Human Imprint Recordings is an American

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

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 Colorado ...

) 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 the mid-1990s. It is characterized 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 el ...

and

darkstep Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre ...

. 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 ...

and electro releases.

Overview

The label's album art encompasses conceptual themes based in

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

. 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, Hive, 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 may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (2009 film), a documentary film on sustainable agriculture * ''Fresh'' (2022 film), a thriller film *''Fresh with the Aust ...

(UK),

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

(UK), Skynet (UK), Counterstrike (South Africa),

Concord Dawn Concord Dawn is a New Zealand drum and bass group, active since mid-1999, consisting of Matt Harvey (aka Matty C). Until 2010, Evan Short was one half of the group. They were courted by local electronic music label Kog Transmissions and releas ...

(New Zealand), The Upbeats (New Zealand), and

Zardonic 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 mas ...

(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 is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, and Circle Management (based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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,

.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 music record labels Record labels established in 1995