Cohort Gaia

This compilation of work from the decade by Banco de Gaia (aka Toby Marks) not only shows off his best work in a setting that's a continuous mix, but also makes one of the strongest cases yet for electronica as the new prog rock. It might not have the complex time signatures or rampant instrumental virtuosity of an earlier era, but it does offer far more than most rock music, with depth, ingenuity, and a tune that - generally - progress from A to B, and in the best cases, to C and beyond. And Marks frequently offers the very best cases, not just on pieces like the excellent "Last Train to Lsaha" or "887," but also on "Gizeh" and "Mafich Arabi." You can trace the development in his work, from the early post-rave material to the more thoughtful, ethnic-influenced work, which is ultimately more satisfying…

10 Years Remixed was a limited edition release created following the success of the previous year’s debut Banco de Gaia compilation 10 Years. It began as a conversation between friends and evolved into a collection of remixes. This is a deeply personal document with every remix being commissioned by Banco himself and every remix with the exception of one mix being borne out of a long term relationship.
In a super reactionary and totally cynical music industry how do you express your joy at what you do? After struggling to re-acquire his master tapes, how do you throw a sonic party? In this instance Banco de Gaia called his friends and the result is 10 Years Remixed, a beautiful collection of mighty fine exclusive remixes…

The immediacy and power of La Gaia Scienza and Paolo Beschi takes your breath away. The sound of these outstanding musicians on original instruments is amazing and appealing, the phrasing and the interaction are exemplary, every note and every bar has been rethought. Chamber music full of contrasts and emotions. Adventurous souls should not hesitate, key works by Brahms, Haydn, Schubert and Schumann have never been heard like this before and as a special encore, highlights from Bach’s Cello Solo Suites can be heard. Paolo Beschi (co-founder and cellist of ‘Il Giardino Armonico’) conducts the ensemble ‘La Gaia Scienza’ with pianist Federica Valli and violinist Stefano Barneschi. This group gives the world groundbreaking reinterpretations of romantic and baroque works. Pizzicato writes: ‘played vitally and pulsating, with feeling but without pathos.’

An enchanting journey through nine responses to love, Banco de Gaia’s ninth studio album arrives at a time when the world needs it more than many of us may realise. Featuring special guest artists, from Pink Floyd’s Dick Parry, Zero 7’s Sophie Barker, The The’s James Eller and No-Man’s Tim Bowness, The 9th of Nine Hearts is a celebration of the spark in all of us: the concept of love itself. Fusing ambient, psychedelia, art rock and acid house, each track evolves naturally into the next, with love the starting point to them all.

After the success of his album Apollo, Banco returns with Ollopa, a remix album that turns its source on its head: not only have the name and original track order been reversed, but the artwork is inverted too, with the sun becoming the moon and other symbols flipped upside down. The collection starts with Tripswitch’s sublime remix of Acquiescence, which builds slowly from an ambient opening into a downtempo delight, setting the tone nicely for both Antipodean duo, Deep Fried Dub, who add a cheeky dancehall lick to Oreia, and the high priests of sacred bass, Desert Dwellers, whose jittery yet soothing remix of All Sleeping is like sonic incense for the mind and body…

To celebrate two decades of creating ambient and downtempo electronica under the name Banco de Gaia, Toby Marks put together this enjoyable if slightly uneven two-disc set, a retrospective of sorts that takes a fresh look at his past rather than simply gathering and recapitulating it. On the first disc, he reinterprets both his own work (longtime fans will get a particular kick out of his Euro-trance reconstruction of "Soufie") and that of others - Hawkwind's "Spirit of the Age" is given a long, luxurious interpretation that incorporates elements of house, funk, and ska, while King Crimson's "Starless" gets an even longer - and frankly rather plodding - arrangement of its own. His most ambitious experiment on the first disc is a rendition of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" that lasts fully 22 minutes - an impressive feat, and one that does a fine job of blending Marks's own personal electronic vision seamlessly with Floyd's unique sound…

Apollo is Banco's first new studio album in 7 years and brings together heavy dub beats, powerful vocal arrays, and lilting melodies, drawing inspiration from both old and new schools of sonic artistry, and in doing so blending the subtle flavours of the act's historical sound with modern day techniques and ideas.
Apollo opens with the powerful and evocative Lamentations, featuring the ethereal vocals of Zhenia Mahdi-Nau, before slipping into Wimble Toot, whose initially stuttering drums and bass build into a relentless rhythm, peppered with reggae style horns and saxophone, nicely setting the scene for the foot stomping, dust raising, dancefloor rousing Eternal Sunshine…

After taking time out to tour in 1997, Toby Marks moved from the UK Midlands to Somerset, in southwest England to set up a new studio. After recording the new CD, he then decided to set up his own label in England, Disco Gecko Recordings. The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia travels freely between the violins and cellos of Glove Puppet and the Kenyan rain song that forms the basis of the next piece, No Rain. So maybe it’s world music, or global trance; but it’s not intentional.

"Ferengistan" is a term used in Central Asia to denote an imaginary place that represents the superficiality and materialism that too often characterize Western culture. So there's no real secret to the message behind this album by Toby Marks, aka Banco de Gaia. While the music is (thankfully) free of didactic lyrics, its instrumental tracks were written with serious matters of geopolitics in mind: one track has reference to a law recently passed in Mongolia, reinstating the use of surnames (a practice previously forbidden under Communist rule); the ironically titled "Harmonious G8" consists of eight overdubbed vocals, each an improvisation by a singer from one of the G8 nations; "White Man's Burden" requires little amplification. If you're not interested in the politics, you can just relax and enjoy the variously danceable and relaxing moods that Marks creates…