Banco de Gaia

Banco de Gaia is an electronic music outfit from England, formed by Toby Marks (born 1964) in 1991. Marks was born in South London and was educated at an old fashioned boy's school. In 1978 he began his musical career, as a drummer in a heavy metal band.

Marks moved to Portugal in 1986, and played Beatles music for tourists. He first delved into electronic music in 1989, when he bought a digital sampler. The first tune he recorded on it was called "Maxwell House".

The music of Banco de Gaia is probably best categorized as ambient dub, but Marks works hard to cross genres, often using Arabic and Middle Eastern samples against a bass-heavy reggae, rock, or trance rhythm to produce deeply textured tracks that progress layer upon layer.