, lap steel, harmonium, flute, saxophone, percussion and backing vocals. Obel says the record was shaped in part by Hannah Arendt’s concept of natality and by changes in her thought and composition during pregnancy. “I wanted to see if I could get close to the feeling of a new beginning,” she says of the title track, which examines interconnection and an expanded sense of love.
Several songs draw on writing by Enheduanna, the earliest known author named in recorded history. “Blood so Red” grew from Obel’s reading of Enheduanna’s hymns to Inanna, while “Gemini” and “Laymelli” also reflect ideas about life and metamorphosis. Emanuele Coccia’s Life of Plants and Metamorphoses informed the album’s imagery of seeds and the life cycle of a butterfly. Elsewhere, “Don’t Look Down” takes cues from 1970s film scores, and “Never Been” looks to Danish pop from the 1980s and 1990s. The instrumental “Tangerine” pairs saxophone arpeggios with celesta and piano. Obel dedicated the album to her daughter, describing her as the person who had changed, raised and taught her.
The Meaning of Flowers follows Myopia, which Deutsche Grammophon released on February 21, 2020. In September 2025, Obel played multiple European dates including Copenhagen’s Koncerthuset, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Berlin’s Admiralspalast, Paris’ Salle Pleyel and London’s Royal Albert Hall. Her 2026 schedule includes Kunst!Rasen in Bonn on August 22, Amsterdamse Bostheater on August 27, QPAC in Brisbane on September 24, the Sydney Opera House on September 27 and Auckland’s New Zealand International Convention Center on September 29.
