Banco de Gaia

Event information

Banco de Gaia is happy to announce that, following a storming 2015, he will be touring with his live band throughout 2016.

Formed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Last Train to Lhasa, the band features James Eller (The The) on bass and Ted Duggan (The Beat) on drums, as well as Toby himself on guitar and synths, with accompanying visuals courtesy of VJ Patrick Dunn.

As well as playing three shows at Glastonbury, the band rocked Bearded Theory, Off the Tracks, Solfest and more.

For the first shows of 2016, they will be supported by the sublime Sophie Barker (Zero 7) and will be introducing tracks from the forthcoming new Banco album alongside old favourites.

Toby Marks, the creative force behind Banco De Gaia, is one of the world’s leading exponents of globally inspired eclectic electronica. Mixing electronica with acoustic instruments and vox, his work defies genre classification. He has worked with a variety of musicians including legendary saxophonist Dick Parry (Pink Floyd), Anglo-Egyptian singer Natacha Atlas, flautist Tim Wheater (Eurythmics) as well as various dance and electronica producers.

Banco De Gaia cut his teeth on the early 90s Ambient Dub compilations (a precursor of the “chill out” marketing phenomenon). In 1994 he released his first studio album Maya on Planet Dog records, and followed this in 1995 with the critically acclaimed Last Train To Lhasa. Both albums reached No1 in the UK independent charts and featured in the national album chart top 40. In the 20 years since then he has released numerous albums and EPs with the latest album, Apollo, coming out in 2013.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘the one with the train on’ in 2015, Disco Gecko Recordings have released a 4CD limited edition version of the album and Banco put together a live 3-piece band featuring bassist James Eller (The The, Teardrop Explodes) and drummer Ted Duggan (The Beat, Seize The Day) alongside VJ Patrick Dunn.

The band played throughout 2015, at festivals such as Glastonbury, Off the Tracks, Bearded Theory and Solfest, as well as club gigs at London’s Jazz Café, Manchester’s Band on the Wall, Exeter’s Phoenix and more. The shows were so well received that they are continuing to play live together, with a new studio album planned for 2016.

Sophie Barker

You will certainly know Sophie Barker as one of the vocalists on Zero 7’s Simple Things, that luscious, sweeping vocal at the forefront of the album’s breakaway hit ‘In the Waiting Line’, which she co-wrote. For her work with Groove Armada, The Egg, Grooverider, Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins).

Sophie released ‘Earthbound’ in 2004 and her first studio album ‘Seagull’ 2011. She is currently working on her second studio album ‘Break The Habit’.
This next album has been born out of the discovery of a richer, more dynamic live sound which she has developed with her band and has a distinct West Coast influence from all her tours in the US over the past few years.

This new sound has less of the lounge about it and more of a louche down tempo rock and blues with a touch of electronica.

With this collection of songs, Sophie Barker is firmly parking her more mellow, reflective self for a confident woman who understands that you are what you are, regardless of your ambitions & dreams. It’s time to not mind too much, let go and have some fun.