Page 15 - Demo

August 2025 | Gazette Life | 15Tell us about the Lanzarote scene.There's been a rock scene on Lanzarote for decades, lots of bands. In the Canaries they'd often say that Lanzarote was the most modern of the islands. But things have changed a lot.In Arrecife, for example, there are no longer any bars that put bands on. This is because of noise regulations, but also because owners are more conservative, I think. In the resorts there are plenty of venues, but everyone wants cover versions. Holidaymakers want to hear their favourite songs, not new stuff.What we do have is festivals like Sonidos L%u00edquidos and Arrecife En Vivo, but they don't happen often, and there's a real hunger from the bands to play live.Is that hunger reflected by the public?The festivals show that people don't just go to concerts to see bands now, they go to take selfies and photos. But people are interested %u2013 the real problem is getting support from the authorities.Why do you think that is?In the UK people regard rock music as culture, worth supporting. Here it's associated with drinking, alcohol and good times, and the authorities aren't always that keen to support it.How does it feel when the records arrive?That's a big moment, for the band as well as me. Not everyone puts a record out, and it's something you can hold in your hand and say, %u201cthis is real%u201d. That's one of the reasons I've always preferred records to streaming%u2013 you can own them.What are your views on streaming?It's how most people listen to music nowadays, and you can listen to some of the material on Malpa%u00eds at our Bandcamp page, but really, like so many other people at the grass roots, I think Spotify are the devil. When they pay 0.0003 cents for every listen, there's no way a small band can get ahead.But that's how it is now. We live in a more immediate society. When I was young, I'd wait all week to record a song from the radio on my cassette player, and I'd hear all sorts of other things while I was waiting. Now it's all just a click away.Where can we get hold of Malpa%u00eds Records?There are no longer any record shops on Lanzarote, but there's a second-hand bookshop called La Madriguera in Arrecife that stocks them, and record shops in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Santa Cruz and La Laguna in Tenerife.Thanks, Charlie, and the best of luck.Dr%u00fbpe's first album Peach, Please, will be out in November but you can see the video for their single %u201cYou Do, We Do, I Do%u201d by scanning this QR code. Dr%u00fbpe. Photography: instagram.com/AndreselmejoYou can find Malpais Records on Instagram, Facebook, Bandcamp and Discogs.