Just thought i'd post a recent interview with Mallorca Lee
by Brent of the debunk forums
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Mallorca n Davie, why don't you tell us a little about how you two came about making music together and what direction your taking your sound?
ML: We have known each other since back in the early Rave days circa 1990. We got together after working in the same studio complex for years, then we decided to get into production together. We did some releases for Ministry of Sound, Limbo , Eve and produced 4 tracks for the Public Domain album HARD HOP SUPERSTARS and worked hard making what was then a studio band into a LIVE touring band, playing all the major events and festivals around the world. Our own production work is made up of three different styles all getting release on our three record labels.
REDMONKEY RECORDS
www.redmonkeyrecords.com
This is for Trance and harder trance, none of your fluffy stuff, just good euphoric dance music. We release tracks under several alias's on this label they are - LOST IN TRANSLATION, C90 and TDM Project. We also released Mark Sherry's (Public Domain's) first solo release "AFTERDARK" and American/UK combo Signalrunners who are set for big things. We also release stuff under our own names David Forbes and Mallorca Lee. David followed up his biggest release "QUESTIONS" with "ANSWERS" which we are still selling by the bucket load from New York to Moscow !
DEBUNK
www.debunkmusic.com
This is for our house/progressive/tekhouse productions under the name SCANNERS. We work with several vocalists and live musicians to deliver what we call house. Just "having it" dance floor tracks aimed to make it quake, in a format for Dj's to mix up. Things are getting bigger and bigger, we have had releases from Mike Monday, D:Fuse, Northface and Steve Lawler with DJ support from Sasha to Eric Morillow, Marco V to Fergie. Were are almost at our 10th release and looking to release and album to celebrate the labels growth. We also have a monthly club night in London that we moved from Glasgow after 2 mental years in the city centre, called Debunk which gets very VERY messy.
INSIDE OUT RECORDINGS
www.insideoutrecordings.com
This is our latest label where we are concentrating on BIG ROOM TECHNO. Everyone and there dog is all over this label. We work with the biggest hard dance giants INSIDE OUT (Voted by Mixmag as club of the year). The labels first release was by FORBES LEE FOY (David, myself and IO resident DJ Simon Foy). Remixed by Adam Sheridan. We are now working on future releases and a DVD mix CD box set for the summer. (UK SUMMER July)
How do you think working together has changed your styles?
I think working together has strengthened our musical styles and know-how, where one of us has a weakness, its usually the other ones strength, so it all good in the proverbial hood/ Scottish studio ! hahahah We have learned so much from each other and push each other daily, pushing the boundaries. The good thing about what we do is there are no rules so its all just experiments and if we like it, it goes on wax.
The name Ultra Sonic has been in rave culture since it's beginning, what's happening with US now?
Its been well documented on my website and the dance press that I no longer work with the other guy I started US with. We basically came to the end of our working relationship, we burned each other out. After the success of Public Domain it really all went a bit Spinal Tap. He started doing Oldskool gigs in the UK under the name Ultra-Sonic, I lost all respect for him and we drifted further apart, after he had done these shows I decided to accept a US Live Australian tour for Sept 2002. I had always refused in the past as I no longer worked with him and thought it would never be the same, but since he thought it was ok to do it, I agreed and embarked on a sold out tour of Oz.
We had both decided to end Ultra-Sonic in 1998 because from 96-99 we were also working on a project called Bikinni State (a full on live band set up), it was a mix of Hip-Hop, Breaks and Electronica. In early 1999 we signed a world wide recording deal with BMG and the band fell apart soon after while recording the album, locked up in some farm/studio in the English country side - rock and roll style (drugs, breakdowns, internal arguments). The band got dropped by the record label and split as a result. We all continued to rock and roll 24/7 until reality kicked in.
After some serious problems I took myself out that picture and went to the Island of Skye (the Highlands of Scotland) to dry out, then on my return I went to Ibiza with my brother and found what I thought I had lost – DANCE MUSIC. It was the summer of 1999, when Trance was resurrected. I met my wife soon after, chilled out and started working with David after years of the both of us saying it would be a great idea to work together we finally hit the studio as a team.
And what about Public Domain, are you both still members of PD?
David and I left Public Domain at the end of 2002. We had given that project 110% and in doing so our labels and solo work really suffered. So we thought it was best to move on and concentrate on our own stuff. Before we left we hooked the guys up with MC CYCLONE (who David used to work with under the name Active Force) so they would not be in a jam. We are still all best of friends and push each other in production every day.
Mallorca do you feel you will ever be able to get away from the US/Public Domain name and stand alone as Debunk/Scanners?
I don't want to run from those names because its stuff that I have done in the past and work I am very proud of and I don't only want to be known as Scanners, I just want to be known as a producer who works on many different projects in just about every genre in Dance music ! There was a lot of blood sweat and tears in amongst the US and PD strobe lights and sound systems !!! Its just sometimes hard because those projects were so successful , it sometimes over shadows what I am doing now.
I suppose doing several things at once is my fault because people sometimes don't know what hat I am wearing especially when f#ck head promoters bill one of our DJ shows as Ultra-Sonic live or a Scanners house set we are doing as Scanners - "the guys who gave you US and PD". That kinda stuff don't work as it confuses people, management usually take care of it but f#ck ups always happen. I guess it will be a problem until David and have another very successful track that eclipses what we have done in the past.
Why is it that Tour Agents and Promoters keep billing you as US or Public Domain, don't you think it would be better to try and get away from the name all together?
