Various Artists Fabriclive 25: High Contrast

• Words: Peter Nicholson
• Label: Fabric
• XLR8R Rating: /10

If you want pumping, melodic drum & bass, look no further-the man with the wispy brown afro is here to save the day. Hospital Records hotshot High Contrast follows up 2004‘s High Society with yet another stellar mix in the Fabriclive series. Much like High Contrast‘s own music, this set is at turns dramatic (London Elekticity‘s "Power Ballad"), uplifting (Logistic‘s "Life Rhythm"), and hands-in-the-air danceable (Danny Byrd‘s "Soul Function"). Thankfully, HC also gets down and dirty, with the breaks of Cyantific‘s "Ghetto Blaster" and the dissonant synths of Artificial Intelligence‘s "The Big Picture" nicely cutting the sweet, housey style of many tracks. Topping things off with rolling basslines from Blame and crisply chopped drums from Logistix, it‘s hard not to call this mix a classic.