Dieselboy was born Damian Higgins in Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1972. At the age of six he moved to Colorado City, Colorado, where he and his two sisters were raised by their mother. He moved with his family to Oil City, Pennsylvania, on the third day of school in the 9th grade, and is a graduate of Oil City Senior High School.
He is the eldest son of singer/songwriter Bertie Higgins whose ballad Key Largo reached #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1982.
Higgins's early musical experience included playing drums in a school marching band and DJing for high school dances.
Higgins attended the University of Pittsburgh from 1990 to 1995 where he gained additional DJing experience,[2] and completed a degree in information science.[3] He also played on a Carnegie Mellon University radio station (WRCT).[citation needed] The name Dieselboy originated from Higgins's IRC handle, "Diesel". Upon discovering a local graffiti artist shared the alias, he "made it Dieselboy."[4]
Career
Early career
In 1994, Higgins created a mixtape entitled "The Future Sound of Hardcore," and sold about 100 copies through online LISTSERVs. "Through [the mixtape], people heard about me and I started getting bookings on the East Coast. It was a very slow process that eventually snowballed into my getting flown various places." In 1996, at the request of Dan Donnelly of British Drum and bass label Suburban Base, Dieselboy did a mix called "DrumAndBass Selection USA". In 1997, Suburban Base had him follow up with 97 Octane, this time allowing him to submit track suggestions, resulting in a more varied selection. In 1998, his mix called 611 DJ Mix-series Vol. One was released. Dieselboy did the graphics for the cover. Also that year, Dieselboy recorded a mix called Director’s Cut which he had packaged in film cans, his first experiment in presenting a dance mix in a quasi-cinematic framework.[citation needed]
In 1998, Dieselboy initiated Philadelphia's first 21+ drum 'n' bass weekly Thursday club night entitled "Platinum" at club Fluid, which ended on October 14, 2004.[5] Platinum residents included Dieselboy, Kaos, Method One, Sine, Icon, Karl K, Mason, and MC's Dub2, Messinian, Armanni Reign, Sharpness, and Illy Emcee. It was rekindled in late 2009 featuring Mason, Sine and MC's Messinian & Sharpness.[6]
In 1999, Dieselboy released his fourth mix CD, "A Soldier's Story" on the Moonshine label. It opened with his first original “intro” and marked his CD debut as a producer with Atlantic State, a track co-produced with Technical Itch. Also released on the Moonshine label was System Upgrade (2000) while Dieselboy joined forces with Palm Pictures/Island Recordings and his releases The Descent, Invid, Render. The 6ixth Session was a double CD release on Palm Pictures, featuring a cyborg-themed mix described by the Washington Post as “hard-edged hyperdriven dance music". [citation needed]
In a 2000 interview with JIVE Magazine, Dieselboy discussed his roots and the rising popularity of drum and bass music, "Well, when I started playing there wasn't drum and bass per say[sic], but I was playing stuff that was prototype drum and bass, stuff that led up to it, like early break beat and it was called dark side which is like fast dark breakbeat. I couldn't have predicted it, I definitely wanted it to become more popular, my goal was to get more people into it and open up the scene a little bit. I hold onto my goal on that...I wouldn't have predicted that it was going to be where it is, that [DNB] would be in commercials or that I was going end up DJ-ing so much."[7]
Dieselboy is represented by agencies Corson Agency (USA) and RVLT Agency (Europe) for booking.[8][9]
Creative career
In January 2022, Dieselboy founded "Destroyer Design", a graphic design agency.[10][11] Dieselboy began his design journey in 1991, has a background in both DJing and graphic design.[10][12] During the pandemic, he transitioned to launch Destroyer, offering design, creative direction, and branding services. The agency's portfolio includes work for various restaurants and bars, with clients like Bonnie’s, Win Son, Rolo’s, Cozy Royale, The Meat Hook, Mischa, Empellon Al Pastor, Empellon Taqueria, Nura, Variety Coffee (NYC), The Far Out Lounge (AUSTIN), Point Easy, Hop Alley (DENVER), Kinn (LOS ANGELES), Adroit Theory (VA), and more.[10][11]
