Banco de Gaia

Banco de Gaia is an electronic music band from England, formed in 1989 by Toby Marks (born 1964, South London).

The music of Banco de Gaia is best categorized as ambient dub, but Marks works to cross genres, often using Arabic and Middle Eastern samples against a bass heavy reggae, rock, or trance rhythm to produce deeply textured tracks that progress layer upon layer.

History

In 1978, Marks began his musical career as a drummer in a heavy metal band.

Marks moved to Portugal in 1986 and played Beatles music for tourists. He first delved into electronic music in 1989, when he bought a digital sampler. The first tune he recorded on it was called "Maxwell House."

Having cut his teeth on the early 90s Ambient Dub compilations, in 1994 he released his first studio album Maya on Planet Dog records, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize on its release. It was followed in 1995 by the critically acclaimed Last Train to Lhasa. Both albums reached No1 in the UK independent charts and featured in the national album chart top 40. In the following decade Banco De Gaia released Live at Glastonbury, Big Men Cry, The Magical Sounds of Banco De Gaia, Igizeh and You Are Here.

In 1997, Banco De Gaia put together a five piece band that included Ted Duggan (drums), Ashley Hopkins (bass), Larry Whelan (wind synth, saxophone and ethnic flutes), and Gary Spacey-Foot (percussion and saxophones). The band reduced in number to just Marks, Duggan, and Hopkins in 1999, and then just Marks and Duggan from 2000 until 2003; when Marks went back to being a solo artist.

On 20 September 2009, Banco De Gaia played an album launch show for his album, Memories Dreams Reflections at Dingwalls in London. This show was to celebrate twenty years of Banco De Gaia. Marks was joined on stage by three members from the original five piece band, Hopkins, Whelan, and Duggan and vocalist Maya Preece, who sang on the latest album.

He released a studio album, Apollo, on 8 April 2013, on his own Disco Gecko Recordings.^[1][2]

In 2015, Banco (Toby Marks) returns to playing with a live 3-piece band, Ted Duggan (drums) ^[3] and James Eller (bass).^[4]

Discography

Early cassettes

• Medium (World Bank, 1991)
• Freeform Flutes and Fading Tibetans (World Bank, 1992)
• Deep Live (World Bank, 1992)

These first three albums existed only on tape and are no longer being sold due to copyright issues with several of the samples used on them.

Albums

• Maya (Planet Dog, 1994) – UK No. 34^[5]
• Last Train to Lhasa (Planet Dog, 1995) – UK No. 31^[5]
• Big Men Cry (Planet Dog, 1997)
• The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia (1999)
• Igizeh (2000)
• You Are Here (2004)
• Farewell Ferengistan (2006)
• Memories Dreams Reflections (2009)
• Apollo (2013)^[6][7]
• Ollopa:Apollo Remixed (2013)
• Maya: 20th Anniversary Edition (2014)
• Last Train to Lhasa: 20th Anniversary Edition (2015)

Live albums

• Live at Glastonbury (Planet Dog, 1996)

Compilation albums

• 10 Years (2002)
• 10 Years Remixed (2003)
• Songs From The Silk Road (2011)
• Rewritten Histories Vol.1 1992 – 1995 (2011)
• Rewritten Histories Vol.2 1996 – 2001 (2012)
• Rewritten Histories Vol.3 2002 – 2013 (2014)

EPs

• Desert Wind (1993)
• Heliopolis (1994)
• Last Train to Lhasa (1995)
• Drunk As a Monk Mixes
• I Love Baby Cheesy (1999)
• Obsidian (2000)
• Zeus No Like Techno / Gray Over Gray (2004)
• Kara Kum Remixes (2006)
• Wimble Toot (2013)
• Apollon (2013)
• All Sleeping (2013)
• For Such a Time (2013)
• Last Train to Lhasa 20th Anniversary EP (2015)

References

External links

• Official website
• Interview with Toby Marks
• Banco de Gaia at Allmusic
• Disco Gecko Recordings website
• Banco De Gaia on Discogs