Human Imprint Recordings is an American drum and bass

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded by Damian Higgins (professional name DJ

Dieselboy Damian Higgins (born 1972) better known by his stage name Dieselboy, is an American drum and bass DJ and music producer. Early life Dieselboy was born Damian Higgins in Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1972. At the age of six he moved to Colora ...

) 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 Techstep is a dark subgenre of drum and bass that was created in the mid-1990s. Style It is characterized by a dark, sci-fi mood, near-exclusive use of synthesised or sampled sound sources, 2-step kicks and snares and influences from industri ...

hardstep Hardstep is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged in 1994. It is characterised by a gritty production style that consists of an inner-city feel. The breaks are less choppy than oldschool jungle, and have faster and harder simple electronic m ...

and

darkstep Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

. In July 2009, Human Imprint parted ways amicably with System Recordings, and Dieselboy created the SubHuman : Human Imprint for

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

and electro releases.

Overview

The label's album art encompasses conceptual themes based in

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

. Some of the graphics are created by Higgins himself. To date, Human Imprint, which has gained a reputation as a leader in the North American drum and bass movement, has released 22 singles (seven on SubHuman), nine EPs, and six albums. American Human artists include

Evol Intent 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 (Ashley Jones), Knick ( Nick Weiller), and Gigantor (Mike Diasio). The trio has released several ...

Hive A hive may refer to a beehive, an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species live and raise their young. Hive or hives may also refer to: Arts * ''Hive'' (game), an abstract-strategy board game published in 2001 * "Hive" (song), a 201 ...

, Gridlok, Infiltrata, Kaos, Karl K, Jae Kennedy, Stratus, KC, Vector Burn, Ewun, Noah D, Demo, Spktrm and Gein. International producers include Technical Itch (UK),

Decoder Decoder may refer to: Technology * Audio decoder converts digital audio to analog form * Binary decoder, digital circuits such as 1-of-N and seven-segment decoders * Decompress (compression decoder), converts compressed data (e.g., audio/video/i ...

(UK),

Fresh Fresh or FRESH may refer to: People *DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist *DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (200 ...

(UK),

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, a ...

(UK), Skynet (UK), Counterstrike (South Africa), Concord Dawn (New Zealand), The Upbeats (New Zealand), and Zardonic (Venezuela).

History

In April 2006, Higgins released the first Human Imprint compilation, a 2XCD set called "The HUMAN Resource," which debuted at #14 on the Billboard electronic album chart. ''Disc One: Selected Works'' is a 12-song un-mixed selection including club anthems and VIP remixes from Bad Company UK, DJ Fresh, The Upbeats, Dieselboy + Kaos, Counterstrike and others. ''Disc Two: Evol Intent Assemble the Monster'' features a continuous DJ-mix from one of the most-respected American drum and bass DJ/producer crews, Evol Intent, selected by Higgins to stitch together some of the best tracks of the Human Imprint catalog, plus exclusive tracks and remixes from Gridlok, Infiltrata + Hochi, Vector Burn, Dieselboy + Technical Itch and others. The mix was composed on Ableton. The album art was created by Dieselboy with graphic artist Joel Savitzky. In May 2010, Higgins and new partner Steve "Smash" Gordon of Steez Promo of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, and Circle Management (based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, PA), relaunched Human Imprint with its first release, SPKTRM's Planet Human EP, on June 14, 2010, followed by Zardonic's South Of Human EP and Gein's Human Chemistry EP. In September 2010 they launched the SubHuman : Human Imprint sublabel for

and electro releases. Artists include Bare, Mark Instinct, Muffler, NumberNin6, PXL FST, and Smash Gordon. In February 2012, Higgins and Gordon launched Planet Human as the new umbrella label for Human Imprint and SubHuman with the following artist roster:

, Smash Gordon, Bare, Hulk, Mark Instinct, Mayhem, Muffler, Nerd Rage, Nightwalker, NumbernIn6, Pixel Fist, Sluggo, Subshock, Dan Wall, Zardonic.https://www.facebook.com/planethuman?sk=info

SubHuman releases

Planet Human Mixes

* "Dieselboy – Live at Beta," mix by Dieselboy, free download, April 13, 2012 * "Smash Your Fucking Face Vol. 4," mix by Smash Gordon, March 15, 2012 * "Wake the Dead," mix by Dieselboy, free download, February 6, 2012

References

External links

Official Human Imprint / SubHuman website

Official Dieselboy Human SubHuman Facebook fan page

Official Human Imprint site
on MySpace
Official Dieselboy site

Rolldabeats
{{Authority control Drum and bass record labels Companies based in New York City American independent record labels Electronic dance music record labels Electronic music record labels Record labels established in 1995