Berlin-based Danish folk singer songwriter Agnes Obel returns with a video for her new single, “Familiar”.
“Familiar” is Obel’s first new material since her UK breakthrough album Aventine in 2013, which yielded the BBC 6 Music play listed singles “Dorian”, “Words Are Dead” and title track “Aventine”, and saw the Berlin-based Dane headline gigs at Somerset House, Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Barbican in 2014.
The Alex Bruel Flagstad directed video uses digitised graphics to create a work rooted in a kind of retro-modernism. This approach leads to a video that manages to feel both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time, helping to draw attention to the excellence of the song.
“Familiar” was recorded, produced and mixed by Obel at Aventine-Neukölln and Brand NewMusic-Studios in Berlin. Featuring violin by John Corban and cellos by Kristina Koropecki and Charlotte Danhier, Obel provides keys, rhythms and the song’s mesmerising vocals.
By altering the tone of her voice in the chorus, Obel in effect duets with herself. “Familiar” is a highly welcome return for Obel, sure to draw attention to her work after a period of seeming absence.
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