Photos by Anabelle Rodriguez, Sean Alderman (Publicity Photo by Kelley & Meyers)

dieselboy

I am running through the train station looking for Dieselboy (aka Damian Higgins, 29) and I'm so late for the interview that I should be wrapping up now and driving him to his gig in Sterling, Virginia. Instead, I can't find the right restaurant, and have just realized that the batteries in my tape recorder are dead. The newest named resident DJ of DC's prestigious weekly club event, "Buzz," is waiting for me, and I am quickly becoming unglued.

At last I see the restaurant and as I round a corner, see him at a table with two friends. I apologize profusely for being late, but he's relaxed and suggests helpfully, "We can talk on the way to the gig."

No, we can't, I explain fatalistically, "The batteries in my tape recorder died and I couldn't find an open shop." "We'll stop on the way and pick some up," he says optimistically. He isn't mad, isn't rattled at all.

We find my raggedy old Dodge Colt and he puts his record bag and luggage in the trunk. I am now mortified to be driving America's #1 drum & bass icon, whose latest CD "The 6ixth Session" continues to sell well over a year after its debut -at #4 on the Billboard dance music chart - in my truly crappy car. Yet he sits comfortably in the passenger seat as if everything is perfectly fine.

He helps me find the Basin St. Lounge where he's playing a weekly called "Gravity Blue" and we still have half an hour to spare. "We've got a little time," he says, so I hand him a stack of his CD's, and the interview I was sure that I'd blown, begins.

©Anabelle Rodriguez

Selekta: Can you describe where your life was at during these releases?

Dieselboy: "Drum and Bass Selection USA," 1996. I had an e-mail relationship with Dan Donnelly, who ran Suburban Base Records in England. He wanted me to mix this CD for the US market. That was unheard of back then that a British label would give an American guy an opportunity. All the tracks were pre-chosen so I didn't have any say in the sounds. Airline Industries in DC did the art and Paul Miller did an excellent job.

"97 Octane" was the follow-up and this one I had a little more control over. I submitted some track suggestions to Dan so it had some darker tunes and wasn't all jump-up; it had a little more variety. I hired Airline to do the artwork again and Todd Baldwin did an excellent job.

"611 DJ Mixseries Vol. One" was done for my then roommate, Nigel Richards, on his label, 611, in 1998. I had complete control over this one and even did my own graphics. What I realized in doing this was, before, Dan did all the licensing. I had to call all the labels and get clearance on the tracks and it really opened my eyes to how difficult it is to compile a mix-CD; not every label has open arms. Some are pretty closed off, so it was a sobering experience. The photo is one of a series of four I commissioned from a girl in Pittsburgh. That's my turntable on the front and the needle I was using at the time.

"A Soldier's Story," 1999. I was contacted by Moonshine, who distributed my first two CD's. At first I thought they were trying to get me to help them sell my old CD's, but actually they were interested in signing me up for a couple of mix-

CD's, so I jumped on board. I'm pretty proud of this one. I got some really cutting edge tracks and it has an overall militaristic, futuristic vibe to it and there's still at least one track on it which never came out: Technical Itch's "Stack," the first version. The art was again by Airline. This time Todd hired an artist from Marvel Comics to draw me in "super soldier" mode. It's kind of funny, though. A lot of people don't think that looks like me but it's supposed to be me! (laughs) I did the intro using samples from "Quake" and "Half-Life." This was the beginning of my making intro's.

"System Upgrade" was my second CD for Moonshine in early 2000. I'm happy with this one and got some really good tracks for it. I was able to put a couple American tracks on by Hive and E-Sassin. I hired Justin at Demo Design to do the artwork. I got clearance for the "Ghost in the Shell" sample in the intro that tied in with the concept of the CD real well. The whole concept is like a disk, and if you listen to it, it "upgrades" your consciousness to the next level, which is described in the intro.

