Bartosz Brenes was born on July 25th 1989 in San José, Costa Rica. The son of a Polish mother and Costa Rican father, Brenes grew up in a household defined by cultural collisions as well as a nomadic lifestyle. His ability to find commonalities in different cultures and blend those perspectives with ease has characterized his work as a music producer since 2005, climbing up the ranks to become one of Central America’s top production talents.
Bartosz first discovered electronic music in Belgium, where he resided for eight years and began learning different production techniques. His time in Europe proved prolific; producing singles and remixes for Janelle Monáe feat. Erykah Badu, A-Trak & Dillon Francis and Boy George, that have since accrued millions of plays and topped radio and digital sales charts.
Brenes has taken his brand of electro house to stages spanning three different continents, sharing lineup credits with electronic music titans like Calvin Harris, Diplo and Skrillex. Operating under multiple aliases, he has released music with Spinnin’ Records (NL), Armin Van Buuren’s Armada Music (NL), Bob Sinclair’s Yellow Productions (FR) and Steve Aoki’s DIM MAK (US). He’s also received valuable props from artists like Knife Party and Tiësto, leading the latter to call him “a rising star.”
In 2012, Bartosz returned to Costa Rica to focus on building a Latin American audience. He began experimenting with new musical genres like funk and reggae as part of his project BETABOM where he collaborated with rapper Huba Watson and tropical indie band Cocofunka.
In 2016, he decided to consolidate his multitude of aliases under one name: Barzo. During this time Brenes pulled together his funk, hip-hop, electronic and afro-latin influences, transforming them into a colorful groove-focused sound that he began calling “Barztep.” Barzo accompanies his performances with a wide range of vocal samples and live musicians that complimented his multifaceted melodies.
That same year, Barzo published his debut EP “Albor”, highlighted in numerous national and international media outlets. Shortly after, he released his second EP “Brío”, following up on his first publication.
In 2017, Barzo co-wrote “Gran Ciudad”, the Latin Grammy nominated single by Costa Rican singer-songwriter Debi Nova. That same year he started the independent record label Lácteo Cósmico, where he has been able to put into practice his years of industry experience in music rights and artist management. The first title released under the newly founded banner was “VIA”, the debut album from Costa Rican rapper and label co-founder Nakury.
In 2018, Barzo collaborates once again with Debi Nova for “Paradise”, his first single and music video to receive heavy airplay in the region.
In 2019, he presented the single “Rize Again” in collaboration with Gary Nesta Pine, the renowned Jamaican artist and ex-vocalist of The Wailers. This lead him to perform in numerous shows across United States and Europe. Later that year, Barzo published the variegated LP “100% Barztep”, in line with his first two releases.
In 2020, Barzo released the singles “Electrified” (in collaboration with Un Rojo Reggae Band) and “All About My People” (featuring La Dame Blanche and El Individuo). That same year, he published his second full-length album titled “O”, in collaboration with fellow Costa Rican rapper Nakury.
In 2021, Barzo collaborated with Mexican singer/songwriter Pahua for their first joint single “Bahía”.