This month, Italian bassist and composer Giulia Valle will record her third live album with the Giulia Valle Group.

An established figure on the Spanish jazz scene, the Barcelona-based artist makes an impression with her electric stage presence and avant-garde compositions.

So far, she has released eight albums with various ensembles and toured jazz festivals across Europe and North America. We caught up with her in her Poble-sec studio ahead of this month’s live recording.

“As a woman, it’s been much harder for me to prove myself,” she said. “Not because of the musicians, who have always welcomed anyone with talent, but because of the bookers. Here in Barcelona I’m well-known, but in other places they ask me to play in all-girl bands, as if my gender were the main attraction.”

Instead, Valle’s main appeal is undeniably the atmosphere she creates on stage and her pure connection with the other band members. She leads several projects of varying sizes—including the Giulia Valle Trio and the Giulia Valle Group—which, as a bassist, is fairly unorthodox.