FRIDAY

>> Dieselboy cooks up tasty drum and bass

Dieselboy, one of the most prolific artists in the genre known as drum and bass, beats a path to The Republik for a set on Friday.

Born Damian Higgins, Dieselboy got his start in the early 1990s DJ’ing at high school and college events in Pennsylvania, learning the art of beat-matching on vinyl — syncing up the pulse of different songs playing on different turntables.

That developed into a full-blown career DJ’ing at raves and eventual recognition on the international scene. Dieselboy has appeared at events in Japan, Europe and New Zealand and was the first American to be named a top-10 DJ in Drum & Bass Arena, a website based in the U.K., the homeland of drum and bass.

His 2002 album “projectHuman” reached No. 6 on Billboard’s dance/electronic album chart, and his 2008 album “Substance D” reached No. 21. He founded Human Imprint, a label promoting drum and bass, and co-founded SubHuman, an imprint for dubstep and electro.

He’s also parlayed his fame as a DJ into other fields, notably culinary arts. Don’t expect food at his Republik appearance, but he did do pop-up burger events prior to performances in the Netherlands in 2014 and 2015.

>> Quadraphonix, Kealoha, Taimane help open arts center’s new home

The Ong King Arts Center, long a home for music, slam poetry, burlesque and art happenings, has relocated to the Blaisdell Hotel building. Helping to christen the new arts space in the historic building, Honolulu band Quadraphonix appears with a wide-ranging group of performers at the venue on Friday.

Built in 1912, the neoclassical structure was last used as a hotel in the ’70s; since then it’s been a site for offices and commercial storefronts, artist lofts and recording studios, Hawaii Pacific University student facilities, a church and other entities. Now Ong King, formerly located on King Street near the River Street canal in Chinatown, is moving into the main lobby area.

Ong King gets a soft opening on Friday with a fundraiser for local funk-jazz-fusion band Quadraphonix, a mainstay on the Ong King stage. The show will raise funds for the band’s tour of Europe, planned for October.

Friday’s event features slam poet Kealoha, ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner and dance groups, in addition to Quadraphonix.

Quadraphonix drummer Jonathan Heraux is a founder of Ong King and proprietor of several other businesses. He’s enthusiastic about the new space, which he’s personally been helping to renovate. “It’s 4,000 square feet, which is a lot bigger than what we had,” he said.

Heraux, who used to DJ at local clubs, remembers DJing at a club once located in the hotel. “I said to myself, ‘This place is a dump!’” he said. “I’m never coming here again. And here I am 20 years later developing an arts center.”

There’s a lot of history at the Blaisdell Hotel. Site of Hawaii’s last human-operated elevator, it was once the destination for tourists disembarking at Aloha Tower, and the scene of a couple of mysterious deaths. “It’s known as the most haunted hotel in Hawaii,” Heraux said with a laugh.

The Ong King Arts Center will occupy an area in what was once an open-air courtyard. The facility should have excellent acoustics, with high ceilings and no right angles in the entire room, said Heraux, adding that there is a “giant stage” in the facility. “There’s the best of everything in there,” he said.

— Steven Mark

SATURDAY

>> EDM star Lookas rolls in with his Miami-style trap

Miami-based producer Lookas will make Hawaiian Brian’s shake, along with everything and everyone inside it, when he appears on Saturday.

He’s known for “unrelentingly heavy, big-field-ready electronic trap that burbles and churns,” wrote Rolling Stone magazine, who named him one of the “10 New Artists You Need to Know” in January 2016.

Born Lucas Rego, the producer got his start DJing at Miami clubs, but turned to writing his own material. After convincing his parents to let him delay college so he could concentrate on music, he wound up working on a remix of DVBB and Bourgeous’ “Tsunami” that got 100,000 plays in its first two days on SoundCloud in 2013. That was followed by more popular tracks, such as “Game Over,” which launched him on a nationwide tour, the platinum-selling remix of Flo Rida’s “GDFR,” and original tune “Apollo.”

“Mixing trap and EDM like Diplo, but putting a glitzy, Miami spin on it” is the way music website Allmusic.com describes it.

WEDNESDAY- JULY 28

>> Rippingtons’ chart-topping jazz in town

Jazz cats, drop into Blue Note Hawaii next week for a visit by the Rippingtons, who start a three-night gig Wednesday.

Over the last 30 years, the Rippingtons, who use a grinning, sunglasses-wearing cat as their logo, have consistently been at the top of the Billboard contemporary jazz charts, with seven of their 19 studio albums reaching No. 1 — the most recent was 2016’s “True Stories” — and none finishing lower than No. 6.

Guitarist-composer Russ Freeman founded the Rippingtons in 1986 and remains its sole remaining original member. From the start, Freeman’s shown that he knows how to pick talent: The group’s debut album, “Moonlighting,” featured several now-recognized names in music, from keyboard stalwart David Benoit to saxophonist Dave Koz to percussionist Steve Reid. A guest artist on that album, long considered one of the most influential in contemporary jazz, was Kenny G, who was featured on the band’s signature tune “She Likes to Watch.”

In addition to Freeman, the band includes drummer Dave Karasony, saxophonist Brandon Fields, bassist Rico Belled and keyboard player Bill Heller. Look for music that is romantic, engrossing and impressive all at the same time.