Misstress Barbara
The Canadian DJ clashes with Ken Ishii

Courtesy of Ageha

Along with artists like Germany’s Ellen Allien, Canada’s Misstress Barbara (“Miss” + “Stress” refers to her lifestyle) holds the rarefied status of being one of the few female techno DJs who can make a living off her craft. Since debuting a decade ago, the Italian-born resident of Montreal has carved out a position of credibility for herself with sets that range from hard techno to more groovy and minimalist sounds, as well as a succession of solid tracks off her own Iturnem label.

But don’t refer to Barbara as “one of the world’s most successful female DJs”; she says she’d rather be number 15 on the list of the world’s top 15 than number 1 on the female ranking—and that she’s had enough of both macho men and catty women. “I’ve also been to places where they’ve never seen a girl DJ before, so they actually forget to dance and just stand there and look at me, like in the Philippines,” she said in a recent interview. “You don’t know if they actually think you’re shit and they’re bored or if they’re just amazed you’re a girl.”

Barbara, who faces off against domestic techno veteran Ken Ishii in a collaboration between Ageha’s Clash parties and his own Standard events, also doesn’t mince words about the trend among DJs toward CDs and laptops. “Seeing a DJ behind a laptop for two hours makes me think he’s chatting on MSN,” she says. “Now most people don’t want to carry vinyl because they think it’s too heavy. How many thousands of dollars do they get paid, and you’re telling me it’s easier to carry CDs? C’mon, that’s lazy and boring. It’s beautiful to see vinyl turning on a turntable…”

Meanwhile, bright young light of Japan’s house scene Kentaro Takizawa has a new disc. Producing his own tracks by junior high, 26-year-old Takizawa already has three albums and remixes for J-pop divas Ayumi Hamasaki and Double under his belt.

Following quickly on last year’s Gradual Life, Heart to Heart treads the lighter side of house, with vocal contributions by Lisa Shaw on the appropriately named “Can’t Stop” and Arvin Homa Aya on the jazz-inflected “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” While many have moved on to hard house, deep house and tech-house, etc, Takizawa’s music shows that some are still happy to simply play “house.”

Catch the DJ at one of his various Tokyo residencies, including regular appearances behind the decks at Loop and Yellow.

Clash27 x Standard8@Ageha, Oct 20. Heart to Heart is available on Flower Records. See club listings for details.

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