Banco De Gaia – 10 years

Banco De Gaia – 10 years
MP3 @ 192 Kbps | 2:35:11 min | 2002 | 236 MB | 2 CD’s | 10% Recovery Record

Ten Years from Banco De Gaia (Toby Marks) is a masterpiece that should be savored by anyone who appreciates music. There’s something in his music that can satisfy any taste. Whether you’re into rock, dance, prog, electronica, world, ambient, you’ll find something to dig here. Banco’s music transcends genres: there is no one proper way to describe it, other than “truly wonderful”. You won’t be able to keep your feet from tapping as this ten-year retrospective kicks in with Heliopolis, the first track from Banco’s first release, Maya. This new mix sets the pace for CD one–aptly consisting of Banco’s more upbeat numbers–and leads into the rocking beats of Kincajou. Next up is the eleven minute anthem, Last Train To Lhasa, which proudly shows Banco’s musical prowness with heavy beats, dinstinct keys, and melodical layers that go on and on. Drippy fades in, a shortened version from the album, but no less rocking. How Much Reality Can You Take is a mix that departs greatly from its original version, and although loaded with hard-rocking beats, falls a bit shy from the beauty of the original on Igezeh. Next up, perhaps Banco’s best song, I Love Baby Cheesy, is an alternate mix from the original, and just as good, if not better. The price of the CD is worth this song alone! Skip down to Drunk As A Monk, Banco’s most guitar-driven song–imagine Pink Floyd with a dance beat. This is it, a wonderful song that will never grow old no matter how many listens you give it.

CD 2 is comprised of Banco’s more atmospheric pieces. Like CD one, all the songs are DJ mixed, creating a continuous flow of original versions and new mixes. Desert Wind, previously unavailable on an album, sets the tone for CD2. Celestine is the most Pinkn Floyd sounding number of all, with Dick Parry on Saxaphone. The beat picks up a bit with Shanti and Sinhala, and slows with 887, a 15 minute opus of gorgeous soundscapes and melodies. Touching The Void is perhaps the best song on this side, with a quick beat and a rap that is damn near incredible.

Banco De Gaia – Big Men Cry

Banco De Gaia – Big Men Cry
MP3 @ 256 Kbps | 1:08:01 min | 1997 | 139 MB | 10% Recovery Record

Toby Marks began to move away from the preconceptions of a Banco de Gaia project with 1997’s Big Men Cry. While it has the ambient dub bent of his previous work, the album expands to include tribal drumming and a lot of live instrumentation, organized and tweaked to perfection by Marks’ mature studio capabilities.