Beyond Cerberus [15:07] Tropospheric Propogation [17:32] Rainbow Runner [17:23] Falls The Shadow [17:48]

product info

THE retro suprise of 2004! Recorded at the Radial Velocity Studio, England, between October 2002 and December 2003 All tracks composed, performed and produced by Rogue Element Rogue Element is Jerome Ramsey & Brendan Pollard A new album of previously unheard works is now available. 'Premonition' has been recorded in the RadialVelocity studio over the last fifteen months. Every effort has been made to use authentic equipment - read the gear list and weep..! - and most of the instruments wouldn't have been out of place in the 70's. This is electronic music at it's purest - but judge for yourself - buy a copy now.... 2004. Press Information

review

This UK EM duo is bound to set the scene on fire with their debut disc. Fans of mid 1970s T. Dream will love the pulsing sequences and dense Mellotron which harkens back beautifully to PHAEDRA and RUBYCON. Composed of four extended excursions, each track is a veritable cornucopia of rhythms, flowing Mellotron backdrops and various space plucks and laser flashes of effectual synthetics. The album is NOT just a TD copy, but uniquely original in its own right. Archie Patterson

review

After acquiring over 100 Tangerine Dream CD's I ran into this one by Rogue Element titled Premonition. Wow!!! This sound is very reminiscent of any of Tangerine Dreams many sounds. The CD has four tracks with all four blending together as though they were one long track. I enjoyed how Track #1 opens with the bells & storms slowly drifting to a very nice upbeat tempo. Track #2 is at a slower movement however it tends to lift the spirit from your body to begin an outerbody voyage. Track #3 is a continuation with an eventual release into a nice upbeat sound. Track #4 slowly brings you back around full circle as if the cd were starting over again. It's a shame there are only 4 tracks, personally they could have played all night long! This cd is an excellent collection of sound performed by just two musicians: Brendan Pollard & Jerome Ramsey. The multitude of equipment used was awesome. As a newcomer to EM music I have no idea what each piece does BUT I DO KNOW WHEN I HEAR GREAT MUSIC. Thanks guys for sharing your sounds with all who choose to listen. And for those that don't you should really check this band out. Will be waiting very impatiently for your next release. Until then Keep The Music Playing! 2004. Art Howe / USA

review

The great sound of TD in the 70’s we all keep in mind, still lives, the name is Rogue Element. The Album presents four tracks full of melody and sequences combined with mastery. Dense and dark atmospheres give way to powerful and epic rhythms always surrounded by those wonderful rich sounds the authors extract from their unbelievable large equipment. If you are keen on electronic music you must have this Album, and if you don't, after listening to it, you'll get to love it and want more. When are we going to hear more of Rogue Element? I hope it'll be soon. 2004. Enrique Moës / Spain

review

This disc came with some heavy baggage in the form of lofty expectations. From the moment I heard about it, people were calling it the best vintage Berlin school EM in years, up there with the best of Redshift, Node, and others. Then came the naysayers, quick to say they snagged the disc, and that it was okay but not great by any means. To those people, I just have one thing to say: “Phooey!” Some revel in the chance to be elitist and say something isn’t that good, when it almost inarguably is. I defy a true Berliner to stand up and say to me that this isn’t some of the best classic synthesizer music ever made. The first time I played Premonition I was driving along the Oregon coast on a weekend trip. You know that feeling when the moment and the music sync up perfectly? This was one of those, and I will always remember it. From the opening bells of “Beyond Cerberus” to the wind and choirs, Mellotron flutes and strings, even before the first sequence, I knew this was something special, right up there with Edgar Froese’s Epsilon In Malaysian Pale. When the bass and the sequencing get going near the 4:00 mark, I can tell this is going to be one fantastic ride. The very essence of vintage electronics from Baumann-era Tangerine Dream is distilled into these four deliriously delightful slabs of exemplary space music. By the eerily haunting end of track one, I don’t even care how the remainder of the disc sounds, it’s that good. But thankfully the rest delivers as well. From the light piano and atmospheres of “Tropospheric Propogation” to the chugging energy of “Rainbow Runner” and the almost majestic organ of “Falls The Shadow”, it’s all good. The best CD of 2004, hands down. 2004. Phil Derby / Electroambient Space

