Banco-de-Gaia
Banco-De-Gaia, otherwise known as Toby Marks, has become a big name in the world of ambient dance music and for many years formed the backbone of the Planet Dog record label along with Eat-Static. His earlier work was only released on tape and now is no longer available due to copyright problems.
Medium is the first of these tape-only albums, and I'd like to thank Phil Holt for being a complete star and sending me a copy of this album - many, many thanks. Following in much the same style is Freeform Flutes & Fading Tibetans and Deep Live. Then came Banco's first excursion on vinyl and CD - Maya. Hitting the top 40 albums charts, this album paved the way for the awesome Last Train To Lhasa and the Live at Glastonbury albums. '97 saw the release of Big Men Cry, which explored new territory and introduced a greater live element to his material. This was to be the last release on Planet Dog as '98 saw a departure from the Dogs and ultimately the formation of B-d-G's own record label - Disco Gecko Recordings. His first release on Gecko was the long player The Magical Sounds of Banco-de-Gaia. This album saw Banco return to his roots with a hybrid of sounds from the albums 'Last Train to Lhasa' and 'Maya'. His sixth album (released sept 2000), 'Igizah', translates to the word "vacation" in Egyptian Arabic and was recorded in part inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and surrounding locations. 2002 saw the release of a double CD "best of" compilation album titled '10 Years' followed by a complementary remix album '10 Years Remixed' with tracks from '10 Years' reworked by other artists that Toby had worked with or collaborated with in the past. Following his seventh album 'You Are Here' (2004) is his latest album 'Farewell Ferengistan' (2006).
Album: Medium
[WBC002]
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Released 1991 on Planet Dog Records. Banco's first tape-only album. Many thanks to Phil Holt for getting me a copy of this impossible to find album...thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!!!
Kicking of with The Final Frountier, very early techno sounding and crammed full of sci-fi samples, ranging from The Twilight Zone to StarTreck (one of the main reasons that these tapes are no longer available). An early mix of Data Inadequate (which later appears on
Deep Live, the vinyl limited edition Maya album, and then also on the Live at Glastonbury album in its full improved, powerful version) glides into Technah....buts its Tempra that's the next track to make me hit the rewind button and turn the volume up. Ambient and very haunting, this track has appeared from time to time in Banco's live performances in the past. It steals the vocal from the single 'Only You' by Praise, which was most famously used for the Fiat Tempra TV advert (hence the name of the track!). Incidently, the vocal is that of Miriam Stockly.
Over on side B the obvious star is Mafich Arabi, another track that has become a favourite in live performances and appears on the Maya and Live at Glastonbury albums.
Album: Freeform Flutes & Fading Tibetans
[WBC003]
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Released 1992 on Planet Dog Records. Banco's second tape-only album is 'Freeform Flutes and Fading Tibetans'. It contains Desert Wind (released as a CD single) Also, there is the very ambient 'Soufie' which is a wonderful, looping piano piece (also found on the Ambient Dub Vol.1 compilation, which is the only vinyl/cd release of this track) and 'Alpha', containing splashing wave samples mixed into Louis Armstrongs' 'What a wonderful world'. Side B is very different, kicking off with 'Therapy', which is almost jazzy...i don't like this track! 'Therapy' fades out as waves splash onto the shores of 'Therra Om', ambient chords, glitters and glides - very spacey until a simple beat transforms this track into something more powerful. 'Theta' is choc'a'block with samples, including Willie Rushston narrating 'Trapdoor'...."Burke...Feed Me!...This may not mean much to you if you don't live in the U.K! This blends very suspiciously into a really cheesy Hawaiian number, waves crashing onto a beach with steel drums and a Hammond organ...all very atmospheric! A brass band and someone introducing Winston Churchill closes the track and 'Darkside' (also on the limited edition Maya vinyl album) cuts in very savagely...quite a bad bit of production here. 'Eternal Recurrence', again very ambient, very nice, ends side B. One thing I notice about this album is that Banco was obviously going through a phase of using samples of waves and beaches!
