What style does Barbossa play?

Afro house and latin house built on percussion, with excursions into more organic, deeper territory. His sets work both in club formats and on festival stages.

Does he also perform as a percussionist?

His career began with live percussion and that work remains part of his proposal. Tell us the format you need and we will propose the right configuration.

How do I request a date?

Write to us with the date, city, type of event, capacity, expected running times and the venue's equipment. We will reply with availability and a written proposal.

Barbossa joins PLAYNOW: Uruguayan candombe taken into afro house

PLAYNOW is pleased to announce that Barbossa has joined its roster. He is one of the longest-standing names in European afro and latin house, with a career that began behind a set of drums and now includes two albums, a label of his own and releases on CircoLoco Records, Nervous Records and MoBlack.

From Uruguayan candombe to the clubs of Madrid

Barbossa is Emiliano Haberli, born and raised in Uruguay, where candombe —one of the most recognisable Afro-descendant rhythms of the River Plate— is part of daily life. That background explains how he approaches percussion and, above all, where his career started.

Barbossa did not arrive at the booth from the booth. He moved to Europe in 2004 and entered the Madrid electronic scene playing live percussion. It was there that he met DJ Chus and played percussion on «El Amor» by Chus & Joeski, one of the records that defined the Spanish tribal sound of those years. The rhythmic reading that holds his sets together comes from that earlier work, not from a layer added later.

Sparrow & Barbossa: the project that took him international

In parallel he co-founded Sparrow & Barbossa with Swiss pianist Bryan Coletta. The duo describe themselves as «infamous Afro-Latin-House pirates», a statement of intent visible in both their artwork and their catalogue. These are the milestones that map their path:

2018. Debut with «Yeke», a reworking of the Mory Kanté classic, on Wired Records.
2020. A remix of Fatoumata Diawara's «Nterini» for MoBlack Records, plus releases on Cacao Records and Nervous Records.
2021. Debut album «Seven Seas» on Redolent Music, DJ Chus's label, featuring Idd Aziz, Josh Milan, Floyd Lavine, Cee ElAssaad, Mo' Horizons and Vinila von Bismark.
2023. Second album «Réciprocité», with a remix edition by Monkey Safari and Manoo, and «Champion» alongside Rampa.
2025. «You Go EP» on CircoLoco Records, the official remix of Modjo's «Lady (Hear Me Tonight)» and «Nterini 2.0» on Insomniac Records.

His music also appears on landmark compilations across the circuit, from Buddha-Bar to the annual MoBlack Gold editions.

Barbossa, Uruguayan afro house DJ and producer, official black and white portrait · PLAYNOW — Barbossa, official portrait.

Tortuga Records: his own editorial line

Since 2022 the project has had its own label, Tortuga Records, the space where the work that does not fit other people's schedules or formats is released. For an agency, an artist with a label is an artist with a calendar: he knows when he wants to release, with whom and why.

Percussion is not an added ingredient in his music: it is where everything else begins.
PLAYNOW

What he brings to the roster

Barbossa strengthens a line that is already recognisable within our roster: afro and latin house with genuine roots rather than a seasonal label. His profile suits three kinds of booking:

Clubs with curated programming, where a set can develop over time instead of relying on a single peak moment.
Festivals and large-format venues, where live percussion and original material become the point of difference.
Brands and private events looking for a warm, danceable proposal without giving up musical criteria.

How to book him

Barbossa is booked exclusively through PLAYNOW. Please provide the date, city, type of event, expected capacity and running times, and we will come back with availability, fee and the technical terms of the proposal. You will find his full biography, styles and links on Barbossa's profile, and you can write to us from the contact page.