On Friday the 8th of June 2006, when the rain was relentlessly pouring down and cursing anyone who dared tread far from their toasty fireplaces or from their warm cups of cocoa with little marshmallows, I had the duty, nay privilege, to report in on one of nu-skool break’s unsung heroes – The Rogue Element. Technically he’s not actually unsung, but he ain’t no Krafty Kuts, you feeling me?

Now, let me say, first off: The Rogue Element was THE FUCKIN’ BOMB, YO!

The Rogue Element, or as he is known to his friends, Ben Medcalf, is a gentlemen and a scholar PLUS he makes good music! After finishing his (too short) one and half hour set at the Chinese Laundry, Medcalf was only too happy to answer a couple of gushing fanboy questions, mainly from myself, and after humoring me he even bought me a beer! Damn, boy!

So, straight off the bat the UK born breakbeater flew into some dirty nu-skool breaks goodness, and without even a thought for cheese or electro he began his set with his collaboration with Tom Real, the incredible So Hot Right Now, which cleverly samples Zoolander several times (“He’s so hot right now” and “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills”), then moved a gritty techno-breaks version of Fatboy Slim’s Star 69 which was a damn treat ‘cos I dig those songs. And apparently so did the gathered crowd at the Laundry that night, which, because of the buckets of rain lining the streets was composed of hardcore fans of either breakbeat in general, of Ben ‘The Rogue Element’ Medcalf or instead of being simultaneously being soaked and munted. Or maybe even all of the above. Keeping that in mind, the room wasn’t empty but it wasn’t packed either. People weren’t rude or totally nutted, they were just gettin’ buck wild. Which is a bit of a change for the Sydney scene, if you ask me.

About halfway through, Medcalf steered away from a more traditional breakbeat sound, moving to more 4/4 inspired beats but still relying heavily on the gritty techno-esque sounds to which we are all accustomed to. As his sound has progressed from darker heavier straight-beat breakbeats during his career (in a similar fashion to how they did in his DJ set), his melodies have become more refined and sophisticated, as you would expect from someone who has a natural talent for mastering records.

Disappointingly, many DJs play quite differently to their production work, but Medcalf was consistent through and through. The thing that sets a Rogue Element track apart from others is the upbeat vibe that is carried through the music, like he actually has fun making it. Which makes sense, because we all had fun dancing to it. Also, if you looked very hard you would have noticed that very few of his songs have a full break-down; they strip back to bare bones beats or hi-hats and melody combos, but always keeping the flow of the song moving.

While I was harassing him after his set, I concluded that many of the shit-hot songs he played, breakbeat or otherwise, were results of his collaborations with long-time musical partner Tom Real, and that fans should look out for new tracks from the duo in the near future such as Machine (I should be getting paid for this!).

Sadly missing from the line-up on Friday was Sydney favourite Bass Kleph. On holiday in Cairns or Coffs Harbour. Or Campbelltown. Replacing him was another Brit by the name of Sneaky, whom some may know as the other half-owner of the Supercharged record label (the first half being Krafty Kuts), who was no slouch himself. In the first few minutes he dropped some tasty little ditties, like the Kitsune classic Hustler by Simian Mobile Disco and the Plump DJs mix of Electric Appliances. It seems as though he has developed a taste for the Sydney dance floor as he’s been booked several times over the next couple of weeks, which should be very interesting.

Generally readers, I would insert a comment here about how funny someone looks or how shit the crowd was, but sadly I had a fucking great time! Quite easily a contender for set of the year. Go Rogue Element! Go Break Inn!