Album: Deep Live
[WBC004]
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Released 1992 on Planet Dog Records. 'Deep Live' is Banco's third tape only recording. Recorded live at what was 'Club Dog' in 1992 (now Megadog), this tape contains some wicked samples. It opens with what I think
is the title track from 'Dirty Dancing' (!) which is slowed down and messed around with a bit. This drifts into 'Darkside' and Desert Wind before hitting the mighty 'Data Inadequate' - a powerful and majestic intro builds..and then the dance beat kicks in. Always a fave in Banco's live sets. Side B is a bit disappointing, with little worth mentioning except for 'Gamalah', which can be found on Banco's first real album Maya.
Single: Desert Wind
[BARK001CDS]
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Released 1993 on Planet Dog Records. 'Desert Wind' was the first ever Banco-de-Gaia single. Originally I didn't rate it very much, but over the years my opinion of this classic single have escalated and nearly 10 years on these tracks haven't dated one bit, working very well together as a three track single. It features one of my all times favourite Banco tracks, 'Shanti', and an alternative mix to the version of 'Gamelah' that features on the 'Maya' album. The title track, 'Desert Wind', which previously featured on the tape only albums 'Freeform Flutes & Fading Tibetans' and 'Deep Live' (and more recently on the '10 Years' compilation), is a welcome addition to this single.
Album: Maya
[BARKCD003]
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Released 1994 on Planet Dog Records. Banco's first album outing on vinyl/CD. Its a bit of a trancy ambient album, perfect easy listening / going to bed music. Gone are all the illegal samples that livened up his earlier tape only albums, and what's left behind is smooth ambient trance. Its now considered a classic album and in terms of Toby Marks' music career this was the turning point towards global recognition. Classics on this album include 'Mafich Arabi', which later turns up on the 'Live at Glastonbury' album, 'Heliopolis' and 'Shanti'.
A limited edition vinyl version of this album was also released and is well worth getting your hands on, as it contains an extra 12" featuring the excellent 'Data Inadequate' (that first appeared on Banco's tape-only album 'Medium') and an exclusive track titled 'Darkside'.
Single: Heliopolis - City of the Suns Mixes
[BARK004CDS]
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Released 1994 on Planet Dog Records. This single is also worth a look-in, the 'Eedupolis Dog mix' and 'Redwood mix' being a bit faster than the original album version.
Album: Last Train To Lhasa
[BARKCD011]
 
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Released 1995 on Planet Dog Records. Toby Marks returns and hits the spot with this Tibetan influenced little beauty. The limited edition is spread over three discs whilst there is also available a two and one disc version of the album. Disc one is by the far the best, with the excellent Last Train to Lhasa track, over 10 minutes of flowing trance with puffing and whistling train samples and eastern vocals from a male and female singing a
hunting duet . Guaranteed to have you humming this track for the rest of the day! However, don't bother with the single, since this only contains an ambient version which doesn't really go anywhere. The trancy beats and tribal chants flow through 'Kuos' and into 'China', which starts with a sample of an old oriental bloke rambling on about moving mountains. This track slows down the pace a bit, very mellow....I love the cascading harps in this track. 'Amber' has a wicked, clattery drum pattern in it - my god...its full of stars - and flows in a very eastern style with lots of strings. The original Whirl-Y-Gig mix of this track has recently been released on the Whirl-Y-Waves Compilation.
From 'Amber' into Kincajou and Banco goes
techno! This recently released single contains an excellent mix by Oliver Lieb (a stomper) and the 'Here Comes the Norse Gods' mix by Banco which is by far the best mix. 'White Paint' is powerful, glorious, ambient trance at its best and works a treat under the parachute at Whirl-Y-Gig.
Finally on disc one it the very ambient '887 structure'; long, repetative ambient loops, closing down with a sample about potatoes being able to survive in space??? Banco has played around with this track making it more upbeat, and included it in his live sets at the Phoenix and WOMAD festivals (this mix is found on the Live at Glastonbury CD).
The other two discs are more ambient than the first, but still very good. Check out '887 Darkside Return' on disc three ; a continuation of the track 'Darkside' from the limited edition disc of the Maya album. Also the 'Kuos gnomes mix' on disc two' is worth a listen - build up's of tribal drum loops and chants best played at loud volume. An all round superb album from Mr Marks.
Single: Last Train To Lhasa
[BARK010CDS]
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Released 1995 on Planet Dog Records. This is one of my all time favourite tunes. However, I was a bit dismayed with this single, since it doesn't really offer anything new over the album version. The radio edit slashed the original to bits while the ambient version doesn't really do much, but is pleasant enough going to bed music all the same.
