Sam Roberts' New Misstress

04/02/09 2:40pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Sam Roberts, Brazilian Girls and Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn And John are among those who appear on Montreal DJ Misstress Barbara's first album as a songwriter, I'm No Human, which will be released through MapleMusic in May.

Barbara (real name Barbara Bonfiglio) began working on the album after her father passed away in December 2006. After writing several poems, she began recording I'm No Human at her personal studio before moving to other facilities in Montreal and Los Angeles.

"I know [my father] would be very, very proud," Barbara says about the album. "He played guitar, violin, piano.

"I had tears in my eyes [while recording]. He would be so happy."

I'm No Human includes a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me To The End Of Love." Roberts appears on "I'm Running," while Yttling guests on "Is It OK" and Brazilian Girls can be found on album closer "Talk To Me."

You can hear four tracks from the album on Barbara's MySpace page.

Barbara shot a video for "I'm Running" with Roberts in Toronto last month. It was directed by Lisa Mann, and it sounds like the stars took the song's title quite literally.

"Sam and I literally ran for 12 hours, outside, in the cold," Barbara wrote in a March 19 MySpace blog entry. "And of course I ran in high heels... Ouch.

"I don't know how Sam felt the next day but I can say for myself that I really had a hard time walking. My whole body was sore. My legs from the running and my shoulders and neck and back from the stunts we did. But we really had a blast and we were happy we got to do a few stunts ourselves.

"Sam has been so kind and generous of his time, he had literally just got off 6 months straight of touring hardcore, and instead of being home and resting he came in Toronto to shoot a video and to run!! What a fun day!"

Barbara was born in Italy and moved to Montreal with her parents when she was eight. She was previousy an Air Cadet who learned to fly a Cessna airplane at 16. The Ducati motorcycle rider has travelled and performed as a DJ for 13 years.

You can see Barbara here:

April 3 Madrid, Spain @ Klubbers Day
April 4 Athens, Greece @ Shadow Club
April 30 Cordoba, Argentina @ Club Infierno
May 2 Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Pacha
May 22 New York, NY @ Cielo
June 5 Sofia, Bulgaria @ Club Escape
June 6 Glasgow, Scotland @ Colours Fest

Here are the songs on I'm No Human:

"I'm No Human"
"Is It OK"
"Dance Me To The End Of Love"
"Four On The Floor"
"Push Pull"
"Ouais"
"ETNA"
"J'Etais Une Fleur"
"I'm Running"
"Four Days Apart"
"Talk To Me"