| High Contrast | |
| Background: | non_performing_personnel |
| Birth Name: | Lincoln Barrett |
| Birth Date: | 1979 9, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales |
| Years Active: | 2000–present |
Lincoln Barrett (born 18 September 1979), better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album Confidential reached BPI gold certification (100,000 units sold in the UK).
Barrett was born in Penarth, near Cardiff, and grew up more interested in films and film soundtracks than rock or pop music; he cites Wendy Carlos's A Clockwork Orange soundtrack album and the Vangelis soundtrack for Blade Runner as defining musical influences. Whilst studying film making in Newport, he heard J Majik's Arabian Nights which turned the then 17-year-old Barrett on to drum and bass music. Barrett used to work in Cardiff's only electronic record shop, Catapult. A short time after he began to make music, he was given a DJ residency at Cardiff's drum and bass night, named Silent Running. During his residency at Silent Running, Barrett played alongside artists such as Grooverider and London Elektricity.
In June 2002, Barrett's debut album, True Colours, was released on Hospital Records, with "Return of Forever" and "Global Love" finding their way into the UK Singles Chart.[1] His second album was High Society.
On 6 April 2003, High Contrast was featured on the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix show. His mix included liquid funk mostly from the Hospital Records label. On 9 January 2005, this Essential Mix was replayed on Radio 1 when another drum and bass artist, Andy C, was unable to deliver his mix. In October 2005, Barrett launched his own record label, The Contrast. The first single, "Days Go By" / "What We Do" was released in early November 2005.[2]
In 2007, he delivered his second effort, selected as "Essential Mix of the Year" by Pete Tong.[3] His third album Tough Guys Don't Dance was released in October 2007. The second single from the album, "If We Ever", was supported on Radio 1 by Annie Mac, Zane Lowe and Jo Whiley helping it to reach number 1 in the DnB chart, number 1 in the dance chart and number 4 in the Indie chart.
In 2008, High Contrast remixed the #1 single "No Way to Say" for Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki's remix album, . He also made successful remixes of "Hometown Glory" by Adele and "Pjanoo" by Eric Prydz, which were later included on the album, Confidential. He played them during his take over for the Rob Da Bank show on BBC Radio 1 in January 2009.
He played at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Barrett currently is a resident DJ at the following clubs: Aperture at Clwb Ifor Bach (The Welsh Club) in Cardiff; and at Roxy in Prague. He was also on regular rotation at Fabric in London.
High Contrast played a key role in selecting and producing the music for the Athletes Parade at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Half a dozen tracks by High Contrast were played and are present in the event's official soundtrack, Isles of Wonder.
In July 2014, High Contrast's new single with Clare Maguire "Who's Loving You" was announced. A double release, 'Part 2'[4] was Special Delivery on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show,[5] followed by 'Part 1'[6] as "Hottest Record in the World" for Zane Lowe.[7]
In 2015, he remixed the R&B track "Muhammad Ali" by the group Faithless. The same year, the mix was included in the group's '2.0' remix album release, and also incorporated into the second half of their live performances of the song.
He signed with 3Beat in April 2016 and released his first single on the label, "Remind Me".[8]
In 2017, a new song, titled "Shotgun Mouthwash", was featured on the T2 Trainspotting soundtrack.
High Contrast's remix of "The One" by Jorja Smith was Nominated for a Grammy at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards[9]
On 13 November 2020, he released the album titled Notes From The Underground.[10]
On 24 June 2022, he followed up with the album titled True Colours for the first time on his own label Highly Contrasting.[11]
On 23 February 2024, he released a single with two songs Anti/Thesis Vol. 1.[12]
His father, Paul "Legs" Barrett, used to manage Shakin' Stevens. His mother, Lorraine Barrett, was the Welsh Assembly member for Cardiff South and Penarth until May 2011.
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [15] | ||||
| 2001 | "Make It Tonight" / "Mermaid Scar" | — | True Colours | |
| "Passion" / "Full Intention" | — | |||
| 2002 | "Return of Forever" | — | ||
| "Global Love" | 68 | |||
| 2003 | "The Basement Track" | 65 | High Society | |
| 2004 | "Twilight's Last Gleaming" | 74 | ||
| "Angels and Fly" (featuring NoLay) | — | |||
| "Racing Green" / "St. Ives" | 73 | |||
| 2005 | "When the Lights Go Down" / "Magic" | — | rowspan="2" | |
| "Days Go By" / "What We Do" | — | |||
| 2007 | "Everything's Different" / "Green Screen" | — | Tough Guys Don't Dance | |
| "If We Ever" / "Pink Flamingos" | — |
| ||
| "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" / "Forever and a Day" | — | |||
| 2011 | "The First Note Is Silent" (featuring Tiësto and Underworld) | 48 | The Agony and the Ecstasy | |
| 2012 | "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (featuring Selah Corbin) | — | ||
| "The Road Goes On Forever" | — | |||
| 2013 | "Spectrum Analyser" / "Some Things Never Change" | — | rowspan="3" | |
| 2014 | "Who's Loving You" (featuring Clare Maguire) | — | ||
| 2016 | "How Love Begins" (with DJ Fresh featuring Dizzee Rascal) | 58 | ||
| "Remind Me" | — |
| Night Gallery | |
| 2017 | "Shotgun Mouthwash" | — | ||
| "Questions" (featuring Boy Matthews) | — | |||
| "The Beat Don't Feel the Same" (featuring Boy Matthews) | — | |||
| "Save Somebody" (featuring Callum Beattie) | — | |||
| 2018 | "God Only Knows" | — | rowspan="2" | |
| 2019 | "Days Go By (2019)" | — | ||
| "Going Up" | — | Notes from the Underground | ||
| "Snare the Blame" | — | |||
| 2020 | "Time is Hardcore" (featuring Kae Tempest and Anita Blay) | — | ||
| "Rhythm is Changing" (featuring LOWES) | — | |||
| 2021 | "Met Her at a Dance in Leicester" (featuring UK Apache and Ady Suleiman) | — | ||
| "Bourgeious Imagery" (with Alan Fitzpatrick) | — | Machine Therapy | ||
| "Don't Need You" (with Bou) | — | |||