"The 6ixth Session" is on Palm Pictures and came out in the fall of 2000. It's my finest moment to date, as far as mix-CD's go. I got a lot of exclusive tracks and "Messiah" was a key track. This still has some that are unreleased. Mix-wise, it's probably the tightest mix I've put out. This was the beginning of my VIP remix phase, which I'm carrying ahead into my next album. I had another CD bundled with it to show people that I could produce. Graphically, Akira of Airline did an amazing job. He hired Rene Garcia from the West Coast who does 3-D and visually this CD takes the prize.

©Anabelle Rodriguez

Selekta: Was there a third turntable used in the "6ixth Session"?

Dieselboy: No. Actually, I created some special beat loops just for that CD. For example, I created a loop of this amen and I brought it into "Messiah," and made it almost sound like part of the song, made the song even harder. I used the same break again in the "Shrapnel" remix, then I used a break from this track by Bad Company in that "Eclipse" track.

Selekta: Have you done things like that in your other CD's?

Dieselboy: In "System_Upgrade," I mixed in the intro of the original "Descent" where there's the long string. I mixed that into the Stakka and Skynet thing, then I mixed out. It's unmarked, but yeah, I did that, just for those who know. You know, as a subtle little treat.

Selekta: Where were your CD's recorded?

Dieselboy: "Opticon" (with Tech Itch) and "You Must Follow" (with Kaos) were done in Philly. The Baby Namboos "Hard Times" (with Decoder) in the Tech Itch studio in Bristol, England. "The 6ixth Session" was mixed in my Philly apartment. "System Upgrade" and "A Soldier's Story" were mixed when I lived with Nigel (Philly), the same with the "611 DJ Mixseries." "97 Octane" and "Drum and Bass Selection USA" in Pittsburgh. All were done in my bedroom or living room. I usually mix these things in my pajamas. For the 611 one and "A Soldier's Story," I was literally sitting cross-legged on the floor of my living room mixing off my home stereo. Very unglamorous.

Selekta: What is your next album going to be?

© Sean Alderman 2001

Dieselboy: The new album's called "Project Human." It should be coming out in March 2002. It would be easy to do another "6ixth Session," but this time I wanted to do something a little more interesting, so I signed up a bunch of artists and labels for exclusive mixes. I'm doing some remixes, and I asked them for tracks that they really liked from the past few years and got them the rights and parts to remix those tracks exclusively for my CD. For example, Twisted Anger's Danny C is remixing "Stalker," which showed up in "A Soldier's Story." Hive is remixing Rob + Goldie's "Shadow." It ties in with the name "Project Human," literally a project with artists working together that hopefully will prove to be a rewarding experience and result in a really solid mix-CD.

Mike Young at Designgraphik, who did the Planet of the Drums website, is doing the graphics. This time, rather than being rendered like in "The 6ixth Session," these photographers, Kelley & Meyers, took photographs of me that Mike's going to fuck with and tweak out. This ties in with the whole vibe I'm going for, a more human, organic thing. "The 6ixth Session" was an expression of the technological cyborg mentality. On this one, the theme is human. I'm getting a hip-hop track remixed, a trance track, some house tracks, some vocal tracks. I'm trying to bring a group of flavors together. The intro's going to be cool. I'm writing it with my friend, Josh Ryan, a trance producer, and working with a guy who does voiceovers for Hollywood movie trailers. We might even do an outtro. I'm hoping this CD is going to be the one to break jungle out a bit more in America and open up more people's minds to it.

The next project is going to be another double-CD, one like a "6ixth Session" mix, and a second CD with the mix, plus vocals by MC Rage of the UK, kind of how Bukem puts out "Progression Sessions" with the mixed version and then the vocal version with Conrad. It will probably be out end of 2002, beginning of 2003. I try to put out one CD a year; a lot of man-hours go into them.

Selekta: You're currently remixing the hip-hop group, The Styles of Beyond. How did you hook up with them?