review

If you are into TD at the ir classic 70s best, stop reading. Buy. Now. My track summary: Track 1 Lovely, floating intro passage, with very Jarre phased strings and woodwind tones, plus shimmery white noise effects leads into simplistic but effective BS sequences. Traditional wandering melodic components, excellent Mellotron choirs. The drum rhythm programming is not as developed as some other exponents of this style, but fits perfectly in the general mix, making room for future growth. Central section breaks down and simplifies into an almost jazzy e-piano with filter swept sequencing. Return of the phased strings gives the track a good sense of coherence. Last three minutes has shades of Ricochet's echoes vocals and eerie, windswept soundscapes. Overall, a thoroughly pleasant opener. Track 2 Water effects open up, with thunderstorm and acoustic piano with deep, "new age" type echo. Again, strings and woodwinds start the development of the piece. Natural, woodland/rural type of atmosphere is built on the simple melodic materials by sound effects of birdsong et al. Really rather pleasant. Then it all turns a little less content and calm. A simple sequence enters and is built up with octaves and basic counterpoints into a bed for a long, slow attack type of lead sound, again rather melodic. This fades away into a more pulsing rhythm that takes a few moments to settle down into the next - dare I use the word? - groove. Lovely Mellotron moments here too! The drums underpin and fit well with the very simple sequences used. All the sequenced passages are very dry - little or no effects to put some ambience around them, which propels them to the forefront of the audio landscape. there are some slights slips of timing between the live recorded playing and the metrical rigidity of the sequencing, but it makes it all sound "hand made" and less robotic. Last sequence is in a higher register and fades into more ambient samples/soundscapes. Again, a pleasant and relaxed listen. Think Ricochet or Rubycon. Same feel, similar instrumentation, but no "Interval of God" bouncing basslines. Track 3 Opens with panned echoing drums - tabla-esque. Mellotron flutes join in for a mellow feel, underpinned by more angular, mechanical sounding "jittery" sounds adding tension. The album seems to settle down to a certain "feel" around here. Can anyone enlighten me here? - is this studio jamming or composed/rehearsed pieces? First sequence enters and is again accompanied by authentic 1970s "ticky-clicky" drum sounds. The vocal sounds that enter are mutated and transformed to add to the sonic interest. As the underpinning sequence is built upon and added to, the track remains clear and uncluttered. So far, one of the trademarks of these pieces is the relative absence of major effects processing. The rhythmic sections drop away to leave massed choirs and spacey harmonies. pulsing internal features of the sounds used add to the metrical interest here, as the different shimmery comings and goings play across each other to great effect. Aha! - then the "Interval of God" arrives! the sequencing chatters away in classic style. Classic BS, with a relaxed and basic feel to it. Not music to get into a sweat over, but really very enjoyable indeed for those more calm moments. Light Mellotron vocals and intermeshing sequences in classic style. It all breaks down in waves of white noise back to what sounds like a _real_ guitar and Mellotron duet. Something in this makes me think of the seashore. I can't put my finger on it but ... Anyway, a nice way to wind down the track to a definite, rather than fadeout, conclusion. Track 4 Classic filtered white noise wind effects fly around your ears - at least, they do on headphones - before a portentous organ enters, complete with Leslie decoration. Birdsong and vaguely aquatic/tropical flavors replace the wind. A flute joins the organ, picking out a melodic, meandering course, accompanied by Mellotron strings. The organ fades out as a buzzy 70s string ensemble type of sound picks up the counterpoint with the other two instruments. Then into another classic 70s workout. Nice interlocking sequences and guitar lines with washes of choir behind and brassy interludes. And there's even THOSE ambient clangy noises heard in Ricochet! Yes .the REAL THING. The original TD sounds. As the guitar and brass drop away, a simple synth leads picks up and adds regularity and pulse to the mix, with some amount of repeated motifs in the solo that make it more than another wibbly wander (hey, keep up - this is proper musical terminology where I come from!). A gentle fade away into the distance is what you expect. You actually get a closure. The piece ends. And there you have it. My $0.02. A mandatory purchase for 70s retro sequencer fest fans. 2005. Steve B / England

review

I heard a piece of music today of a type that I have not heard for along while as I listened I thought my soul would fly so inspired that I felt I could achieve anything whilst listening to it. I nodded my head in astonishment beautiful, ethereal, earthly, magnetic, pulsating, driving intensely melodic, progressions unending, ideas overflowing I wondered why there were not others like it Rogue Element: ‘Premonition’ 2005. MMC (michael) / England Absolute Perfect & Absolute Original 2005. futuros / Slovakia

