Returning in 2012 with his fourth artist album, The Agony & The Ecstasy, Lincoln Barrett a.k.a High Contrast is set to reinstate his reputation among the greats with this masterful twelve-track opus. Considered by some to be the godfather of Liquid DnB, High Contrast had some high expectations to fill with this album, and in my eyes he vastly exceeded all of them.

Featuring an extensive range of collaborators, from established worldwide superstars such as Tiesto and Underworld to up-and-coming fresh new talent like Med School, signing Lung and Jessy Allen, this truly is an album of contrasts. Grab your copy on iTunes or the Hospital Records Shop if you haven’t already.

I had the honor of being able to correspond with the man himself for some good ‘ol Q&A, and I humbly present to you the result:

Lincoln,

I first want to say that I have been a fan for a long time, and I really like what I’ve heard from the new album. It reminds me of Hybrid in their prime, if they made Liquid Funk – Your melodies are very deep and smooth while maintaining an infectious rhythmic intensity. Pretty much exactly what I’ve come to expect from your extensive track record.

1. Do you remember what was it about the UK Jungle scene that originally drew you in?

Jungle sounded like nothing else I had ever heard, it’s originality definitely grabbed my attention. And there was a very powerful atmosphere that came across in the music and in the clubs that I can’t really put in to words but that I deeply connected with.

2. How would you describe your experience emceeing for Grooverider as ‘Mondo Kane’

Ha! I think I kept the emceeing to a minimum knowing Rider was not a massive fan of MCs at the best of times.

3. After playing Coachella and touring the states, what were your impressions of the

American EDM scene?

The EDM scene today seems in a very good place, much stronger than when I first came to the US about ten years ago. It was totally dominated by house back then whereas now theres a good mix of styles all playing alongside each other.

4. Have you considered pursuing a career in video production?

I’m more interested in pursuing feature film production as that’s been a passion of mine since I was a kid. I hope to be able to find a balance between my love of music and films in the future.

5. How did you react when Missy Elliot asked you to remix ‘We Run This’?

That was a real buzz for me as I’d been a huge fan of Missy for years. I would love to produce an original track for her too one day.

6. When you released ‘Confidential’ in 2009 you said you wanted it to be a sort of

benchmark in your progress as a producer. Can you tell us how your style has evolved

since then?

I think the new album reflects how my style has evolved whilst still hopefully retaining the core of my trademark sound. I didn’t use any samples on the new album which is in direct contrast to my previous output and I also wrote the lyrics for a number of tracks something I had not done before but found very satisfying.

7. Is ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ just a collection of your current tracks, or did you have a

particular goal in mind before you put it together?

I always try to make a albums a cohesive, singular work rather than just a collection of random tunes and I believe the new album is the most cohesive one I’ve made so far. I wanted each track to feel like a different scene in the same movie.

9. What can we expect from you on the horizon?

I feel there’s still plenty I want to say within the genre of dnb but would also like to branch out into other genres as well. I’m also intrigued with mixing visuals during my dj sets so that’s pre-occupying me at the moment.

Been in Florida my whole life nurturing a love for all beats that break. Never released a track, but I’ve been producing for nearly 15 years and playing out as a DJ for at least 8. I ran Floridub.com on the side (until godaddy stole it form me) and also write for NuSkoolBreaks.co.uk as well as FloridaBreaks.org and Breaksculture.com. You can catch me mixing on the award-winning NSB Radio station every Tuesday night 8-10pm (EST).

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