Agnes’ Day
She’s come from nowhere to be a European-wide chamber pop phenomenon, a veritable Bjork for the dinner party set. But Agnes Obel confesses that overnight success has come at a heavy price.
Ed Power, 08 Dec 2011
Listening to ‘The Christmas Song’, Agnes Obel’s deeply atmospheric yuletide collaboration with Tom Smith, the image that comes to mind is of the Danish singer and the Editors man sitting around a cosy hearth, possibly wearing ridiculous stripy jumpers and roasting chestnuts. So it’s bah-humbugs all round as Hot Press discovers that not only did the duo never snuggle under the mistletoe – they haven’t even clapped eyes on each other! Next you’ll be telling us there’s no Santa, Agnes.
“I know... I know... it’s true. We never met,” she laughs (Obel refuses to be drawn on Santa Claus, even though as a Scandinavian you’d think she’d have the inside track). “I didn’t know him at all. We had some email contacts. That was it.”
The tune is a highlight of Funny Looking Angels, the surprisingly sweet Christmas hook-up between Smith and Andy Burrows, the Razorlight songwriter you didn’t want to kick in the face.
“They got in contact online and described the song. I recorded my vocals at home, then Tom put some piano on top. I was in Berlin the whole time. Still, it was fun to do.”
Were it any other year, the Obel-Smith hook-up would have constituted our favourite piece of sonic tinsel. But there’s some tough competition out there. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have put out a Christmas record (though we’re inclined to dismiss it on account of what they did to ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’), as have Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler, Kate Bush and Michael Bublé. Does the deluge of Xmas-related music make Obel feel all warm and gooey inside? Or does she want to heave like someone who’s polished off an entire selection box in one sitting?
“You know, I’m not a very Christmassy person,” she confesses. “On the other hand, I like traditions. It’s important we have events like this, celebrations to remind us there’s more than our modern way of living.”
Smith and Burrows were lucky they caught Obel on one of those rare weeks she was at home. With her dulcet debut album Philharmonics a number one across the continent, it’s been a whirlwind year for the German-based Copenhagen native. She was feted as Björk’s heir at the South By South West festival in March, topped the charts in France shortly afterwards and has been playing to packed rooms ever since. Sometimes, she admits to wondering what day it is and what country she’s in.
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