Misstress Barbara

Born in Catania, Italy, and settled in Montreal from childhood, Misstress Barbara began her musical career as a drummer before turning to DJing in the mid-1990s. Active both as a producer and a DJ, she established herself on the techno and house scenes of Montreal, Europe and North America with a taut, percussive and physical club sound, sometimes leaning more toward house under the alias Barbara Brown. She founded the Relentless label in 1999 and Iturnem in 2003, and throughout the 2000s released EPs and maxi singles on labels such as Intec, Bedrock, Border Community and Tronic, as well as several mix compilations including Relentless Beats Vol. 1 (2001), Relentless Beats Vol. 2 (2002) and Come with Me... (2006). Her trajectory later shifted to a more personal, vocal-led format with the albums I’m No Human (2009) and Many Shades of Grey (2012), where pop and electronic songwriting took on greater prominence. Over her career Misstress Barbara has also collaborated with Christian Smith, Carl Cox, Sam Roberts, Bjorn Yttling and Brazilian Girls, while maintaining a steady output of DJ sets, productions and live performances.