Banco de Gaia:
Maya:
3CD:
Disco Gecko:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
In 1994, I witnessed Banco de Gaia, alias Toby Marks, perform a fascinating set at a church hall in Central Norwich - as you do. Essentially more Moby than even Moby was in 1994, Marks hit the mark with a combination of sun-bleached sub-tropical techno-lite beats and samples and melodies partly-inspired by the Med, North Africa and the Middle East. You imagine he's probably been going to Goa for a hobby while busily garnering a sizeable following from the Megadog days of dance yore.
Maya has finally, and quite rightly, been earmarked for this impressive triple-CD re-visit, twenty years after its original release. Opener Heliopolis sets the tone with Dead Can Dance-style vocal samples, a propulsive beat and lots of psychedelic swirly keyboards, an anthem of sorts and a lively start. But it isn't all as full-on - Maya is all about mood and atmosphere with the bedouin-heavy Mafich Arabi not too different from the excellent Templehead by Transglobal Underground.
Some tracks show their age, mainly due to the drum machines employed rather than the music itself - Sunspot and Gamelah both culpable of this, while the title-track hovers around System 7 territory - but a string of mid-album bangers lifts Maya way above the norm of the time. Qurna is a lifer for me - the long intro comprised of swirling oceans, seagulls and what sounds like Indian and Turkish instrumentation building up into an ambient house stomper that couples nicely with the following druggy Sheesha and the perkier Lai Lah. All-in-all a rather masterly travelogue through all that was hip in the early to mid '90s, without being hipster.
The two extra discs round up several versions and rare remixes of the album tracks, including a slew of 12" mixes, live recordings and unreleased bits and bobs. The only annoying thing about this otherwise perfect release is the lack of sleevenotes. For a handful of quids, I'd have written them for him. Otherwise, Maya is the most safe and socially-acceptable dose of hippy-trippy chemically-enhanced club paraphernalia you could wish to ingest.
Maya:
3CD:
Disco Gecko:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Maya has finally, and quite rightly, been earmarked for this impressive triple-CD re-visit, twenty years after its original release. Opener Heliopolis sets the tone with Dead Can Dance-style vocal samples, a propulsive beat and lots of psychedelic swirly keyboards, an anthem of sorts and a lively start. But it isn't all as full-on - Maya is all about mood and atmosphere with the bedouin-heavy Mafich Arabi not too different from the excellent Templehead by Transglobal Underground.
Some tracks show their age, mainly due to the drum machines employed rather than the music itself - Sunspot and Gamelah both culpable of this, while the title-track hovers around System 7 territory - but a string of mid-album bangers lifts Maya way above the norm of the time. Qurna is a lifer for me - the long intro comprised of swirling oceans, seagulls and what sounds like Indian and Turkish instrumentation building up into an ambient house stomper that couples nicely with the following druggy Sheesha and the perkier Lai Lah. All-in-all a rather masterly travelogue through all that was hip in the early to mid '90s, without being hipster.
The two extra discs round up several versions and rare remixes of the album tracks, including a slew of 12" mixes, live recordings and unreleased bits and bobs. The only annoying thing about this otherwise perfect release is the lack of sleevenotes. For a handful of quids, I'd have written them for him. Otherwise, Maya is the most safe and socially-acceptable dose of hippy-trippy chemically-enhanced club paraphernalia you could wish to ingest.
