Singer/songwriter Agnes Obel has returned with the single “Broken Sleep.” The track arrives ahead of her forthcoming release Myopia, which will be released February 21 through Blue Note Records in North America, and Deutsche Grammophon in the rest of the world.

Agnes Obel on “Broken Sleep:”

“This song was, surprisingly enough, written in a period where I was struggling with falling asleep. In the effort to find a cure I began to read about the science of sleep as well as the cultural history of sleep which led me to the ancient idea that sleep and death are familiar states and problems with sleep are linked to a fear of death. Relics of this idea are still to be found in our language today, in the way we describe both death and sleep.”
–Agnes Obel

Myopia was completed as a one-woman project in her own Berlin home studio, Obel has been under self-imposed creative isolation with the removal of all outside influences and distraction in the writing, recording and mixing process. “The albums I’ve worked on have all required that I build a bubble of some kind in which everything becomes about the album.”

“For me the production is intertwined with the lyrics and story behind the songs,” says Obel. This is precisely what makes her music so compelling and the same is true with Myopia. “Paradoxically, for me I need to create my own myopia to make music.” Obel was experimenting with techniques of recording processing, warping and pitching down vocals, strings, piano, celesta and luthéal piano, finding ways to melt these elements together to become one and twisting them in a way that you feel at home within the sound she conjures throughout the record.

The official music video to accompany “Broken Sleep” is also released today. Created by long-term collaborator and partner Alex Brüel Flagstad, the video accompanies the themes within the album perfectly and continuously follows on from the “Island Of Doom” video, which was released in October 2019.

Agnes Obel
Live Dates

Jan 16: Brooklyn, NY, National Sawdust SOLD OUT
Jan 17: Brooklyn, NY, National Sawdust SOLD OUT
Jan 23: Los Angeles, CA, Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever SOLD OUT
Jan 24: Los Angeles, CA, Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever SOLD OUT
Feb 21: London, Rough Trade (In-Store Performance) SOLD OUT
Feb 24: Oslo, Sentrum Scene
Feb 25: Stockholm, Gota Lejon
Feb 26: Copenhagen, KB Hallen
Feb 27: Copenhagen, KB Hallen
Feb 29: Cologne, Carlswerk Victoria SOLD OUT
Mar 01: Mannheim, Capitol SOLD OUT
Mar 02: Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
Mar 04: Vienna, Arena
Mar 05: Zurich, Samsung Hall
Mar 06: Lausanne, Metropole
Mar 09: Prague, Hybernia Theatre SOLD OUT
Mar 11: Groningen, Oosterpoort
Mar 12: Utrecht, TivoliVredenburg SOLD OUT
Mar 13: Tilburg, 013
Mar 15: Warsaw, Progresja SOLD OUT
Mar 16: Berlin, Admiralspalast SOLD OUT
Mar 17: Munich, St Matthaus Kirche SOLD OUT
Mar 19: Nantes, Cite Des Congres SOLD OUT
Mar 20: Paris, Seine Musicale SOLD OUT
Mar 21: Luxembourg, Den Atelier SOLD OUT
Mar 23: Brussels, Cirque Royal SOLD OUT
Mar 25: Bayonne, Theatre Quintaou SOLD OUT
Mar 26: Madrid, Teatro Lara SOLD OUT
Mar 27: Barcelona, Sala Barts
Mar 29: Dublin, Vicar Street
Mar 31: Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
Apr 01: Edinburgh, Queens Hall
Apr 02: Glasgow, Academy
Apr 04: Whitley Bay, Playhouse
Apr 05: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Apr 06: Birmingham, Symphony Hall
Apr 08: Salisbury, City Hall
Apr 09: London, Eventim Apollo
Apr 17: Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia (with Dead Can Dance)
Apr 19: Washington, DC, The Anthem (with Dead Can Dance)
Apr 21: New York City, NY, Radio City Music Hall (with Dead Can Dance)
Apr 23: Montreal, QC, Maison Symphonique
Apr 24: Boston, MA, Boch Center (with Dead Can Dance)
Apr 26: Toronto, ON, Meridian Hall (with Dead Can Dance)
Apr 28: Detroit, MI, Masonic Temple (with Dead Can Dance)
Apr 29: Chicago, IL, The Chicago Theatre (with Dead Can Dance)
May 01: Denver, CO, The Mission Ballroom (with Dead Can Dance)
May 03: Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre (with Dead Can Dance) SOLD OUT
May 04: Vancouver, BC, Orpheum Theatre (with Dead Can Dance)
May 05: Portland, OR, Aladdin Theater
May 07: San Francisco, CA, The Masonic (with Dead Can Dance) SOLD OUT
May 08: Pioneertown, CA, Pappy & Harriet’s
May 09: Los Angeles, CA, Greek Theatre (with Dead Can Dance)
May 11: San Diego, CA, San Diego Civic Theatre (with Dead Can Dance)
May 12: Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Bowl (with Dead Can Dance)
May 14: Mexico City, MX, Auditorio Nacional (with Dead Can Dance)
July 29: Freiburg, Zelt Musik Festival