Banco De Gaia - You Are Here

[Lemmiwinks]

 

01. Down From The Mountain

02. Zeus No Like Techno

03. Waking Up In Waco

04. Gray Over Gray

05. Tongue In Chic

06. Not In My Name

07. We Are Here

08. Still Life

 

Believe it or not, even if people will tell you what great geniouses the likes of Simon Posford and Raja Ram or Ben Watkins are for mixing world music to "conventional" psytrance, a certain Toby Marks was already doing this YEARS before them under his Banco de Gaia project!!! But for some odd reason he never got the recognition he deserved among psytrancers... maybe because he isn't seen as an actual psytrance producer but to me his music isn't any less "psytrancy" than Shpongle or Juno... ah well... anyway, here he is with another new studio album after releasing an aniversary compilation called Ten Years .

 

Actually this time around I found he went a bit too overboard with vocals (as is the tendency to do with new releases...). Gray Over Gray , Tongue in Chic and Still Life actually sound like something Bjork would've made! (read: pop music with some interesting electronic music in the background making you wish that the singer would just fucking shut up!!).

 

Anyway, luckily the whole album isn't like that and we get some more underground stuff. Down From the Mountain has some interesting... Moog sounds and Lord knows there hasn't been electronic music with some Moogs inside for quite a while! However my brain has become used to associating a Moog sound with those cheezy New-ageish synth pop artists (like Vangelis , Jean Michel-Jarre ) and I don't really like it. But I know a lot of you will

 

Zeus No Like Techno is the most interesting track on this album IMO, it starts out like a normal club techno track, then evolves to some psytrance, then brings in some traditional Greek melodies... it all works out wonderfully!! And just to show artists like Shpongle and Juno Reactor that other types of world music can be added to trance than spanish and arabic stuff... Of course, noone cares what Marks does now, they'll all pay attention when Watkins or Posford will add some greek elements in their tracks in a few years and then everyone will be like "WOW, greek music and trance, who would've thought they could mix so wonderfully???"

 

Waking Up in Wacko is a more classic ambient track, very interesting "lazy" bass trhoughout the track, kindof brings a drum and bass touch to it. I'd definaltey like to hear this in a chill-out room at a party My only regret is that it turns out a bit too "happy" and not "mystical" enough for my tastes.

 

Not in My Name is the second best track on this album IMO. Long chill-out with a dynamic progression throughout the whole 10 minutes... ahhh pure bliss!! Definatley one for Banco de Gaia fans

 

We Are Here is another very nice chill-out track with oriental voices, very dreamy feeling to it.

 

Conclusion I don't know why, but this artist NEVER got the recognition he deserved from the psytrance scene even if other psytrance artists copied his concept years later and got massive success!! Anyway, this time around he makes a pretty hit-and-miss album. Some tracks are GREAT but other ones just sound like some more underground pop (but isn't that the trend these days?). It's like artists who were in the scene since day 1 are runnning out of ideas and hink "hey, we never tried vocals before, why not try that?".

So 8/10 for tracks 1, 2, 3, 6,7 and 2/10 for tracks 4, 5, 8...

[bumshiver]

wow, i didn't know he had a new one out. must check it out. his 10 years of banco is a really nice one too.

it is a pity that he's not so widely recognised now but years ago when he released maya and later last train to lhasa, lots of people in goa had a tape of his to play in their huts.

i think he's just been replaced with the shpongles of the psyworld i do think his stuff is more epic though if thats the right word.

thanks for the prompt and the synopsis, i'm off out to buy it now.

boom

[seraph]

I always liked Banco de Gaia especially his best album by now - LAST TRAIN TO LHASA. That is easily one of the best ambient albums. He managed to create certain world and atmosphere and his style is definately unique. I liked his other albums too : MAYA, BIG MEN CRY and IGIZEH...Great producer !

[Setsuko]

I like his new release but it isn't his best work.

 

the female vocals are several times hard to digest.

'gray over gray' is hilarious... horrible ,and 'Tongue In Chic' is well... i dunno , it could be Alanis Morisette ...whatever (skip)

 

but 'Not In My Name' is a real masterpiece (de vocals sound similar to the ones Ott used in 'Splitting An Atom' truly amazing)

 

Some tracks are way to chaotic and over emotional.

 

 

the coverart is very fresh.