In July 2018, Dieselboy co-founded a streetwear company called Death Saves, specializing in metal and fantasy-themed apparel, in collaboration with actor Joe Manganiello.[13][11] Dieselboy served as the Design Director for Death Saves.[13]
Destroyer 2 featured Corey Burton, a voiceover artist, for the intro vocals. Awakening marked Dieselboy's first and only collaboration with members of Planet Of The Drums.[14]
Dieselboy has been involved in various clothing collaborations, including work with NEO4IC (formerly Damascus Apparel) in San Diego.[15]
Human Imprint
On August 13, 2023, Dieselboy hosted his inaugural drum and bass event in NYC, named "BIG DRUM AND BASS PARTY", in collaboration with promotion company Driven AM.[16][17][18]
Dieselboy released his 93-track, 87-minute mix "Dieselboy – The Destroyer" on August 5, 2014. The mix and its art incorporate the aesthetics of his 2014 tour as Blood, Sweat and Bass with bass music producer Downlink and 1970s exploitation films. It includes a new collaboration with drum and bass producer Gridlok called "MDMX," and three tracks by Faces of Def, a new collaborative project between Dieselboy and Mark the Beast ["Blvck Celebration" with Counterstrike (SubHuman); "Carcosa" with Mayhem and Downlink (SubHuman); remix of "Tuh Tuh Duh" by Sinister Souls (PRSPCT)].[19]
On January 31, 2014, Dieselboy and bass music artist Downlink teamed up to launch a DJ touring project known as BLOOD, SWEAT AND BASS.[20][21][22] Over the years, they've conducted five successful tours across the United States and Canada. These tours have included various support artists, such as Apashe, Craze, Justin Hawkes, KJ Sawka, Ajapai, and more.[21]
On January 31, 2011, Dieselboy released his first new mix in two and a half years, "Dieselboy – Unleashed!", as a free download on SoundCloud.[23][24] He also performed with Skrillex.[25] In 2012 he released the mix "Wake The Dead" on SoundCloud.[26] On May 23, 2013, Dieselboy's mix "Beyond the Black Bassline" was released by Skrillex's then new NEST HQ website.
In May 2008, Dieselboy released his ninth major mix-CD Substance D (Human Imprint),[27] which reached the Billboard Dance/Electronic album chart.[28] In conjunction with this release, Dieselboy initiated the "Monsters of Jungle" tour with rotating Human Imprint label artists including Evol Intent, Ewun, Demo, Mayhem, SPKTRM, Infiltrata and MC Messinian.
In 2006, Dieselboy released his first Human Imprint compilation called "The HUMAN Resource". Disc One Selected Works, is a 12-song un-mixed selection. Disc Two Evol Intent Assemble the Monster features a continuous DJ-mix from Evol Intent.[29]
In the summer of 2000, Dieselboy contributed to the formation of the drum and bass DJ crew called "Planet of the Drums", alongside AK1200, DJ Dara, and MC Messinian.
SubHuman
In July 2009, Human Imprint parted amicably from System Recordings. In summer 2010, Human relaunched with Steve Gordon of Steez Promo and Circle Management as new co-owner with Dieselboy, and they created the SubHuman for dubstep and electro releases.[30]
On New Year's Eve 2009 headlining a 3D Productions event at Club 24 in Washington, D.C., Dieselboy played a three-hour multi-subgenre set including drum and bass, dubstep and electro. The enthusiastic crowd response encouraged him to continue experimenting with this new open format into 2010. In January 2013 Dieselboy started playing all drum and bass sets again.[citation needed]
Culinary career
In 2014, Dieselboy's passion for food advanced beyond writing about it for the James Beard Award-winning FirstWeFeast.com blog, into professional kitchens.[31] He cooked a sold-out collaboration dinner with respected chefs Matt McCallister and Alex Stupak at FT33 restaurant in Dallas on June 9, 2014.[32][33] Dieselboy competed in a nacho battle against chef Alex Stupak at Empellón Cocina in New York in February 2013, which he lost.[34] He came back to face off against chefs Alex Stupak, Michael Anthony, Wylie Dufresne and Seamus Mullen in February 2014, beating Mullen.[35]
In November 2014, Dieselboy's cooking was featured at his first "pop-up" event called "Burger Night with Dieselboy" at the Groningen, Netherlands restaurant De Boom, preceding his DJ performance at Subsonic nightclub. In January 2015, another pop-up hamburger event took place at P60 cafe in Amstelveen, Netherlands as a prelude to his DJ gig at the P60 club.