Single: Kincajou
[BARK017CDS]
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Released 1995 on Planet Dog Records. Oliver Lieb provides a stomper of a remix, while Speedy-J's
reworking of the track is a bit of a plinky plonkey effort, which I'm not very keen on. However, Banco's own remix, 'Here Come the Norse Gods', is by far the best mix on this single and is a whirlwind of a track. My only gripe is that It could have done with being a bit longer. An additional mix of Kincajou titled the Wild Monkey Fever Mix is to be found on Earth Trance, a compilation album of various top trance artists, such as Speedy J, Eat Static, System 7, Sven Vath and psychedelic artists such as Koxbox, Man with no Name, Medicine Drum and Hallucinogen. Remixed by 100th Monkey & Psi Wild, Kincajou has been transformed into a blinding track which is well worth a listen. Its a rare occasion where the remix is equally as good, if not better, than the original.
Album: Live at Glastonbury
[BARKCD021]
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Released 1996 on Planet Dog Records. 'Live at Glastonbury' is a live recording of Banco's complete set on the Avalon Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in England on June 24th 1995. It's a bit of a mixture of material from the LTTL album and some of Banco's older material from the Maya album. It kicks off with a Tibetan bloke chanting. The crowds cheer and scream and the steaming and puffing train pulls into a field in Glastonbury with Toby Marks onboard, in the form of the track Last Train to Lhasa. All aboard for a journey of a lifetime. Tickets Please! 'Mafich Arabi' follows, an old eastern favourite from the Maya album. 'Amber' is virtually untouched, but the majestic 'White Paint' has been tampered with, as a gentle breakbeat rattles through the glorious looping layers...lovely! Kincajou has extra vocal samples weaved into it (I actually prefer this version to the album version). This leads into 'Kuos', the crowds obviously loving the layered chanting and long build-up of drums. '887' unfortunately had to edited, due to some sample that caused a few legal problems, but it kicks in, in true potato in space style, leaving a danceable version of '887', with its extra woop-woop sound effects (if you've heard it you'll know what I mean!) and female vocals that graced Banco's recent live performances at WOMAD and Phoenix '96. The train grinds to a halt for a breather, the crowd goes mad and demands an encore, and so Heliopolis is the next destination. Taking the form of the stomping 'Redwood' mix (on the
Heliopolis - The City of the Suns Mixes single), where a flute adds to the journey. And the final destination? 'Data Inadequate' - where else! The crowd whistle as the grand and majestic opening bars send out waves of good vibes and a cheer breaks as the beat stomps in. It's a perfect climax to an excellent set. You can feel the atmosphere and like its says on the cover, ....'we have tried to capture the spirit of the occasion rather than achieve technical perfection'. Here the journey ends...all change please...make sure you have all your luggage and personal possessions.
Album: Big Men Cry
[BARKCD025]
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Released 1997 on Planet Dog Records. Its been two years since The Last Train album and the new album (7/97), Big Men Cry, has a huge reputation to live up to. Drippy opens the album, a track which Banco has used in recent live sets. Water dripping samples set the tempo, which very cleverly builds into a bouncy track, to which chants and a beautiful female voice sings along to. Church bells ring in Celestine. The Indian type chants in this track sound amazingly similar to those in Terra Ferma's Luna Sunrise which was released around about the same time as this album on Platipus Records. Half way through the track Dick Parry and Matt Jenkins go on a saxophone frenzy, turning it all a little too jazzy for my liking. This is not the Banco-de-Gaia that we are all used to, and reminds me a little of Therapy, which was an early track on the Freedom Flutes and Fading Tibetans album. The track closes as it starts, with the chants - just a shame it has the Sax bit in the middle. Drunk as a Monk has a very dark intro, before kicking into a more uplifting bouncy track with Uilleann pipes. The drunk monks keep adding their chants into the track, giving it a haunting dark feel - I rather they didn't.
