Valencia

The records and voices of the Ruta

In 1980s Valencia, a record shop could help a DJ find sounds that were difficult to hear elsewhere in Spain. The shop Zic-Zac supplied imported music to DJs; clubs around the city made room for punk, electronic music and records brought from abroad. The circuit later became known as the Ruta del Bakalao.

One of its clubs was Spook Factory, in Pinedo. Co-founder Pepe Soto remembered its long opening hours and the music selected by DJ Fran Lenaers. The Ruta was a collection of venues and styles, not a single sound fixed in time.

At another venue, El Templo, Chimo Bayo worked as a DJ. Voices recorded there became part of “Así me gusta a mí”, released in 1991 and heard far beyond Valencia. The record’s musical authorship became disputed: producer Germán Bou later obtained a share of its copyright through the courts. Bayo’s television performance from December 1991 preserves another encounter between the track and its growing public.