In 2012, Dieselboy was a co-presenter with mixologist Jim Meehan (PDT, New York City) and chef/designer Taavo Somer at the Origins and Frontiers mixology workshop at the 7th Annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress in New York City.[37] Dieselboy's cocktail "The Higgins" is published in The New York Times' cocktail writer Robert Simonson's 2014 book The Old-Fashioned (Ten Speed Press).
Dieselboy collaborated with Betony restaurant chef Bryce Shuman on a limited edition hot dog as part of a monthlong "musicians and chefs" special menu at the New York City cocktail lounge PDT in May 2015.[38] On August 9, 2015 as part of the Moonrise Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, Dieselboy and The Glitch Mob hosted a Taco Party for contest winners.
Awards and recognition
Dieselboy placed #23 in the 2014 America's Best DJ Poll, up 19 from the previous year's #42, between Moby and BT.[39] Dieselboy was the highest ranked drum & bass DJ (#45) in the 2008 DJ Times America's Best DJ Poll.
On February 12, 2012 in accepting his Grammy for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, Skrillex (Sonny Moore) ended his comments quoting Dieselboy as saying "All the boats rise with the water."[40]
In 1998, Dieselboy was the first American drum & bass DJ to be nominated for Best Drum & Bass DJ at the Global DJ Mix Awards, tying with LTJ Bukem.
Personal life
Dieselboy has a son with his ex-partner Jackie Carnesi, born in 2018.[41][42]
Discography
Mix compilations
Drum And Bass Selection USA (CD) – Suburban Base (Moonshine) (11/11/1996)
Mixed by Dieselboy 01. Macca featuring Tempo – Everyday 02. Ill Figure – Jam Hot 03. The Dream Team – Rollin' Numbers (The Joker Remix) 04. Rude Bwoy Monty – Steppa Style 05. Remarc – In Da Hood 06. The Dream Team – Raw Dogs (Re-Lick) 07. Shy FX – Funkindemup 08. DJ Nut Nut – Now Listen 09. Dope Skillz – 6 Million Ways 10. 45 Roller – Shotz 11. Pascal – Reality 12. Marvellous Cain – Da Power 13. Ed Rush – Check Me Out 14. Undercover Agent – Dub Plate Circles 15. Apollo 13 – Let It Roll 16. Pascal – Movin' On
97 Octane (CD) – Moonshine (1997)
Mixed by Dieselboy 01. D'Cruze (feat. Shelly Nelson) – Land Speeder 02. IQ Collective – Mode 1 03. Shimon & Andy C – Night Flight 04. The Dream Team – Switch 05. Swoosh – Ya Rockin' 06. Substance – L.F.Ant 07. The Joker – Punx 08. Ill Figure – Style 09. Swift – Twisted 10. Swift – Analogue 11. Future Forces Inc – Synthesis 12. Decoder – Twister
13. M.T.S. – Instigator
Sixeleven DJ Mixseries, Vol. 1 (CD) – Sixeleven (611) Records (1997)
Mixed by Dieselboy 01. Hoax – The More I See You (Urban Flavour Remix) 02. D.T. – Serious 03. E-Z Rollers – Tough At The Top (Origin Unknown Remix) 04. Concept 2 – Unlock The Secrets 05. Dom & Matrix – Footsteps 06. Facs – Rupture v 07. Technical Itch – Hidden Sound (Dom & Roland Remix) 08. Solar Nine – Audio Distortion 09. Embee – The Power 10. Secret Methods – Animation 11. Swift – Mission 12. Decoder & Mark Caro – EKO 13. Decoder – Dhr 14. The Vagrant – Space Boogie
15. Sharp Scientific – Stratocruiser
A Soldier's Story (CD) – Moonshine (1999)
