Customer Reviews

Magical Sounds of Banco De Gaia

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia is a wonderful return to the uptempo style of the two 'classic' Banco cd's "Maya" and "Last Train to Lhasa." Although 1997's "Big Men Cry" was fantastic in it's own right, it drifted a bit from the brilliance of Banco. Well, The Magical Sounds... is an inspired collection of ambient keyboard washes, exotic vocal sound samples, and up-tempo hip-hop and dub influenced dance beats. "I Love Baby Cheesy" and "Frog's Diner" are, to me, the standout tracks, but the whole record is a beautfiul work that should attract new and old fans alike. Anyone looking for an album that combines the best of electronica and world music, go no farther than the new Banco de Gaia!!!!

My one-line summary is actually a portion of the vocal sampling from "I Love Baby Cheesy." I saw this CD on the listening rack at a local music store. The CD cover attracted me to it. I listened to the first track "I Love Baby Cheesy" and could hardly contain myself. After taking home The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia and playing it to death, I bought Banco de Gaia's other CDs. I think this album to be far superior than the others simply because some of the other albums' songs tend to be a little repetitive in spots. My other favorite song here is "Harvey And The Old Ones." But, "I Love Baby Cheesy" by itself is worth the price of the CD.

I recently rediscovered this album while on vacation in Hawaii. Simply put, this is one of the best electronic albums ever made. Standouts (if I _had_ to pick them) include Harvey and the Old Ones, and 144K (which closes with 2 minutes of the most blissfully slamming samples you've ever heard). I've followed Banco de Gaia since his first album, Maya, and with each one, he just keeps getting better and better. Layering, creative sampling, instruments and sounds from all over the world, no one puts them all together like Toby does. If you only listen to one BdG album, definitely choose this one!

I've owned The Magical Sounds... for almost 6 years now, and it's still without a doubt the most complete album I've ever bought. No Rain is, for me, the weakest song, though mainly only because it's merely very good, as opposed to incredible. The climax of 144k? is jawdropping, the intro on Harvey... is glorious, Touching the Void really is magical... Toby Marks has simply produced a defining album that'll have you smiling for years.

Marks' masterstroke is the longevity of the music. I listened to the album literally every day for half a year, and it's never become boring. No mere words can do justice to the greatness of The Magical Sounds... Buy it, now. For your own good.

When people ask me why I don't care so much for trance, I play them "Touching the Void," which is the same concept (dramatic, building layers of ambient samples and synth layered over a monster dance beat), except a little bit slower and a heck of a lot better.
Banco de Gaia really doesn't keep a genre even within his own albums, but in general each album holds together. Compare this with a chronological neighbor, "Big Men Cry," and you will find that they are nothing alike. This album is definitely more focused on putting industrial breakbeats to a more peppy array of global chants and samples then some of its more mellow contemporaries, especially the drier follow-up, "Igizeh."
I confess that some of these songs are a bit long on the running time, but all of them are, as usual, masterfully crafted, original, and have something to say for themselves even when there's no words.

Boy, I've got most of Banco de Gaia's CDs, and I like 'em all. But this one is so pleasant to listen to that I come back over and over. He isn't just a DJ -- he's a serious composer of complex works. He crafts wonderfully complex musical journeys incorporating long sound segments recorded from many places, filtered, distored, amplified, woven into new shapes, and then layered on top of some of the best rhythm lines you'll find among electronic/trance/dance/... musicians. I simply love how a solid beat emerges out of the ether, carries you into dancing, then fades as his ether gets you high in setting you up for the next track. Each song is a movement in a CD-long symphony of music.

Buy this. Buy Big Men Don't Cry. Buy 'em all. Then sit and listen to the story he tells from beginning to end on each album. If you're a musician, or a lover of either serious and creative music, I'll bet that you'll groove on Banco.

If you like banco's music, you might want to check out Oliver Shanti, Natacha Atlas and Toshinori kondo.
Banco'S mix of electronica and world music is superlative.I call this "intelligent music"..I loved Maya, Last train to lhasa and Izieh. They are all awesome listening experience.

The experience is something totally different.I cannot express in words.. perhaps it appeals to more than just your ears.
Don't forget to try OLIVER SHANTI and NATACHA ATLAS. I rate these three as world music trinity..

awesome mix of tibetan chants,indian flutes , sufi music and native american prayer tunes..

As the title says these are indeed magical sounds.BDG have with this album blended ambient drum beats with some eastern mellow vibes. The first track is lively then it progresses to a more horizontal type listening experience. A well chilled experience,it certainly stimulates the frontal lobes very well.Am essential CD for the relax mode.

The Magical Sounds is typical of Banco's excellent work. Strong beats and melodic rythyms covering a lot of musical ground with a lot of musical sounds. Toby has jumped electronic walls by adding a strong sense of eastern tradition to a modern beat. Its cutting edge electronica but tapped with human roots in the 3rd World. Banco De Gaia has an important role in the new music of this decade.

I find myself drifting off while listening to several of the tracks. 'I Love Baby Cheesy' is certainly a winner and very clever and I don't want to criticize the talented Banco, but, I can't help comparing this sound to the more far reaching efforts of Loop Guru and TransGlobal Underground. Any other electronica effort with dance overtones has to be measured against these 2 groups as I think they are the best I've heard, so far. I'm still waiting for one of these groups to transcend the dance club overtones which I feel cheapen a lot of the work and make the music more monotonous.