When tracing the roots of mákina, all roads lead back to Valencia and La Ruta. In its late-'80s to early '90s heyday, this once-thriving scene attracted music lovers from all over Spain and beyond, who flocked to superclubs like Barraca, Chocolate and Spook Factory to hear bacalao—not so much a sound as an umbrella term for various strains of dark, tough electronic music.

The scene's influence rubbed off on DJ and Spook Factory regular Fernado Gallego, AKA Nando Dixkontrol, who sought to emulate the energy of La Ruta in his native Barcelona. But his taste skewed faster and more intense, and when he took over an unruly after hours called Psicódromo in 1989, he set about making his vision a reality. The wheels of mákina—which translates to "machine"—gained momentum.

Over the next few years, a sound combining elements of bouncy techno, pumping trance and garish Eurodance came to define Psicódromo. "Catalan mákina was more ferocious and musically less demanding [than bacalao]," said journalist Luis Costa, who wrote a book on the history of La Ruta in 2016. "With basic but effective features—and as hard and extreme as the body requests."

Soon, mákina spread nationwide, popularised by clubs like Chasis, Pont Aeri, Scorpia and Nau B-3. It reached saturation point and began to fade around the year 2000, though by this point, the scene had already scored a handful of hits—thanks to artists such as Chimo Bayo and EX-3—and cemented its status as one of Spain's most significant musical movements of the late 20th century.

Roughly 2,000 KM away in the north-eastern English seaside town of South Shields, local rave After Dark 2 was losing customers and promoter Scott Jenner, AKA DJ Scott, was increasingly concerned. He decided to take an EasyJet flight to Barcelona on a record-buying mission—a move that would have a profound impact on the musical history of the North East.

"I got my hands on some of these tracks, and they reminded me of old Scott Brown stuff, like 'Now Is The Time,'" he said. "I found the addresses for labels like Bit Music on the back of the records, jumped on a flight and brought back fuckin' thousands of them."

It took a few months for the North East crowds to warm to mákina, but when they finally did, the impact was huge. Before long, it had grown into a distinctly working-class phenomenon—a utilitarian mode of musical escapism embraced with open arms by the region's disenfranchised youth. Unlike in Spain, mákina in England quickly morphed into a vocal-led sound, with MCs flowing at breakneck speed over the beats.

For the most part, the scene has remained hyperlocal, revered in Newcastle and neighbouring satellite towns, but met with indifference—or derision—from the rest of the country. "It's big in a few northern cities, and parts of Scotland, but the further south you go the more it's made out to be crap," said Jenner. "They [Southerners] sometimes label it as cartoon music."

This derision has largely subsided in recent years, but more important than acceptance from the wider dance music world is the fact that scenes continue to thrive in mákina's Catalan and Tyneside heartlands (there's also an emerging scene on the west coast of Scotland, as explored in the 2022 documentary MCKINA). According to Costa, mákina has been "recovered and renewed" by a new generation of Spanish DJs and producers who consider themselves part of the neo-mákina movement, while in the North East, the sound has acquired a kind of urban folk music status. Iconic records, legendary lyrics and grainy recordings are passed down through generations, keeping the torch alive.

"This was an idea I had in early 1998," said Jenner. "To think that mákina is still making waves 26 years later is crazy."

Chosen by Costa and Jenner, the following ten tracks chart mákina's rise in Spain and its unexpected journey over to the North East of England.

Polar Praxis - "Music For Fireworks"

This Belgian track from 1986 can be considered a precursor to the European hardcore techno sound that influenced mákina in Catalonia. Its structure, tempo, epic melodies and unhinged vocals paved the way for a production style that was later replicated and pushed to its limits in '90s hardcore. "Music For Fireworks" was a fixture of Nando Dixkontrol's sets and remains one of his top ten favourite tunes of all time. - Luis Costa

DJ Franky Jones - "Overwhelming Rain (Jones & Stephenson Mix)"

Every list of electronic music from the '90s should include a mention of Bonzai Records, the Belgian label founded in 1992 that put out essential hardcore, techno, trance and hard trance records. While it's hard to choose just one track from its colossal catalogue, this hard trance hit got hammered at all the Catalan clubs of the era, such as Scorpia, where it was a proper favourite. - Luis Costa

Atmospheric - "Oxigene"

Born from La Ruta, there's a deeply rooted tradition in Spanish DJ culture of mixing pop songs with basslines from techno, EBM and hardcore. Nando Dixkontrol took this approach to the extreme in the Catalan scene. As a result, there were a lot of mákina covers of pop classics, from The Godfather soundtrack and No Doubt's "Don't Speak" to "Zombie" by The Cranberries and Peter Schilling's "Major Tom." In 1997, the Barcelona producer Gerard Requena, AKA Atmospheric, released this hardcore version of "Oxygene" by Jean-Michel Jarre. - Luis Costa

Oberture - "Iter-Ratet"

The '90s was the golden era of European hardcore and mákina, especially the second half of the decade, when the sound hit its peak in the scene. This production from the Barcelona label Bit Music perfectly captures the happy hardcore sound that eventually took hold: fast, wacky rhythms coupled with simple, bright, catchy melodies that could be easily enjoyed by increasingly larger crowds. - Luis Costa

Dj Skudero & Xavi Metralla - "Flying Free"

In 1997, the Escudero brothers—Marc (AKA Dj Skudero) and Xavi (AKA Xavi Metralla)—became residents at Barcelona club Pont Aeri, one of several local temples in the mákina scene. Two years later, as part of the Pont Aeri – Vol. 4 12-inch, they released "Flying Free," another mákina anthem and one of the biggest Catalan dance music tracks in history; it also went global. More recently, the brothers sued the writers of "Tattoo," a song by the Swedish group Loreen that won the 2023 edition of Eurovision. They claim the melody is identical. - Luis Costa

Dani Fiesta - "The Return"

This release was in the first batch of Spanish mákina releases that I hit the North East rave scene with. It quickly became a hit after only a few weeks because of its powerful stab riff and catchy, fairground-style melody. Dani Fiesta is part of a mákina group called Sistema 3 alongside his brothers DJ Richard and Johnny Bass. 26 years later, "The Return" is still getting played regularly. - Scott Jenner

Free!! - "Kanashimi O Moyashite"

This is probably one of the biggest vocal mákina releases. The Japanese vocals are sampled from a classic computer game called Vandal Hearts. Nobody knows what the vocalist is singing about, but it's very hypnotic and catchy. - Scott Jenner

Dj Juan Cruz - "Harmonycs"

This track perfectly defines mákina as a style of music—and the energy that drives it. Nicely blending trance and techno into an uplifting cheesy bouncer, "Harmonycs" features a famous rap sample from the Tyree Cooper track "Turn Up The Bass." But everyone around the North East calls it "Harry Cooper." - Scott Jenner

Dj El Brujo & Maquiabelik - "La Danna Feliz"

The moment "La Danna Feliz" gets played everyone rushes to the dance floor. Known for its tough, bassy intro, dual melody and catchy stab riffs, this one is beloved by ravers in the North East. - Scott Jenner

DJ Scott - "Is It Real"

One of mine. For some reason it was massive around here. I started trying to produce in 1999 with my friend Dj Selector C. We didn't have a clue and none of the bigger names around our area would give us any tips or help. We had to teach ourselves, and it was hard, but we got there in the end. My first releases were "Rock" and "Is It Real," which have become North East classics. Other producers from the scene who deserve a mention include Nemesis, Triple XL and Andy Static. In terms of MCs, Techno T, Jet, Stretch, Scotty Jay, Tazo, Ace and Stompin are all legends of the scene. - Scott Jenner