A sign of the vigorous musical flow that is taking place in Latin America, the duo of Mabe Fratti and Héctor Tosta are one of the brightest crystals of recent times. Skilled in the deconstruction of structures, each one’s work is, in itself, a reflection of a contagious poetic restlessness. They made their debut a couple of years ago with Vidrio, an aesthetically visionary and deeply honest album, where Polaroid songs found new tones in the soft light of jazz silhouettes—and beyond. The articulation of ideas and sounds precedes a structuring spontaneity that allows them to reach so many places and always in a distinctive way. There is a solid mastery of the languages of folk, electronic, and rock in a timeless nature that makes surprise a constant factor.

HAGEN takes another step towards Titanic’s open future. A new album that brings admiration for luminous arrangements and delivers pop expressiveness without detours or concessions. They will sound more familiar and closer due to their melodic sensibility or their impossible-to-hide confessional lyrics; but the exploratory curiosity that runs through the identities of the duo from Mexico and Guatemala is revealed here with a mastery that allows for other directions. They share the sonic bittersweetness we hear in Juana Molina or Deerhoof, with Fratti’s cello soaring high above the rhythmic webs that Tosta delicately weaves between micro-doses of psychedelia. With a production attentive to vocal possibilities and the role of silence as a cathartic element, an unusual palette of colors flourishes—at times approaching the emotional bareness of traditional rancheras. And because this possible cartography is extensive, HAGEN reveals itself from different perspectives with each listen. This is an album that deserves time to deliver its progressive wonder.

Anyone who has seen Mabe Fratti in the past will understand that the beauty of these things is revealed in a greater dimension when shared with an audience. Now, and for the first time here in this joint entity, the testimony is due.
NA

Porto, 1999
Cellist, composer, and improviser, Bruna de Moura breaks away from any musical genre. She is mainly influenced by the physicality and sound of her instrument. She travels from experimental to classical, reaffirming our Arab-Iberian heritage. After almost a decade playing and participating in various bands and multidisciplinary performances on the national artistic scene, she is now beginning her solo career.