Dieselboy: I've never met them. I like their music. Jon Grauman at Moonshine gave me a ride to the airport in L.A. once and put them on and I was like, "Wow, these guys are great." Lyrically they were very interesting, about sci-fi and military stuff. It has a cool feel to it; what they're talking about was pretty fresh, with good voices and good flow. I'm not a huge hip-hop head, but those guys are excellent.

Selekta: Platinum, your Thursday club night in Philly, is known as the premier U.S. drum & bass weekly. Who's in the crew?

Dieselboy: DJ-wise it's Icon and Sine. MC J-Messinian, too. Kevin Gimble helps with bookings. We just added Henry Addo from Substitution to do promotions and PR. Other people are involved with the night, the bartenders and the light girl and others, but as far as people who run what goes on behind the scenes, that's pretty much the core group.

Selekta: DC breaks DJ, Jen Lasher, told me to ask if you have records made faster for you?

© Sean Alderman 2001

Dieselboy: The reason some of my older CD's and tapes were so fast is that I went in and tweaked my turntables, which I don't have anymore, so they went faster than normal. Some of the records are faster than +8, but I didn't intentionally try to make them super, super fast. I take the slowest track and speed it up to where I think it sounds good, then I beat-match the first track to that record and the whole CD or tape is played at that speed. Some records sound better faster than others so, for example, on "A Soldier's Story," the Peshay track sounded good at that speed, but "The Beckoning" sounds really fast because the percussion makes it sound faster than it should. So, it's a trade-off.

Selekta: DC drum n' bass DJ, Tittsworth, has a question: "Body Rock" by Andy C and Shimon: Fresh and forward, or an elephant mating call?

Dieselboy: "Body Rock" is weird. It's a love it or hate it track. I think it's decent. Some people can't stand it, but when I play it or other's play it, 90 percent of the room goes off, so I'd have to say, by popular demand, it's good. It's innovative in the beat pattern; they used triplets to do the beats. I don't think it's going to create a new form of drum & bass, but as a unique tune on its own, it's pretty cool.

Selekta: Drum & bass is known for its rapid evolution. What's the current rate of change?

Dieselboy: It slowed down the past couple years, but it's still slowly changing. We're in a transition period now. We're branching off. There are more techno influences. The old school thing, the hardcore revival, is still there but it's kind of dying off. It's kind of updating and there are more house influences. It's starting to draw from other types of dance music for inspiration.

Selekta: Can you explain your comment in the July Mixer magazine about Goldie?

Dieselboy: In "Seven," - a British magazine - Goldie made a comment about how he doesn't want to see d & b go the way of hip-hop, where innovators like Eric B. & Rakim, who helped create the scene, kind of faded away and all these new guys are making all the money. Kind of how Goldie and his crew created drum & bass and people like me, Dieselboy, live in $6 million mansions. It was a totally outrageous comment and I'm not sure of the context in which it was said, but that's how it was printed. Mixer asked me to respond to that, but they ran their Goldie article without that comment so it looks kind of weird. Basically, my comment to Goldie was that I don't live in a $6 million home. Beyond that, I entered the drum & bass, UK hardcore or whatever scene, when he did and I've done my share of work here in America, where a lot of UK guys like to come over and play now. So, even though I wasn't running a label like Metalheadz, I definitely made a contribution to drum & bass here, and when I play in other countries.

Selekta: What are the d & b scenes you've played around the globe like?

Dieselboy: South Africa has good scenes in Capetown and Johannesburg. Durban has a very, very small scene, but Capetown's going off. The night I played there, there was a line out the door. They had to shut the door at 800 people, so that seems very healthy. Japan has small scenes in Tokyo and Osaka. You'd think Japan would have a huge scene because they're into futuristic things and d & b is futuristic music, but I guess it had its heyday there a few years ago and now it's more underground. Taipei has a small scene. Hong Kong has a small scene; a big party will have 400 to 500 people. The Puerto Rican scene is huge; it has one of the best scenes in the world. They like d & b more than house and techno and trance. Canada's got a good scene in Toronto and in the west in Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Budapest has a small, but very enthusiastic scene. In Alaska, when I played, there were 800 people and that was good. Hawaii has a small scene.