This brings us to the title track, Big Men Cry. It's a sad track, very slow and ambient. A violin plays a lovely solo, which is very moving, but brings the mood of the album down at a point where it needs uplifting. Gates Does Windows is literally 30 seconds of ambient tweets and chirps (why?), which blends into One Billion Miles Out, which is another track that opens with samples and effects which creates a very dark atmosphere. A choir of children singing turn this track into a scene from a science fiction type film, like in the final scene of the Abyss where the underwater world comes up to the surface. It's all a little too glorious. Half way through the track the choirs reach a climax leaving Darth Vadar type breathing samples, into which flows a slow tribal drum beat, which fades into more dark spacy samples which is the intro to Starstation Earth. Its a long build up of repetative, very ambient loops, which eventually, after 14 minutes (!), builds into something with a bit of a kick behind it to close the album.
So, overall it's a bit of a mixed bag. My expectations of this album were very high, and I must admit that I'm a little disappointed with it. It is a lot more ambient than Last Train, which isn't a bad thing, but its the fact that some of the tracks are quite dark and abstract that ruins it for me. The element of adding live acts to some of the tracks adds a new angle to Banco's work, which is why some of it sounds so different to his older material. Drippy is definitely the highlight of the album - its just a shame that the rest of the album doesn't follow suit. I hate to say this, but this is probably the weakest album to date, with only seven tracks, one of which being only 30 seconds long. BUT you will still have to buy it for the magnificent Drippy.
12": Drunk as a Monk
[MR0178-0]
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Released 1998 on Mammoth Records (USA). This 12" is an (expensive) US import that I picked up recently (1/98). Planet Dog never released it as a single in the UK. Rabbit in the Moon delivers an interesting remix, which is quite drum 'n bassey and, like the original, is quite dark. Apparently there was a radio edit of this track recorded with additional vocals from Neil Sparks (ex-Transglobal Underground vocalist). Has anyone got any info on this?
Album: The Magical Sounds of Banco-de-Gaia
[GKOCD001]
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Released 1999 on Gecko Records. Following the departure from Planet Dog Records, Banco has formed his own 'Gecko' record label which all future B-de-G releases will now appear on. The new album has also been released in North America on '6 Degrees Records'.
This album is undoubtedly the most polished and "complete" album of Banco-de-Gaia's to date. It reflects upon all of his previous work with elements of each of the other albums shining through. Notably the general mood is that of 'Last Train to Lhasa' and 'Maya' although I draw the comparisons to a close there, since this has progressed a further step forward. The album is generally upbeat, although its not all fast dance material, as the slower, ambient and moody side of Toby Marks's work is still present and bulks out the mid part of the album. But this helps to balance the album out and create an overall journey, something that was severely lacking in 'Big Men Cry'.
'I Love Baby Cheesy' is a strong opener - its an uplifting trancer with quirky vocals and suspicious samples (someone asks "how are you feeling?", in reply "fabulous, I've never felt like this in my life. Its great, its great, its great....."). This track is already a regular favourite on the Whirl-Y-Gig playlist. 'Harvey and the Old Ones' is ambient to start, but, reminiscent of 'Drippy', this track builds up slowly and really takes off halfway through. Beautiful uplifting chants stomp to the finale, combining Indian war cries with a host of percussion. At this point the album has acquired an air of "carnival" about it.
However, 'Sinhala' slows the pace right down, where an element of the live material is evident. Brass dominates the melody and a laid back beat struts around ethnic chants. Its akin to the darker underlying theme that dominated 'Big Men Cry', but whereas 'Big Men Cry' spiralled downhill, 'Sinhala' fits in nicely. 'Touching the Void' is another slow ambient starter, with the usual BdG vocal samples, dreamy chants and spacey synths swirling and building up. Eventually the beats kicks in, accompanied by a superb quirky ethnic vocal that jabbers an incomprehensible chant over soothing flutes. It appears that the drunken monks are back in '144K?' chanting about "we are beautiful people, we are the chosen ones". It takes five minutes to build, but once it does this track really kicks home.
The opening of 'Frogs Dinner' is jammed packed full of samples; this is reminiscent of Banco's old tape-only albums. Clapping, chanting and a downpour of rain leads into a laid back beat and an element of jazz as the track just plods along at "chill-out" pace, backed by more ethnic chants and, towards the later of the track, a glorious harmony singing a chorus line. 'Glove Puppet' is a bizarre little track that I'm not overly keen on. Violins drone out a rather depressing tune over the sound of machine gun fire, which creates a terribly sad atmosphere - the dying seconds of the track features a spoken sample of "there is a war on you know" and a someone laughing hysterically. I'm not sure where this track comes from and where it's meant to lead to. However, as the laughter dies out in chirps 'No Rain', which is probably the strongest track on the album. From the first beat this is positive and uplifting. Choruses of backing singers follow a leading female African singer on a journey of foot tapping, whirling euphoria.