I guess its the promoters greed (there are some innocent mistakes I guess, so I am told!) mixed with worry that they wont get a sold out show. I know promoters want to pack a venue and make candy but there are way about doing it correctly and usually we find out after the damage is done. Its hard keeping track on things especially in Australia. I would say the Gold Coast and Adelaide have been the main offenders but most other cities do it right, we try to make time to check flyers and billing etc. This time round only the gold Coast show have messed us around. Its crap really because the public think they are getting one thing, we think we are billed correctly as DJ's and when we get there we get the blame if its build as a LIVE Ultra-Sonic show, the promoter makes all the money and the punters feel let down, until we start our set. One promoter, the infamous George Vegas billed one of our DJ sets as Ultra-Sonic Vs. Public Domain live, that was a shocker.
When we DJ anywhere in the world playing our Harder set we are billed as DJ's Mallorca Lee & David Forbes, its no problem for us if they put under our names Ultra-Sonic / Public Domain coz that's parts of what we have done but when they bill it as ULTRA-SONIC live then at the bottom of the page in SMALL text DJ set. That is right out of order.
When we are playing our house sets, we are billed as SCANNERS, Debunk Records. Easy, no ???? hahahaha
What do we do cancel the show and let the punters down even more ?? It is a problem and a problem we are trying to take care of, its not as easy as it seems as Australia is a long way away and its usually friends and member of our website that alert us to billing. Adelaide had originally billed us a ULTRA-SONIC because they have Dye Witness on the same bill but we were alerted to it early doors and they fixed the billing to what they had actually booked, David and myself to DJ.
I only played live as Ultra-Sonic , touring Australia once in Sept. 2002, that was billed as the last ever show by promoters wanting to add a bit of hype to it. I then returned to play one other show a year and a half later (Nov/Dec 2003) in Sydney to help an x-mate's party take off. Every other show has been billed as a DJ set by David and myself except in a few cases where the promoters f#ck us around.
Our new Australian tour promoter, Simon Barwood from the club RISE in Perth has been doing a wicked job for us this year and we know how hard it is to get everything right. Especially when we demand the M&M's get divided into individual colours in our dressing room next to the Hookers, Live Stock and Circus Freaks that usually on our rider (lol)
Mallorca you've been considered one of the great MC's of rave music and you've carried that into your current sets in Australia and at home in Scotland...Where do you draw all that energy from?
Thanks mate I will give you that cash later... (lol). Seriously, The crowd man, I get kinda emotional about it at times during shows but its the crowd. I am so thankful that they are enjoying what I do and want to spend money to go see that, which makes it possible for promoters to book me to tour. So yeah its an easy answer the crowd. I played Obsession for the first time a few years ago in one of our DJ sets at Utopia in Sydney as our last song. To see 10,000 people with their hands in the air singing the song, brought tears to my eyes. Naturally being the tough guy that I am, I blamed the smoke machine or perhaps it was a raving fly that landed in my eye after some confusion when it was trying to find the back stage area !
Davie, and yourself had the massif hit "SHIVVER" which spawned STEVE LAWLER's 4am in Harlem Remix which went on to become one of the biggest house tunes of 2003, have you had any other big names in the industry now wanting to work with you both?
We have had the cream of the crop supporting our house label DEBUNK by playing our tracks out. We have a few artists lined up for remix duties. If you git a good tune producers sometimes ask you if they can remix it or they will mix it if you ask them coz they love the original. I was told once you cant polish a turd and I think that sums it up meaning if your tracks shit in the first place someone's not gonna make it better by remixing it !. Its great house Dj's accept our tunes as good tunes and are not turning there noses up at it because we used to produce Hardcore in the early 90's. At the end of the day I have said it a million times, its all house, don't matter what you call it, Hardcore, Tekno, House, Ambient, Gabba, its all house, I think you only understand that once you have been involved in the scene for a while.
So what can we expect from you guys on your upcoming tour of Aus?
THIS -
http://www.debunkmusic.com/djs_mallorcalee...forbes_live.wmvPlenty of great tunes, we have loads of new productions that we are planning to road test, and there aint a better crowd to hatch em on. Plenty of laughs as you know we tend to party a bit too much when we party in OZ, falling out DJ boxes, off stages, out boats, clubs and hotels. Making new friends, catching up with old ones. We take making music seriously but when we are out on the road doing our thing, its fun, its a pleasure to be doing it and we know we are so fortunate to be doing what we are doing.
If anyone wants to hear a particular track that David or I have produced or just a track they think we might play in our set, drop us a line on our message board www.debunkmusic.com. We have a tour diary there which will have free tickets and info on our free Debunk Party's on the Gold Coast.
Right that's me, I am away to catch my flight to London. We having our monthly Debunk night tonight, playing "HOUSE MUSIC" under the name "SCANNERS" for 5 hours. Got that "HOUSE MUSIC" , "SCANNERS", "NOT" hard dance , "HOUSE MUSIC", "OK???". Lol
Peace & Jam,
Mallorca Lee
2 April 2005
www.debunkmusic.com
Scanners "CRYING SHAME" / Oliver Moldab Pres. PRAWLER's Dubb Remix Debunk08 - Release MAY 2005 - INTERGROOVE
www.redmonkeyrecords.com
Signalrunners "Breathe" / "Recoil"
RMR08 - OUT NOW - UNIQUE Dist.
www.iorecordings.com
FORBES LEE FOY "BOXED OFF" / Adam Sheridan Remix
OUT NOW - UNIQUE Dist.
crazy one me thinks. 