Mixed by Dieselboy 01. Dieselboy – Intro: Precautionary Procedure 02. Konflict – The Beckoning 03. Usual Suspects & Fierce – Sawn Off 04. DJ Friction – Photon (Remix) 05. Future Cut & Marcus Intalex – Plastic 06. Technical Itch – Deception 07. Technical Itch – Stack 08. Moving Fusion – Sexdrive 09. Jonny L – The Bells 10. Usual Suspects & Loxy – Stalker 11. Vertigo – The Drained 12. Danny Breaks – Dissonance 13. Peshay – Vegas 14. Kosheen – Yes Men (Decoder Remix) 15. Technical Itch & Dieselboy – Atlantic State
16. Decoder – BS9
System Upgrade (CD) – Moonshine (2000)
Mixed by Dieselboy 01. Dieselboy – Loading Program 02. Ram Trilogy – Mindscan (Ed Rush & Optical Remix) 03. E-Sassin – Symptom 04. Hive – Ultrasonic Sound (Dillinja Remix) 05. Biostacis – Brain Hack 06. Dom & Roland – Can't Punish Me 07. Decoder – Road Rage 08. Future Cut – Overload 09. Kemal & Rob Data – Konspiracy (VIP Mix) 10. Kraken – Side Effects (Stakka & Skynet Remix) 11. Dieselboy – The Descent (Decoder Remix) 12. Jonny L – Selecta 13. Decoder – Dumb! 14. Facs & B-Key – Antics 15. Technical Itch – Deadline 16. Bad Company – Sentient
17. Absolute Zero & Subphonics – The Code (Usual Suspects VIP Mix)
Disc One (mixed by Dieselboy) 01. "Initialize" – Dieselboy vs. Atlantiq 02. "The Messiah" – Kemal & Rob Data 03. "Heavy Metal" – Technical Itch 04. "Nanobugs" – Signal to Noise 05. "Bios Fear" – Underfire vs. Negative 06. "Homicide" – Future Cut & Futurebound 07. "Shrapnel (Stakka & Skynet Remix)" – Usual Suspects 08. "Firewire" – Andy C & Shimon 09. "Toxin" – )EIB( 10. "Invid (E-Sassin VIP)" – Dieselboy 11. "The Descent (Phunckateck VIP) – Dieselboy 12. "Pusher" – Technical Itch 13. "Eclipse" – Loxy & Dylan 14. "Plimsoul VIP" – Facs & C-Key 15. "Space Age Remix" – Teebee 16. "Dominion" – Dylan 17. "Solarize" – J Majik Disc Two Dieselboy – Invid Dieselboy – Render Dieselboy – The Descent Dieselboy – Invid (E-Sassin VIP)
Dieselboy – The Descent (Phunckateck Communications VIP)
projectHUMAN (2xCD) – Human Imprint Recordings (2002)
Disc 1 (Mixed by Dieselboy) 01. Dieselboy & Joshua Ryan – Genesis 02. Optical & Ryme Tyme – Shapecharge 03. Styles Of Beyond – Subculture (Dieselboy & Kaos VIP Mix) 04. Funk Parlor – Something For The Dancefloor (Stakka & Skynet Remix) 05. Stratus – You Must Follow (Dieselboy & Kaos Remix) 06. Stakka & Skynet (feat. DJ Friction) – Altitude (Ryme Tyme & Fierce VIP Mix) 07. Dylan & Ink – California Curse (Technical Itch Remix) 08. Billy Lo – Carjackers (Ram Trilogy Remix) 09. Robbie Rivera – Harder & Faster (Weapon & E-Sassin Remix) 10. Kemal & Rob Data – Hostile 11. Usual Suspects & Loxy – Stalker (Danny C Remix) 12. Rob & Goldie – The Shadow (Hive VIP Mix) 13. Dom & Roland – Soundwall (VIP Mix) 14. Dom & Optical – Quadrant 6 (E-Sassin VIP Mix) 15. Rascal & Klone – Terminal Velocity 16. Technical Itch – Reborn (Weapon Remix) 17. Bad Company – Mind Games 18. Dieselboy & Joshua Ryan – Revelations
Disc 2 01. Stratus – You Must Follow 02. Styles Of Beyond – Subculture (Dylan & Ink Remix) 03. Decoder – Tension (Usual Suspects Remix) 04. Hive – Surreal Uncut (TeeBee Remix) 05. Joshua Ryan – Pistolwhip (Stratus Remix)
06. Danny Breaks – The Bear (Universal Project Remix)
DJ World Series: D & B From The United States (CD) – DJ Magazine (2003)
