Mabe Fratti Album Reviews

Guatemalan cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti grew up only listening to Christian and classical music. Discovering Limewire, her musical horizons were instantly broadened. Fratti now makes eclectic music, centred around her experimental cello and pretty voice.

Like many of my favourite artists, Fratti’s adept at balancing pop hooks with arty exploration. Sometimes she slaps her cello like a double bass for rhythm.

Fratti is one of the most interesting voices in contemporary music. I’ve only covered her most recent albums, but I need to go back and fill in the earlier gaps.

Mabe Fratti Album Reviews

Mabe Fratti

Sentir Que No Sabes

2024, 9/10
 Sentir Que No Sabes, which translates as Feeling Like You Don’t Know, is Fratti’s fourth album. Sentir is more pop-oriented and accessible than her earlier work. There’s a focus on groove and less improvisation, while Fratti’s voice is at the forefront.

Pretty songs like ‘Enfrente’ and ‘Kravitz’ provide the pop hooks. Others are far more esoteric. For example, ‘Kitana’ sounds like Starless and Bible Black-era King Crimson with its exploratory strings. Hector Tosta’s aggressive guitar parts are sometimes reminiscent of Robert Fripp. Even when the arrangements are wild, Fratti’s voice is pretty and accessible, like on the austere, folk-flavoured ‘Quieras o no’.

“[Lenny Kravitz] was a big inspiration to delve into the groove in this record, you know, in a very vague way,”Mabe Fratti, Treblezine

Fratti might be my favourite artist I’ve discovered this year, and Sentir is wonderfully omnivorous.

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Titanic

Hagen

2025, 8.5/10
Mabe Fratti’s Sentir Que No Sabes was one of my favourite albums of 2024. On Hagen, the Guatemalan-born cellist and vocalist works with her romantic and creative partner, Hector Tosta. Titanic is largely Tosta’s project , and he steers the duo toward progressive territory – Fratti explained to Pitchfork that “Héctor’s chords are super sophisticated—expensive.” Meanwhile, Tosta describes Fratti in glowing terms, “she plays cello like a devil and she sings like an angel.”

The songs are short but often complex and packed with ideas. When the simple riff hits at the end of ‘Lágrima Del Sol’, it’s unexpectedly straightforward. The single ‘La Dueña’ starts with avant-garde cello before it turns into a soaring, operatic pop song.

‘La Trampa Sale’ is dramatic, with a commanding Fratti vocal, backed by piano and choral vocals. ‘Gotera’ is a fascinating arrangement, with little beyond the cello and spasmodic, clattering percussion.

Hector: I love going to karaoke in Mexico and of course people are always singing so many old bangers, and I always thought that it might be fun to have that kind of song in our repertory. Saying that I really tried to write the lyrics according to a broken heart from the ’60s. It just was super fun and it was super cool to put a distorted cello on it.
Mabe: This, for me, is like a Rocío Durcal song! But metal. Titanic, on La dueña

You might not recognise her name, but Mabe Fratti is making great music right now.

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Bill Orcutt and Mabe Fratti

Almost Waking

2026, 7/10
Two avant-garde musicians from different generations collaborate on Almost Waking. Bill Orcutt is a 64-year-old guitarist, known for playing with four strings in the 1990s band Harry Pussy. Mabe Fratti is a 34-year-old Guatemalan cellist and vocalist. They connected after Fratti name-checked Orcutt’s work in an interview.

I’m always looking for opportunities to do what I do in different contexts and to make new friends as it were. So, yeah, I liked what she did, I always liked her music, and so I was like, well, she would be somebody unexpected. I also like the idea of doing things that are unexpected.Bill Orcutt, Substack

It’s concise, only running half an hour and eight songs. The songs never outstay their welcome – even if they’re often difficult and spiky, they never last long. The pair both like to play abrasively, so it’s fun to hear them colliding, like on ‘A Rural Pen’ and ‘Arise From Graves and Aspire’. On other tracks, Fratti adds some prettiness, like on the evocative title track. Sometimes, Fratti adds her pretty voice as well – ‘Todo Puede Ser Error’ is pretty and relaxed.

It feels like a somewhat minor work in Fratti’s strong discography, but it’s fun hearing two distinctive instrumentalists combine on Almost Waking.