HIGH CONTRAST
Jun 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Kylee Swenson
As usual during the Winter Music Conference in Miami every March, it's hot as hell — especially for those pale-assed people used to milder climates. It's March 20, and just the week before, Miami hosted MTV's big spring break event with artists ranging from Sum 41 to Missy Elliott. Magically, after thousands of kids trashed the place, Miami managed to sweep up in time for 2003's WMC.
Lincoln Barrett, otherwise known as High Contrast, is out of his element in the mostly half-naked and hoochified atmosphere of South Beach. The Cardiff, Wales — which is not exactly known for its scorching sun — native is taking a break from his nonstop schedule of DJ gigs (from daytime pool parties to late-night club gigs and Remix's own outdoor Sunset Sessions event) to go shopping for records. It's a sweat farm outside, but inside Grooveman, dozens of conference attendees and DJs are enjoying the store's air conditioning and listening to the latest shipment of records.
Signed to Hospital Records in the UK and Breakbeat Science in the U.S., High Contrast's style of drum 'n' bass is highly energetic, funky and musical, as heard on his artist debut from 2002, True Colors. The collection of singles and new material hit the d 'n' b scene pretty hard this past year. As a result, he got a slew of remix work — including “Karma” from Adam F's Drum and Bass Warfare (System, 2003), a collection of drum 'n' bass remixes from F's 2001 album, Kaos.
In addition, DJ gigs have Barrett constantly hopping around the planet. “I have a hard time saying no,” he admits about the continual offers to spin. He is certainly a trouper. At WMC's grand finale, Ultra Music Fest, the sunny Sunday event suddenly became a windy downpour of rain during High Contrast's set. But while many took cover, Barrett and his Breakbeat Science cohorts kept going.
On the day of Barrett's trip to Grooveman, the store is packed, but he manages to find a pocket of space and flip through drum 'n' bass and house vinyl. As luck would have it, he also sidles up to a turntable right as it's vacated and checks out his stack of records, occasionally grimacing and slipping a record under the bottom of the stack. Grooveman's selection of drum 'n' bass is low at the time of Barrett's visit, and he already owns many of those records in stock. Fortunately, he is also a house and hip-hop head (which explains why he remixed “Karma,” featuring R&B singer Carl Thomas and Guru, Gang Starr's MC). So Barrett turns to the other side of the room and skims the hip-hop CDs on the wall, finding a few that he's been meaning to buy but never got around to getting.
Barrett's lifestyle doesn't fit in with the ballin', flossin' party vibe typically associated with hip-hop: He is a no-smoking, no-drug-taking, no-drinking, no-meat-eating kind of guy. “I wish I could find a non-drinking MC to work with,” he muses. “Someone I could really relate with.” So although uptempo drum 'n' bass is what you most often hear from High Contrast in a club, you never know what you'll get next from the 23-year-old — the hip-hop bug has definitely bit this DJ. Just please don't pass the Courvoisier.
CLIPSE
Lord Willin' (Star Trak)
This is the first album from The Neptunes' golden boys, released through The Neptunes' own label Star Trak — in keeping with their N*E*R*D moniker [as in nerds who dig Star Trek]! I'm a big fan of The Neptunes' productions and find their sound goes down well in d 'n' b sets. “When the Last Time,” the second single from this album, has been a fave of mine and got a rewind when I played it at Hospitality in London recently! I also love “Grindin'” — obviously — and a few other tracks do stand out. But on the whole, I preferred N*E*R*D's own album to this one, as the production was more experimental.
FRESH
Music Maker EP (Ram)
Dan Fresh, from the infamous Bad Company crew, comes with four solo cuts for Andy C's renowned label. Although people might not associate my sound with Ram or Bad Company, I always try to keep my sets broad. The tune “Without U” has a good balance of strings and vocals with a tougher bass line. I've also been championing Fresh's forthcoming tune on Metalheadz called “All Strung Out.” The other tracks on this EP are heavy dancefloor anthems, which, although I might not play them myself, I can certainly appreciate them and boogie down to them on the floor.
HOLDEN & THOMPSON
“Nothing” (Loaded)
I am also a big fan of house music, especially older tracks, the Chicago sound, et cetera. As you can probably tell, house influences my sound in d 'n' b quite a lot. I like to play the odd house set, too, when I get the chance. I love this track, and it's a favorite of Sasha's at the moment, too. It's a double-pack of mixes, the best one being the “'93 Returning Mix.” The track fuses the best elements of progressive and tech house with a classic house vibe and female vocals.
NAS
“Made You Look” (Columbia)
I've always been a fan of hip-hop, and I try to drop the odd joint into my d 'n' b sets. Last year, I was busting NORE's “Nothin',” and so far this year, it's been “Made You Look.” It uses the Apache break to brilliant effect and has the feel of a classic old hip-hop track before things got jiggy and fused with R&B. I myself am interested in getting a hip-hop project going. I've got quite a few tracks ready but need to find the right MC. Nas, you out there? Hook it up, baby!
PHOTEK
“The End RMX”/“Sidewinder” (Photek)
It's great to see Photek back in the d 'n' b scene again recently. His skillfully minimal yet rolling tunes feature some of the sharpest production around. Here, we have a remix of his anthem “The End,” which features house-vocalist legend Robert Owens. The flip is a darker, dubbier affair with pounding stabs and rough subs. Photek can do dark records without being noisy or too hard; he does it with a touch of class.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Plastic Surgery 4 EP, Part 1 (Hospital)
Four tasty cuts from my crew [Cyantific, “Neon Skyline,” DJ Lee & DKay “Touch,” Zed Bias, “Something About This,” Tomahawk “Until Dawn”]. Cyantific are a new signing to Hospital. Expect their album in Spring 2004. They've got a great sound fusing '80s synths with energetic drum 'n' bass. The DJ Lee & DKay track has been a favorite of Fabio for sometime and has a wicked garagey organ that drops in halfway through. Zed Bias is an artist known for his two-step breakbeat tracks, but here is one of his first drum 'n' bass tunes, and it's a really smooth roller with sweet male reggae vocals. Tomahawk drops his first Hospital tune here, and it's an uplifting and highly musical rollout tinged with some “amen” action. Releases like these make me glad to be part of the Hospital outfit.
Grooveman; 1543 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139; tel. (305) 535-6257; e-mail info groove1543@aol.com; Web www.groovemanmusic.com
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