The Rogue Traders story begins in London, way back in 1989. That’s when James Ash and Steve Davis, via a mutual friend, found themselves working together on a rap track. “It was a terrible song but Steve and I hit it off straight away and became fast friends,” recalls James, laughing. “We also exchanged a lot of musical information because our tastes were so different. I was listening to European electronic music like Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre and Brian Eno, while Steve was into the blacker, more soulful side of music. So we influenced each other a lot and sort of met in the middle. We recognise each others’ strengths, and I think that’s the secret of the success of our partnership.”

The strength of that partnership was put to the test when James moved to Melbourne in 1992. However, thanks to the regular exchange of tapes and computer files, not to mention racking up the frequent flyer points between the UK and Australia, the pair kept working together, releasing tracks under the name Union State and scoring international dancefloor hits with “Out To Get You” and “Retrosexual”.

In the mean time, James had already hooked up with Australia’s foremost dance label, Vicious Vinyl (home to Madison Avenue, among others), releasing a track as Thunderchild in 1994. So when James and Steve decided to reinvent themselves as the Rogue Traders, Vicious Vinyl’s house music label Vicious Grooves was their first choice. The first product of this union is “Need You To Show Me”, a rollicking, instantly memorable disco-house cut with soulful vocals from Jamaica Williams and more hooks than the Japanese longline fishing fleet.

Other stand-out tracks include “Give In to Me”, which is bound to have the dance-floor moving with is catchy summer feel and “I Knew I’d Find You.” Featuring the talents of Bryan Chambers, one of the UK house scene’s finest voices (remember “All I Do” by Kleptomaniacs?), this is a song that reaches back beyond disco, with strings that recall the heydey of Philly Soul. “That’s something Steve put me onto,” James agrees. “Going back even further, there’s a strong Motown influence in our work, especially in the way we like to layer backing vocals. I hope those things make us sound different to your standard disco-house crew”.

“We’re very much into traditional songwriting, which is why we put so much effort into getting strong vocal performances,” he adds. “For us, the song – the lyrics and the melody – is the most important thing. There’s an element of magic to a great song and that magic is what we’re always searching for.”

The success of that quest will become apparent with the release of the Rogue Traders’ debut album, tentatively titled We Know What You’re Up To, later this year. Featuring principal vocalists Melinda Richards and Jamaica Williams, plus a couple of special guest singers, the album will showcase the diversity of the Rogue Traders sound, encompassing sophisticated R&B, mellow jazz-flavoured cuts and more. “It’s not all straight-up dancefloor house,” James confirms. “If someone likes your music enough to buy your album we think you have to provide a more rounded and complete listening experience.”

Meanwhile, Steve is preparing to move to Australia and the duo are proud to consider themselves part of the Australian dance scene – while retaining an international focus. “As Rogue Traders our aim has always been to make an album that could just have easily come from the US or UK or France,” James concludes. “Dance music is a global phenomenon, a sort of universal language. We want to contribute to that dialogue.”

Mission accomplished.

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