It's an excellent foot to close the album on and is fine evidence that Banco-de-Gaia is back on form. The whole album plays beautifully from end to end featuring some wonderful new material. Apart from my small grumble about 'Glove Puppet' this album gets an overwhelming thumbs up and essential purchase recommendation. Many thanks to Toby Marks for the advance promo of this album.
Single: I Love Baby Cheesy
[657036 5012-2/ 657036 5012-2 / GK001T]
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Released 5/99 in the US on Six Degrees Records in CD single and 12" (tracks 2-5) format. Also released 5/99 in the UK as a 12" white label promo on Gecko Records featuring tracks 2,3,4 & the full length album version.
The Dub Pistols Mix opens with crackly vinyl and dubby beats which rapidly spirals down a dark alley of experimental sounding techno. The Electric Cheddar Remix by Wayward Soul retains many of the samples from the original Banco mix, substituting the main beat with drum and bass. The mix of real worth on this single is the Banco-de-Gaia Skippy Mix which doesn't diverge to far from the original format. This version kicks straight in and adds an extra bounce to the main beat. This just leaves the rather short Afro-European Remix, again by Wayward Soul. This opens with really slow tribal sounding beats and plays heavily on the "how are you feeling" sample, and to be honest that's about all there is to this remix - its very repetitive and doesn't really go anywhere. Apart from the Skippy Mix Banco followers will probably be disappointed with these remixes, although fans of drum and bass and big beat may favour these rather diverse offerings.
Album: Igizeh
[GKOCD002 / 657036 1034-2]
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Released 9/00 on Gecko Records and on 6 Degree Records in the USA.
Igizah translates to the word "vacation" in Egyptian Arabic, and hence Eastern sounding prayer chants set the opening scene in Banco-de-Gaia's sixth official long player, recorded in part inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and surrounding locations. 'Seti I' was recorded at the Temple of Seti 1 at Thebes, and is a strong opener and very typical Banco sounding, with an overall uplifting vibe that runs parallel with tracks like 'No Rain' from the previous album. The beats build up slowly in a similar manner to those in 'Drippy', with a catchy tribal chant chorus and powerful Indian war chants adding fuel to the pace. 'Obsidian' boldly steps into new territory, with Toby Marks introducing live vocals into his music for the first time from Jennifer Folker. Ultimately this leads to a very commercial vibe and midway through the track its easy to forget that you are actually listening to Banco-de-Gaia. To be fair Jennifer Folker has an amazing voice and I’m interested to see how this track translates in the forthcoming single, with mixes by Fluke, The Light and Andy Guthrie. 'Creme Egg' jumps back to Banco-of-old mode with clattery drums and quirky chants. 'Glove Puppet' is a new vocal version of the same track that featured on the previous album, again with vocals by Jennifer Folker. My reservations about this track hold firm, since first time round I found it rather morbid and depressing - well, as the vocals stand they are impressive and compliment the track perfectly, although I won’t be playing this track when I need cheering up. And then as 'Glove Puppet' fades out we enter 'Gizah', although you would be fooled into believing that you've detoured into the underworld, with a bizarre collection of samples - make your own mind up! Live elements of Banco's band shine through here, with an oboe solo accompanied by a slow kick drum and deep analogue fx. The mood is back to 'Big Men Cry' and no doubt fans of that album will appreciate this more than myself. However, the album turns yet another corner with the fabulous Eastern tinged 'How Much Reality Can You Take?' which combines a catchy sitar riff with all the usual Banco sounds - this is another winner. 'B2' drops the mood down a couple of gears as this ambient swirler plods along at gentle pace. 'Fake it Till You Make It' is another deep and moody pieces that is reminiscent of 'Big Men Cry', complete with the local vicar losing the plot on a Hammond organ - different! And this just leaves 'Sixty Sixteen' to close the album in that typical slow ambient building style that Banco has perfected.
