Biography

Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel (born 1981) is a Danish singer-songwriter. Her first album, Philharmonics, was released by PIAS Recordings on 4 October 2010 in Denmark, Norway, Germany and other European countries. Since February 2011, Philharmonics is certified gold.

Agnes Obel was born Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel in 1981. Living in Copenhagen, and coming from a musician family, Agnes Obel learned piano at a very young age. Her mother used to play Bartók and Chopin at the piano. During her childhood, Agnes Obel found inspiration in Jan Johansson’s work. Johansson’s songs, European folk tunes done in a jazzy style, have influenced the young musician a lot.

She attended high school at Det frie Gymnasium and university at Roskilde University.

At the age of seven, Agnes Obel worked in a little band where she used to sing and play bass guitar. The group appeared in a festival and even recorded some titles.

Later, and with the help of Danish musician and producer Elton Theander, Obel founded the Copenhagen based band Sohio. After few years of collaboration, Obel debuted as a solo singer with her first album Philharmonics (2010).

Agnes Obel writes, plays, sings, records and produces all her material herself.

She is influenced by artists such as Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, PJ Harvey and also by the French composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Eric Satie.

Obel lives in Berlin.