She’s a licensed pilot with a degree in communication studies specializing in cinema, a passion for interior design and an unfulfilled childhood dream of becoming an actress. If she’s not riding her Ducati Monster 620 Dark motorcycle, snowboarding, indulging her passion and love for cooking and great food, she can be found DJing Techno at a packed nightclub in a cosmopolitan city somewhere around the globe.
She’s known internationally in the music industry as Misstress Barbara, an alias she concocted for herself by combining the words ‘miss’ with ‘stress’.
Born in 1975, this Sicilian-turned-Montrealer always knew she had a knack for producing evocative and innovative music. Growing up with a cultured musical palate that included salsa, bossa nova, foho, latino, pop and rock, Misstress Barbara fused her sharp melodic instincts with influences from these diverse genres and channeled the product into the electronic medium. Although notorious for her consistently “hard” beats, her music has evolved stylistically from a self-described “funky pumpin’ techno” vibe to one which she feels is more “groovy, techy and minimal”. The flavor of Misstress Barbara’s craft, however, is in perpetual motion as she continually pushes her own artistic boundaries in search of the next unique sound.
Kicking off her music career at age 12 as a drummer in local bands, Misstress Barbara immediately became absorbed by classic rock, punk and hard music. In 1994, her
discovery of the electronic music scene prompted her to toss her drumsticks, buy 2 turntables and a mixer and learn the art of DJing. In 1996, she scored her first booking and hasn’t looked back since. Over the years, Misstress Barbara has worked with several internationally acclaimed musicians, DJ’s, and record labels, has created her own label “ITURNEM”, and has licensed her music to the videogame and film industries. In 2001 Barbara received the SODEC prize at the annual MIMI’s (International Initiative Montreal's Music); as well as ‘Best Breakthrough Underground DJ’ at 2003’s UK Underground Music Awards
Consistent with the metamorphosis of her music, Misstress Barbara continues to challenge herself professionally by seeking out new vehicles for her music. At the beginning of 2007, the tragic passing of a close family member sparked yet another transformation; Misstress Barbara began to write and compile lyrics. Throughout all of 2007 she has worked diligently in her studio in Montreal to mold and shape the new direction she is heading. In 2008, the release of her first artist album will see Barbara step out from behind the turntables and in front of a microphone as she sings a majority of all the vocals, with collaborations from the likes of The Brazilian Girls, and many others. The addition of singer to her artistic resume is just another highlight to her already long list of achievements.
