Stress for success

Misstress Barbara's grace under pressure

By KRISTA

 "I've been traumatized by journalists!" Misstress Barbara has an exasperated tone as she reaches for her pint. We've met at Laika at the end of yet another long day of interviews and photo shoots for various publications seeking the inside scoop on the "female DJ of the moment." This latest onslaught is generated by the upcoming release of her first mix CD Relentless Beats, on the big-deal electronic label Moonshine. She handles all the added pressure with grace and poise, despite some recent not-so-happy interview experiences.

 "So," she asks, "what kind of questions do you have for me?" Uh-oh--jig's up. The truth is, I have arrived sans notebook of carefully thought-out questions. My strategy is to get the unedited Barbara, the "not in DJ mode" Barbara, the relaxed Barbara--if that's even possible.

 "I've been so uninspired lately and it sent me into this deep, one-day depression where I thought about selling my whole studio," she offers. I don't even have to prompt her with questions (note: strategy working). "I've just been so busy for that last three months, I haven't been able to get any work done that I'm really happy with and it's stressing me out."

 Barbara's hectic schedule won't be slowing anytime soon. With the launch of her CD comes a high-profile North American tour. Here's a question: Why did the current queen of underground techno decide to put out her debut mix CD on a semi-commercial house/trance label from L.A.?

 "It's true that Moonshine is kind of a commercial label, but they put out big compilations like the United DJs series with Mixer magazine, and aside from Carl Cox they haven't done any techno stuff. I think that they are trying to break from the 'rave' image and diversify, which is good. But it's not like it was an overnight decision. It took three months to do the contract because I wanted to use my designer and my vision--it had to be a mix of my image and theirs."

 The end result is a very Barbara, "high-class-kick-yo-ass" techno set complete with a diva sample at the beginning and end, pulled from a Prada clip. Although that was meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek, Barbara is quite serious when it comes to her image. "I used that because it's representative of me--I like to dress well and I always wear heels to play, even if I'm going to a dirty rave full of 10,000 people." :

 CD launch party at Jingxi on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 5 à7 and then some

 

With DJ Food and Dynamic Syncopation at Tokyo on Thursday, Jan. 25, 9pm, $15