What is there to say about Dieselboy?
Basically with regard to stateside drum n’ bass, Damian Higgins (a.k.a. Dieselboy) rules the roost. Besides delivering the punch to knock American drum n’ bass from monotony, he clearly operates free from the pre-set limitations that jungle can present. Higgins has provided the scene with added vigor as evidenced on his last mix album, The Dungeonmaster’s Guide. By adding remixes from the likes of Sasha, BT, and Tiesto, Dieselboy introduced elements of trance and progressive house in ways not often revealed in drum n’ bass music.
With full expectation of something along those same lines with Dieselboy Presents – The Human Resource, Higgins pulls a surprise out of his record crate. The two-disc set is something all together different.
While disc one sounds like typical Dieselboy fare, it isn’t due to the un-mixed format of tracks that he selected from his own label, HUMAN Imprint. While some of the songs have been heard on his previous mixes, it still hits hard and quite effectively, particularly on the Upbeats remix of Styles of Beyond’s “Subculture” and on the strong blast of evil with Evol Intent + Ewun’s track “The Rapture.” Add Skynet’s wondrously dark, modern jungle feel on “Catherine Wheel,” and Dieselboy has truly come up with some fine moments of drum n’ bass dancefloor amusement.
With disc two, Dieselboy gives the controls to a deviant crew from Atlanta, Evol Intent (Knick, Gigantor, and the Enemy) to throw down a hard-driving continuous mix CD entitled Evol Intent Assemble The Monster, mainly composed of tracks from Dieselboy’s HUMAN Imprint library. The trio sounds very much like Dieselboy at his finest, especially with their tight drum mechanics on the Stratus Remix of Kaos+ Karl K+ Jae Kennedy’s track “Xanadu,” and the aggressively ferocious mix of The Upbeats “LeMammoth.” It’s obvious that E.I. have a great sense of maintaining solid dance floor beats for the duration and possess a great ear for maintaining proper flow for a mix to succeed.
All in all, for any fan of American drum n’ bass or for the Dieselboy enthusiast, this collection is a must have.
www.djdieselboy.com
www.systemrecordings.com
www.humanimprint.com
