FRIDAY

Like bluegrass and death metal, drum ‘n’ bass offers a precise, conservative template for anybody who wants to make a racket. And though departures are possible, die-hard fans will always embrace the pickers, sinners, and spinners who cling to core principles. Dieselboy—aka Damian Higgins, a trusted big-room whip-cracker who never forfeits bpms or surgical precision just to show some arty-farty flash—is the demonic dean of American drum ‘n’ bass. The Philly-based, University of Pittsburgh-educated DJ has made much of his living via touring and mixed CDs, but lately he’s showing the itch to rework tracks his own way. For projectHUMAN, his latest disc, the obvious goal was to create stark consistency from pieces of unrelated material: Hiphoppers Styles of Beyond and trance man Joshua Ryan are among the artists who get the Dieselboy treatment, and the results are unfailingly thunderous. But Higgins rarely betrays his base instincts. And he’s made it clear that drum ‘n’ bass could expand its fanbase—and develop its soul—without softening its approach. It worked for Bill Monroe and Sepultura. Dieselboy spins at midnight Friday, July 5, at Nation, 1015 Half St. SE. $20. (202) 554-1500. (Joe Warminsky)