Mixed by Dieselboy 0 Intro 01. Kaos, Karl K & Jae Kennedy* – Vice 02. Stratus – You Must Follow (Dieselboy & Kaos Remix) 03. Kaos, Karl K & Jae Kennedy* – Rush 04. Ecco & Sabotage* – House Music 05. DJ Rap & Danny C – The Riff 06. Kaos, Karl K & Jae Kennedy* – Soul On Fire 07. Juju – Salty Dub 08. Mason (2) & D.Star* – Zerosum Breakout 09. Black Sun Empire – Smoke (Sinthetix Remix) 10. Hive & Juju – Ghettobird 11. Bad Company – Mass Hysteria (Hive Remix) 12. Kaos, Karl K & Jae Kennedy* – Moonraker 13. Bad Company – Grunge 3 (Dieselboy, Kaos & Karl K Remix) 14. Hive & Echo – Death Valley Additional Track Hints 01. Kaos, Karl K & Jae Kennedy – Houston 02. Hive -Neo
03. Kaos, Karl K & Jae Kennedy – Athenaeum
The Dungeonmaster's Guide (2xCD) – Human Imprint Recordings (2004)
Disc One (mixed by Dieselboy) 01. "Prologue" – Dieselboy 02. "End of the World" – Cartridge 03. "Accelerate" – Break 04. "Soul on Fire (Concord Dawn Remix)" – Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy 05. "White" – Basic Operations 06. "The Hand (Dungeonmaster's Exclusive)" – Tech Itch 07. "Infection (E-Sassin Remix)" – Raiden 08. "Immortal (Kaos + Karl K Remix" – Sasha 09. "Evil Acid (Gridlok Remix)" – Wink 10. "Follow the Leader" – Teebee + Calyx 11. "Knowledge of Self (Evil Intent Remix)" – BT 12. "Flightpath" – Dub Faction 13. "Doorway (Gridlok + Echo Remix)" – Usual Suspects 14. "Moulin Rouge (Dieselboy + Kaos + Karl K Remix)" – Dom + Kemal 15. "Flight 643 (Paul B + Subwave Remix)" – Tiësto 16. "Take Me Away (Ill Skillz Remix)" – Concord Dawn 17. "Contrax (Weapon Remix)" – Decorum 18. "Human (Ill Skillz Remix)" – Dumonde Disc Two 01. "Adventure Unfold" – Dieselboy' 02. "Moonraker (Gridlok Remix)" – Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy 03. "Houston (KC Remix)" – Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy 04. "You Must Follow (Evil Intent VIP)" – Stratus 05. "Xanadu (Stratus Remix)" – Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy
06. "Studio 54 (Basic Operations Remix)" – Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy
AK1200 is the stage name of Florida-based musician Dave Minner, who works in the jungle and drum and bass genres.
Counterstrike is a drum and bass music producer duo from Cape Town consisting of Justin Scholtemeyer and Eaton Crous. They are considered to be one of the pioneers of the South African drum and bass scene. Counterstrike are known for their composition of raw, high-energy sound inspired by metal, techno and early techstep.
Substance D is a drum and bass compilation album mixed by Dieselboy. The first disc is mixed and the second disc is unmixed. The CD art was designed by Akira Takahashi. Substance D was released on May 6, 2008, and debuted at #21 on Billboard's Electronic Album Chart.
Human Imprint Recordings is an American drum and bass record label founded by Damian Higgins in New York City in 2002. Human began as a subsidiary of System Recordings and is mostly known for high energy releases in subgenres including techstep, hardstep and darkstep. In July 2009, Human Imprint parted ways amicably with System Recordings, and Dieselboy created the SubHuman : Human Imprint for dubstep and electro releases.
