Banco De Gaia

Banco De Gaia

Banco De Gaia is the ambient and electronic project of Toby Marks, a London-born artist active since the early 1990s. His music focuses on mixing acoustic and electronic elements, with influences and techniques drawn from different musical traditions and cultures. He releases on Disco Gecko.

Early releases and breakthrough albums

His first releases appear on early 1990s Ambient Dub compilations associated with the chill-out scene. In 1994, Planet Dog Records releases Maya, which receives a Mercury Music Prize nomination. The following year he issues Last Train To Lhasa, an album that reaches number one in several charts in the UK and internationally and becomes a favourite among DJs including Sasha and Digweed.

Later albums and associated works

Over the next decade, Banco De Gaia releases Big Men Cry, The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia, Igizeh, You Are Here and Farewell Ferengistan. One track from Big Men Cry, “Drippy”, features in Darren Aronofsky’s film Pi. In 2013, he releases Apollo, a studio album made up entirely of original compositions that spans ambient, dub, tribal and gypsy music, techno, trance and breakbeat.

Collaborations and live performance

He works with a wide range of musicians and producers, including Dick Parry of Pink Floyd, Natacha Atlas, Tim Wheater, Eat Static, Zion Train and Paul Horn. Alongside studio work, he is known for live performances ranging from solo laptop sets to shows using hardware and live musicians, sometimes with visual artist Mik Findlay.

Cover versions and retrospective material

In 2007, he performs and records a 23-minute version of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”, using live guitar, video and electronic manipulation. Later, cover tracks appear on the retrospective Memories Dreams Reflections, including a version of Hawkwind’s “Spirit of the Age”, which leads to a performance with Hawkwind during their 40th anniversary tour. A DVD titled Two Thousand and Four, documenting his video shows, is released in 2005.