The Rogue Element returned to Ambar for the first time since the Major Break 3 party with a fierce intent to deliver. In the intervening years he has gone on to win ‘Best Producer’ at the 2006 Breakspoll awards, deliver a stack of remixes, and solidify his reputation as one of the best in the business in terms of creating cutting edge tech funk rhythms. After witnessing A Skillz destroy the Murray St venue’s dance floor a couple of weeks ago, I was well keen to see another UK breakbeat artist have his way with the equipment.

Arriving inside from the fresh night streets just after midnight, I missed Fdel’s set. No matter. I enjoyed his smooth blend of old and new school funk at the aforementioned gig a fortnight ago. Marty McFly was up and about playing a range of broken beat tunes to warm up for the main event. I enjoyed the groovy Work Dis by Funkasaurus. The dancefloor was being given a workover, but it wasn’t until The Rogue Element stepped up to the decks that the crowd really bunched together.

Remixing some of the biggest names in electronic music has earned the Rogue mountains of cred within the industry and he was set on living up to the hype from the get go. Clearly enjoying himself, he delivered a relentless barrage of 4 on the floor tech funk beats. The sounds on show were based around cutting edge crunchy stabs and stomping bass. Things got interesting during the buildups with some unpredictable patterns and the Rogue conducting the crowd with some one handed air drumming. The Broken Family Band’s Love Your Man, Love Your Woman (Rogue Element Remix) was one of the highlights of the set, and sent the place crazy. Another track that went down a treat was a remix of The Presets’ My People. Fist pumps and “on-the-spot-jumps” aplenty showed our UK friend some appreciation for his selection.

After an hour and a half set, it was all done. The reliance on 4/4 beats and absence of traditional breakbeat was somewhat of a surprise for this reviewer, but it was a storming set that made your feet work to keep up. Prizzy continued the vibe with style and kept the people interested into the wee hours. I managed to catch The Rogue Element play at The Fuzz last year at The Como during a whirlwind visit, and I must admit I preferred his varied track selection then. That said, it was a solid night at Ambar with some storming club tunes. The crowd was not as packed as usual for an international artist of this calibre, but well up for a party nonetheless. The Rogue Element had returned to the scene of the crime and definitely caused some more damage.