review

Take a look around: There’s people walking in flares, giving the peace-sign, smiling at the sun. The 70s are back and space is still the place. In the clubs, dj’s are playing disco and heavy funk and tired dancers arrive home in the middle of the night, spinning a vinyl-copy of “In a Gadda-Da-Vida” before finally floating off into dream land. “Premonition” is the soundtrack to their dreams, it’s the spark caused by the burning ember of their consciousness. Back in those golden days, Jerome Ramsey and Brendan Pollard were probably listening to Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze all day long, while getting high on life and love. Now, their first album as Rogue Element serves to bring back those memories. The duo has presumably spent the last few years at jumble sales and ebay, collecting synthesizers like stamps, all from the golden “Berlin School”-era of electronic music (basically the same equipment Pink Floyd used, as well). Now, their gear fills an entire page and all but prevents them from playing live, unless they find the funding to set up a Jenifer Lopez-like crew of 50 roadies to carry the stuff. It’s a sign of total dedication in times where everything seems to come from sample-CDs and “retro” is an equalizer-setting on your stereo. With this in mind, the greatest suprise regarding this record is the fact that it’s not “retro” at all. True, there’s lavish mellotron-pads, lovely warm flute sounds, dreamy themes and gently layered melodies over slowly evolving sequencer-rhythms. But while classics like “Stratosfear” and “Ricochet” are never far away, “Premonition” has its own sound: The overall feeling is more relaxed, the pace less relentless, structures are more resting. Long intros melt into gentle grooves, which build up and die away, without changing their mood. The fantastic closer “Falls the Shadow” manages to keep to this formula for seventeen breathtaking minutes without boring the listener once and the brilliantly titled “Rainbow Runner” is the lone exception to the rule, with its uplifting major-coda, reminiscent of Jean-Michel Jarre’s “Oxygene Part V”. Rogue Element have taken Edgar Froese’s brainchild and turned it into something both classic and contemporary. That’s quite an achievement and promises even better things to come. What’s more: You don’t need to wear flares or to be a child of the 70s to enjoy this 2005. tocafi / Germany

review

Oh man, what can I say? This is SO good!! I've listened to this CD almost every day since I got it a couple of weeks ago. This is Tangerine Dream the way it ought to be! If you like 'Ricochet', 'Force Majeure', or 'Encore' you will LOVE this! Brendan and Jerome; I don't mean anything negative or that you're derivative when I compare you to TD. That is the highest compliment I can think of. Over the years I've tried to find music that compares but nothing really comes close. I discovered Jean Michel Jarre around the same time as TD (1979) and I also enjoy Vangelis, Orbital, and Peter Baumann (Duh!). But nothing comes close to Rogue Element. I read a review where the listener said he loved the first track but the second one was weak... I love the second track, Troposheric Propagation, the way it starts out gently with water falling and works its way into a driving beat then goes back to a relatively quieter reflective melody before it starts over with the driving force. Of course the whole CD is just plain fantastic. May Rogue Element have a long and prosperous career. (Without the Edgar Froese meltdown and sellout of the mid 80's!) 2005. Tim Walburg / USA

review

Unearthly sounds, epic melodies and gliding sequences, envelop one by one all the themes of this album. In the most perfect Space Sequencer Music vein, it will delight the lovers of this kind of music. The melodies are based on sounds and textures of analog air. The rhythmic structure of the music tends to be based on powerful sequencers. In many passages, the rhythm assumes the role of melody, given its complexity. There also are moments of a quiet introspection, near to meditation, together with other instants of a daring experimentation, yet always keeping to the most melodic aspects of the duo. Edgar Kogler

review

A new shiny toy arrived in the post this morning.....WOW this *IS* TD!! The Album has 4 tracks ranging from 15 mins to 17 mins, and all are uptempo sequencer dominated pieces with plenty of melody and the TD sounds that we all know and love. If your a Fan of 70's TD, particularly around the Encore / Ricochet era and want more of that sound, then this album is for you... Some real nice piccies of the gear used are located in the CD booklet that blows you away looking at them..and believe me, the music matches what you would come to expect from two guys who know how to play all this equipment. On a personal note.....I Love it, great sequencing, great melody great Music!! 2004. Nick Adams