Stark contrast

By Khalil Hegarty
December 10, 2004

There was a time when drum'n'bass was English dance music's great hope. Artists such as Goldie and Roni Size & Reprazent took the underground genre and sharpened it with a melodic edge, their soul and jazz-tinged sounds subsequently slashing their way across the world and catching the attention of music fans and critics. But something went awry.

The musical prowess disappeared, giving way to an aggressive, almost militant outlook. For the past few years English drum'n'bass has devolved into an angry, minimal beast that scowls at the uninitiated. Of course, there are exceptions. One of the few artists to maintain a strong and soulful attitude is High Contrast, aka Lincoln Barret."

Sometimes I go out and hear people play and wonder if I'm part of the same scene," says the softly spoken Welshman. "It's the complete opposite of what I aim for."

Indeed, Barret is unlike anyone producing drum'n'bass in Britain. His second album, High Society, hit the airwaves nearly two years after the phenomenal success of his 2002 debut, True Colours, but with no less impact. His musical tints have found him fans well beyond the blinkered visions of conventional drum'n'bass artists."

I try and find inspiration from everything except drum'n'bass," he says, "otherwise it's incestuous and you're just feeding off the music you're working in."

What's even more unusual about Barret is that the success of High Society has proven his worth as an album-based artist. Dance music has thrived on the success of singles throughout its short history. Occasionally an artist such as the Chemical Brothers will cross over into the pop realm, necessitating a long-player, but in underground circles it's unheard of."

Most drum'n'bass artists make singles on a bunch of different labels," he says bluntly. "I've just been with the one label and just done albums. With True Colours, (label) Hospital didn't really know what I could do or how fast I could work. I didn't have any experience making an album. They were just the tracks I happened to make and they all seemed to fit together. It wasn't a conscious effort."

Barret typically plays down his sound and his success. He distances himself from drum'n'bass, declaring he rarely listens to it "other than to pick tracks to play in my set". And he's adamant that him fitting into the genre is just a matter of convenience: "I have my own sound, and it seems to fit in with drum'n'bass."

But there's something to be said for isolation.

Barret's frizzy mop of hair and occasional sartorial style are worlds away from the minimal urban camouflage of the stereotypical dancemusic producer.

Growing up in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, Barret wasn't exposed to the rough'n'tumble halcyon days of rave. A relatively small and sleepy city, Cardiff is the kind of place where drum'n'bass is almost an aberration. As a film student, he was raised on a steady diet of cinema, and strobes and smoke machines were the last thing on his mind as a teenager. Even today, the city hasn't followed his lead and produced a crop of aspiring young junglists."

There isn't a drum'n'bass night every night of the week in Cardiff," he says. "I've been the first drum'n'bass artist to come from Wales who has made any mark on the scene. I've kind of had to do it off my own bat. I like being left to my own devices and get on with my own thought processes. It's mainly down to me and my personality, and being individual and focusing on what I want to do and not being concerned with trends and fitting in with other people."

High Contrast plays at the Prince of Wales, St Kilda, tonight.