Berlin seems quiet at the moment, and Agnes Obel is happy to be home. In the midst of a global pandemic, her major metropolis is see-sawing between some semblance of repair and lockdown. People are walking around at a social distance, and schools, hotels, restaurants, and shops are scheduled to reopen in the German capital, unless there’s another spike in Covid-19 cases.
“It’s more chill,” says Obel. “I guess because it has not been hit as hard as other cities, and a lot of people outside are following the rules. It’s not like Paris and Spain where nobody is going out at all.”
Her fourth album, Myopia, released February 2020, is an exploration of stillness, solitude, and uncertainty that speaks to the current state of being human, and in isolation.
“In many ways, it is the perfect time for Myopia to be out, because the state of mind of it is to sit alone and listen to it,” Obel tells American Songwriter. “And the feeling that you can’t really trust everything you hear is the feeling I had when I made the album—the feeling that you don’t really know what’s true. I think everybody feels like that right now.”
Tina Eves 