The 6ixth Session is a drum and bass compilation album mixed by Dieselboy, and included for the first time a second unmixed CD of complete original tracks. It was released by Palm Pictures on March 28, 2000. The 6ixth Session featured a cyborg-themed mix described by the Washington Post as “hard-edged hyperdriven dance music.” This project marked the beginning of Dieselboy's VIP remix phase. The cover is a CGI generated image of the side of a robot's head.
The Bonkers series was one of the leading happy hardcore compilation series in the UK. The first release was in 1996 on the record label React. It was available on 2xCD and 2xTC formats. DJs Sharkey and Hixxy were signed by React, and they released "Bonkers", the first in a series of albums that has become the best-selling hardcore compilation series of all time. As of 11 May 2009, the series had reached its nineteenth release, titled Bonkers: The Original Hardcore.
Jonathan Barry Gooch, more commonly known by his stage names Feed Me,Spor and seventh stitch, is a British drum and bass, dubstep and electro house producer and DJ. He is currently managed by Three Six Zero Group.
Evol Intent is a hardstep drum and bass group formed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. in 2000. The group is composed of The Enemy, Knick, and Gigantor.
Pirate Station was a drum and bass music festival, described as the world's biggest. It's held every year since 2003, when St. Petersburg held the first event. It has spread to the biggest Russian cities and has also taken place in Estonia and Ukraine, which makes Pirate Station the biggest Russian dance project ever. Almost half a million people visited the festival during these years. The main St. Petersburg show hosts more than 25,000 fans annually. Pirate Station is not just about music – it is a mix of unique performances and special effects united by a concept which changes every year.
The HUMAN Resource is a drum and bass compilation album presented by Dieselboy. The first disc is unmixed and the second disc is mixed by Evol Intent on Ableton. The CD art was designed by Dieselboy with graphic artist Joel Savitzky. The HUMAN Resource was released on April 6, 2006 and debuted at number 14 on Billboard's Electronic Album chart.
"Another Planet" / "Voyager" is the second single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum. It was released on 23 February 2004 by independent label Breakbeat Kaos, and was their first single to use the 12-inch picture disc format. The single peaked at number 46 in the UK Singles Chart, and reached number one in the UK Dance Chart.
Founded during the summer of 2000, Planet of the Drums is an American group of Drum&Bass artists: Dieselboy, DJ Dara, and MC Messinian along with AK1200.
J-Break is an American music producer and DJ.
The discography of the hip hop group Styles of Beyond.
Era Of Diversion is the first studio album by American drum and bass trio Evol Intent.
Dave Abrams, better known as DJ Solo, is an American DJ, producer, rapper and visual artist. He is a part of the Cypress Hill affiliated Soul Assassins collective. His production credits include La Coka Nostra, Everlast, Planet Asia, GZA, B-Real, Adil Omar, Mitchy Slick and others. He has released several mash-ups, remixes and a compilation album of his production work, titled My MPC Is A Pipe Bomb, and produced on the Soul Assassins Soul Assassins: Intermission album. He also hosted 40's & Blunts, a weekly internet show.
SubHuman : Human Imprint is an American record label which releases dubstep and electro house music
Federico Augusto Ágreda Álvarez, best known as Zardonic, is a Venezuelan synthesist, DJ, composer, producer and remixer primarily known for his heavy electronic dance music, dubbed as Venezuela's top DJ act and one of the Top 10 best DJ masks in the world, with releases peaking at #1 in Beatport's Drum & Bass releases of the week and Amazon's Hard Rock & Metal Bestsellers. He is also featured in the game Warlocks Vs Shadows, making him the first Latin American musician to be ever featured as a playable character in a video game. A remix with Mikey Rukus to his original Revelation was used as the theme song of the All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view Revolution in 2020.
DJ Hidden is an electronic music producer and DJ from Goes, Netherlands. His solo work consists of (Experimental) Drum & Bass, IDM and Crossbreed. He is one-half of Industrial Hardcore/Crossbreed duo, The Outside Agency, alongside Eye-D.
Bussetti was a London-based band who were active between 2001 and 2007. Their style was a mish-mash of genres, including hip hop, funk, jazz, indie and pop.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
