Makina - The DJ Diaries

⏱ 2 min read

Spanish and UK Happy Hardcore variant. faster, with Spanish MC vocals over punishing kicks. Enormous in Sheffield and Leeds.

What Makina sounds like

Hard, fast four to the floor kicks, punchy and clipped, with offbeat stabs and big rave pads. Bright trance leads and synth hooks repeat in bursts. Occasional vocal samples and MC shouts. When a big riff breaks out of the pad, everyone throws hands up.

What you would see

Spanish clubs like Pont Aeri, later North East England clubs like the New Monkey. Tracksuits, baseball caps, whistles, and fans playing it on coach trips.

Where and when

Makina took shape around 1991 in Valencia and Catalonia, Spain. Tracks usually run at 150 to 180 BPM. You will also see it called mákina, bakalao.

Family tree

It grew out of Eurodance.

Artists to start with

Chimo Bayo, EX-3 and Pastis and Buenri.

One track to hear

Chimo Bayo, Así me gusta a mí (1991). It is an official upload, and you can play it on this genre’s card in the Dance Music Timeline.

Where it stands in 2026

Fading, but a North East England football coach anthem.

Want to hear how it connects to its neighbours? Plan a mix from here with Tempo Bridge, or see where it sits among 127 genres on the timeline.

From the booth

Makina is hard and fast, 150 to 180 BPM, with punchy four on the floor kicks, offbeat stabs and bright trance leads. It grew out of Eurodance and pushed that bright, catchy energy into much harder territory.

This is peak time rave music, and I would only reach for it in a hard dance set or a nostalgia night where the crowd knows what it is getting. Notice the moment a big riff breaks out of the pad; that is the hands up moment. For a newcomer, watch your tempo jumps. Coming from a 130 BPM set, climb gradually through hard trance or hard house before you land here. Sudden leaps can empty a floor quickly.

Sources

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