- Not long after his rock-solid LP ‘High Society’ in 2004, High Contrast – the young Welshman known to his mum as Lincoln Barrett – blew up as a top-billed heavy of drum ‘n bass, right alongside Andy C, DJ Zinc, and Goldie. A seminal ‘FabricLive’ (25, to be exact) and remixes for artists as varied as Missy Elliott, Basement Jaxx, Kanye West and Imogen Heap have filled the time between then and now, making it impossible to guess what a new production would sound like.
Luckily, his trademark style of DnB is still very much alive. Laden with cinematic strings, mournful soul vocals, and an extra punchy drum loop, ‘Everything is Different’ is instantly recognizable as a High Contrast track even for first-time listeners. Everything’s not different, as it turns out, as this could have easily sandwiched into the ‘High Society’ lineup way back when without making a fuss. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
‘Green Screen’, however, is very much of the here and now, reflecting both Barrett’s recent rap remixes and the emerging dubstep movement. The backbone of the track is built around a call-and-response bass wobble vs. synth doodle that sounds strangely like dialing a phone number. The bridge evokes dubstep at its most minimal until bringing in a high-frequency meltdown offset by some sort of…Middle-Eastern flute thing? Hard to tell, but whatever it is it’s damn catchy – ‘Green Screen’ is the type of track you hate when you hear it the first time at a show, but then can’t get out of your head for the rest of the week.
Two wildly different tracks in the end, but both ‘Everything is Different’ and ‘Green Screen’ still hold up to High Contrast’s lofty production standards. This EP will do well to tide over fans until his next LP drops later this year.
TracklistA Everything Is Different
B Green Screen