So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag from Banco. My overall impression is that this album doesn't flow very well from start to end. Thumbs up to Toby Marks for exploring new territory with the vocal tracks, although with these tracks embedded between the typical Banco sounding material they really do seem out of place. And the mood keeps flipping between uplifting and deep and mournful - it’s a bit of a rollar coaster ride. Worth getting for 'Seti I' and 'How Much Reality Can You Take' alone, although how the rest of the album is interpreted is your call...
Single: Obsidian
[657036 5034-2]
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Released 11/99 in the US on Six Degrees Records in CD single and 12" format. Written by Toby Marks & Jennifer Folker. Vocals by Jennifer Folker. Additional remix and production on track 2 by Fluke, on track 3 by The Light vs. PFN and on track 4 by Slinky Kink Productions. The original version of Obsidian features on the album Igizeh, and is Banco-de-Gaia's first attempt of a commercial style track with vocals. Fluke deliver a deep and dark techno style mix, keeping some of the vocals although they are somewhat hard to pick out from the thick beats; this is an excellent remix, in that it doesn't sound anything like the original, although I don't think Banco fans or Fluke fans alike with think much of this hard dance track. The Light vs PFN follow in Fluke footsteps and toughen up the beats even further. This single is becoming less apealing by the minute. Slinky Kink Productions step on the throttle and increase the BPM considerably, producing a fast trancey remix with minimal vocal content, whilst using looping samples from the vocals to great effect. Overall its the Slinky Kinks remix that works the best, although i'm left feeling that this is a single that's aimed at the harder dance floors rather than typical Banco-de-Gaia fans.
12": How Much Reality Can You Take?
[657036 5534-1]
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Released 7/01 in the US on Six Degrees Records. Written and produced by Toby Marks. Additional remix and production on track 1 by Toby Marks, on track 2 by DJ Juttla and on tracks 3 & 4 by Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto). As far as I know this is a vinyl only excursion of one of the more dance friendly tracks from the Igizeh album. Banco's own 'Half Live, Half Bendy Mix' stays faithful to the original album version - in fact, it is essentially the same as the album version and it is only from the midtrack breakdown onwards (i.e. the last couple of minutes) that there is any real noticeable difference between the two versions, although differences are very subtle. From the sound of the track and from the title I assume this is the live version. DJ Juttla serves up a short obscure remix, whilst Jack Dangers mashes up the beats and adds an element of experimental techno/electronica. One for the 4AM crew.
CD Album: 10 Years
[gkocd004 / 657036-10782-1]
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Released 9/02 on Disco Gecko Recordings (UK) and 6 Degrees (US). Compiled and mixed by Toby Marks. This compilation celebrates 10 years of Banco-de-Gaia, featuring his finest moments alongside some rare / unreleased tracks. Its spread over 2 CDs, with disc 1 being predominantly upbeat, whilst disc 2 is more ambient. An essential purchase.
CD: 10 Years Remixed
[GKOCD007]
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Released 14th April 2003 on Disco Gecko Recordings. Hot on the tail and complementing last years double CD ’10 Years’ is this excellent collection of remixes that is ’10 Years Remixed’. Some of the biggest names on the global dance scene have contributed to this project including Eat Static, Zion Train, Dreadzone, TransGlobal Underground, Loop Guru and Asian Dub Foundation, taking Banco-de-Gaia's finest moments from over the last decade and, in most cases, performing a complete overhaul. The result is a collection of tracks that differ greatly in style, ranging from the sublime electronica of ‘Sunspot’ by 100th Monkey and Mr Noisy, through jazzy lounge in Future Loop Foundation’s remix of ‘Celestine’, trip-hop in Dreadzones take on ‘Glove Puppet’, global trance in Eat Statics upbeat medley that is mostly ‘Lai Lah’ and even a thrash rock version of ‘Drippy’, a nod no doubt to Toby Mark’s musical past. Indeed, the variation in styles of electronica and dance offered here will probably open up BDG’s music to a much wider field and not to mention appeal as an invaluable DJ tool, whilst conversely fans of the original material may find some of these remixes a little unpalatable. Overall though, there is a little something in ’10 Years Remixed’ for everybody; highly recommended. Many thanks to Toby Marks for this promo CD.