Selekta: Your father is a musician, too. Did he have an influence on your music?

Dieselboy: Not on my taste in music. He might have had an influence on my interest in music. I've always had music in my life, though not so much through him as other relatives. I'm sure that knowing he was in music for a living had some kind of effect on me as a kid. I'm not really into the music he makes. He's more of Jimmy Buffet-style singer. It's not exactly on my radar.

Selekta: What did your family say when you quit your computer job to become a full-time DJ?

Dieselboy: I can't say they were cheerleading for me. My Mom trusts me as an individual and an adult to make the right decision, so she was definitely supportive. She tells me she's proud of me. My Dad didn't have much reaction. He's proud because I'm doing what he does. We can have conversations about the business and studios and music and being on the road. When I was a kid, he was on the road all the time. We have a better understanding of each other and they're very happy with how things have gone for me. My Dad can tell his friends I have a CD at Wal-Mart! (laughs) My Mom just loves me because I'm her son. Whatever I do, as long as I'm happy, she's happy for me.

Selekta: What else would you like to do?

Dieselboy: I want to start, maybe, a clothing company down the road. I want to do stuff that's creative. I really enjoy bringing creative people together to make something cool, like for my new CD, getting different artists together to make something for the greater good.

Selekta: You, Dara and AK1200 created the Planet of the Drums alliance. Was that a "for the greater good" kind of thing?

Dieselboy: That was initially just so people could see all of us together and that eventually spawned much more. Trying to become a voice for our scene here, Stateside, and demand respect from promoters so that the people coming up behind us will have it better than we had it.

Selekta: Are there any rumors you'd like to put to rest?

Dieselboy: I'm not gay. That's one of the most common rumors. I have a girlfriend. I write music. When I worked with Tech Itch, Mark didn't write a track and put my name on it. If you listen to the structure of "Atlantic State" and "The Descent" or "Invid," you have the first breakdown and the second breakdown. The second breakdown always has a huge epic part. If you listen to tracks by Mark, you'll hear the difference. Anyone who talks shit about that has no idea what they're talking about.

Selekta: What's the biggest frustration in your career?

Dieselboy: Two things. Knowing that certain people in the scene whose music I respect, I don't respect as people. In real life, they are not real people. It's disappointing that people I look up to can't be real, because I'm a real person. I don't front. I'm just a normal person. The other thing is that no matter how hard I try to be cool with everyone and nice, there are people out there who hate me. They do not even know me, but go out of their way to be very negative towards me. I've gotten more used to it, but it's really surprising to have people hate you that you've never met. It's the most alien, foreign emotion because you know you didn't do anything wrong.

Selekta: What's the most meaningful thing about it?

Dieselboy: Knowing I'm putting 100 percent of myself into what I do and the music I put out, and having people connect with me and tell me how much they enjoy it. Some people say my music's done a lot for them, or that they listen to my music to get energized or whatnot. That means the most to me, knowing what I've put my heart and soul into, people are actually feeling what I put into it. I always try to make the next CD better than the one before, I really do. That there are people who recognize that and take the time to let me know, that's the most meaningful thing to me.

Selekta: What has been your happiest moment as a DJ?

Dieselboy: Every time I finish a set and the place is still packed and people are cheering and yelling and screaming, every time that happens, that's the proudest moment for me. It's happened at big raves, I've had it happen at clubs with 200 people, but at the end of my set when I'm done playing and people are putting forth that positivity and that energy, I know I connected with those people and I did my job. Every time that happens is a good time.

Selekta: Thank you!

Dieselboy: (yawns) No problem.