Mabe Fratti has announced her new album Sentir Que No Sabes will be released on June 28th via Unheard Of Hope. The Guatemala-native, Mexico City-based Fratti – recently profiled by Pitchfork and The Guardian – has also shared two singles from the album: ‘Kravitz‘, out now across DSPs, and ‘Pantalla azul‘, out now exclusively via a Emanuel Juarez-directed video. Anchored by brilliant plucked cello that acts as a bassline, ‘Kravitz’ introduces a staple of the record: the clever brass stabs, whistles, parps, and other interjections that paint a canvas of traffic in a city – all resulting in a postmodern, widescreen sound.
“It’s a song about the sensation of not knowing where the opinions come from and the chicken or egg question: do they come from outside? Do they come from inside? Also, who wants to listen to these opinions? Who actually listens to them?” explains Fratti.
The melancholic ‘Pantalla azul‘ (transl: ‘Blue screen error‘) slowly builds from a spare opening to a glistening, deeply melodic peak. “This one was born out of me getting a Whammy and playing around with it. I came up with the riff and a melody that was inspired by ‘autotuned’ effects. Héctor [Tosta – her partner, multi-instrumentalist, and co-composer] pushed the track forward by creating the quantic jump towards the polyrhythmic section that transforms the song,” Fratti says. “The lyrics make a reference to the ‘stop’ blue on the screen on VHS or the blue screen of a PC when it breaks. Also to an appreciation to what’s unknown and mysterious, and being at peace with the shadow and the complexity of things.”
A sense of destiny hangs over Sentir Que No Sabes, Fratti’s fourth solo-credited album released in a five year span. Her work has always possessed a finely tuned sense of drama capable of expressing a range of emotional states, and across this new album, she conveys the struggle to process various relationships or situations -and the actions that come next. Sentir Que No Sabes is urgent and clear, poppy, generous and approachable, while showcasing a considerable emotional hinterland. It is also, as Fratti is quick to mention, “groovy.”
1. Kravitz
2. Pantalla azul
3. Elastica II
4. Oídos
5. Quieras o no
6. Enfrente
7. Elastica I
8. Márgen del índice
9. Alarmas olvidadas
10. Descubrimos un suspiro
11. Intento fallido
12. Kitana
13. Angel nuev
Sentir Que No Sabes is now available for pre-order
Tour Dates:
May 25th | Düsseldorf, DE – Approximation Festival
May 28th | Barcelona, ES – Primavera Sound
July 5th | Roskilde, DK – Roskilde Festival
Nov 2nd | Torino, IT – C2C Festival
Nov 6th | London, UK – Pitchfork London
Nov 7th | Paris, FR – Pitchfork Paris
Photo credit – Melissa Lunar