CDS: Zeus No Like Techno / Gray Over Gray
[GKOS004CD]
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Released 2/04 on Disco Gecko Recordings. Vocals on tracks 2 & 3 by Jennifer Folker. Preceding the new 'You Are Here' album from Banco-de-Gaia, this CDS highlights the two extremes of the album, with the upbeat, instrumental dance track 'Zeus No Likes Techno' and the down-tempo, vocal based 'Gray Over Gray'. 'Zeus No Likes Techno' is a blinding number that will work well on dance floors, taking its name from a rained-out Greek music festival where a thunderstorm knocked out the power whilst a techno DJ was playing; thankfully this tune lies more in the trance territory rather than the techno camp. The Overfunkt Remix is produced with long time music partner Andy Guthrie (Overfunkt) and is the highlight of this CDS. 'Gray Over Gray' isn't my cup of tea to be honest - the vocals from Jennifer Folker (who featured previously on Obsidian and the vocal version of Glove Puppet) are very dramatic yet quite woeful – just a little too moody for me. Probably one for fans of Portishead and the likes. Overall Banco yet again provides a little something for everybody, and successfully whets the appetite for the forthcoming album – essential for 'Zeus No Likes Techno' alone.
CD: You Are Here
[GKOCD008]
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Released 4/04 on Disco Gecko Recordings. Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7 written by T. Marks. Tracks 4 & 5 written by T. Marks and Jennifer Folker. Track 8 written by T. Marks and J. Daske. Vocals on tracks 4 & 5 by Jennifer Folker. Vocals on track 3 by Shanon & Theo from Seize the Day.
CD: Farewell Ferengistan
[GKOCD009]
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Release date 6/06 on Disco Gecko Recordings.
We have become accustomed to music being entwined with political messages and Banco-de-Gaia is no exception. ‘Last Train to Lhasa’ (1995) focussed on the plight of the Tibetans in light of the ongoing Chinese occupation, whilst his more recent ‘You Are Here’ (2004) switched his attention to the corruption and interference of the Western world on current global affairs. ‘Farewell Ferengistan’ can then be seen as a marriage of these past two albums, with pinches and hints of the ethnicity and mood of ‘Last Train’ added to the serious statements of ‘You Are Here’.
This is further borne out in the album title, where Ferengistan was the name used by the inhabitants of remote parts of central Asia (including the mountainous regions of what would now be Pakistan/ Kashmir/ Turkmenistan/ Afghanistan) for the land over the mountains where white people came from; it later came to have connotations of greed, materialism and untrustworthiness. And so Toby Marks turns the spotlight on ourselves and the self-created, overly materialistic world that we all live in. This may be only one polarised definition of the West, but it raises the questions of what is the West doing to the rest of the world and where are its actions leading us? So is now the time to change our ways, or is it too late to say ‘Farewell Ferengistan’?
The underlying message may sound a little heavy but this is not borne out in the music to such a degree as, for the most part, the album adopts a joyful theme, as in the case of ‘Last Train to Lhasa’. Indeed it is only the last track, ‘We All Know the Truth (You Have God)’, where the thought provoking vocals really drive home this message, albeit with a passionate gentility that tingles the spine. The reference to ‘You Have God’ in the track title is a reference to Blair and Bush and their use of religion as justification in their actions of delivering ‘freedom’ to other parts of the world. And so it is within the track titles that we find the references to the underlying message, with some more obscure than others, but it makes good reading nonetheless. See the Six Degrees web site for more details.
And so can we cautiously celebrate with guilty pleasure in the release of ‘Farewell Ferengistan’? Marks has certainly delivered one of his finest albums to date and one that sits up there with ‘Last Train’. Many thanks to Toby Marks for the promotional copy of this CD.
Other Info:
Banco's new album 'Farewell Ferengistan' will be released in Europe on June 12th and on July 4th in North America.
Banco-de-Gaia has now got the rights back to his old albums. Read the press release here.
Gavin Stok has written an excellent Banco de Gaia web site, including a very thorough discography.
Soufie, which up until now has only been available on the tape only album Freeform Flutes & Fading Tibetans and the compilation album Ambient Dub Vol.1, features on the Totally Loved Up compilation album - apparently this could be your last chance to get this track. Lai Lah (Deeply Serius Mix) also features on Ambient Dub Vol.2.
For further information on Banco-de-Gaia, check out Banco's web site, or contact:
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