Last Train to Lhasa

Amazon.com
Banco de Gaia's long-out-of-print masterpiece runs wild with a hypnotic stream of world beat and ambient techno, successfully fusing elements of Eastern and Arabic music that would sound contrived in less talented hands. As a political statement, Last Train to Lhasa's subtle grace is an effective and eloquent way to express the tragic destruction of Tibetan culture in the face of Chinese occupation. But the strength of the listening experience will keep you coming back, regardless of your stance on the issue. The two-disc set jumps from choppy, Goa-style trance ("Kuos") to blue-room chill tunes ("China (clouds not mountains)") and the perfectly integrated chant samples of "Kincajou." Along with de Gaia's 1994 debut, Maya, Train crashed through stylistic barriers as if they didn't exist, helping pave the way for the now fashionable global techno and downtempo styles of artists like dZihan & Kamien and Gavin Hardkiss's Hawke alter ego. Kudos to Six Degrees Records for reissuing the work of this adventurous, reflective artist. --Matthew Cooke

Tracks:

Last Train To Lhasa
Kuos
China (Clouds Not Mountains)
Amber
Kincajou
White Paint
887 (Structure)

Tracks:

Kuos (Gnomes Mix)
Kincajou (Duck! Asteroid)
Eagle (Small Steppa Mix)

Amazon.com

Banco de Gaia's long-out-of-print masterpiece runs wild with a hypnotic stream of world beat and ambient techno, successfully fusing elements of Eastern and Arabic music that would sound contrived in less talented hands. As a political statement, Last Train to Lhasa's subtle grace is an effective and eloquent way to express the tragic destruction of Tibetan culture in the face of Chinese occupation. But the strength of the listening experience will keep you coming back, regardless of your stance on the issue. The two-disc set jumps from choppy, Goa-style trance ("Kuos") to blue-room chill tunes ("China (clouds not mountains)") and the perfectly integrated chant samples of "Kincajou." Along with de Gaia's 1994 debut, Maya, Train crashed through stylistic barriers as if they didn't exist, helping pave the way for the now fashionable global techno and downtempo styles of artists like dZihan & Kamien and Gavin Hardkiss's Hawke alter ego. Kudos to Six Degrees Records for reissuing the work of this adventurous, reflective artist. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews:

A classic that never grows old.......2007-05-13

I first heard this album after downloading it from usenet. I fell in love with it immediately and went looking for more from this artist when I discovered the album was out of print! This became a big deal some months later when I had a hard drive crash and lost all my music. Fortunately, I was able to purchase it online via emusic's fantastic "25 track" introductory deal.

As luck would have it, a year or so later I AGAIN lost my music (no, I don't keep backups because usually it can all be found again) but am delighted to find that now this album has been reissued so I can at last PURCHASE it and have the CD on my shelf (the ultimate backup).

If you like techno, trance, ambient, house, or even "new age" you won't go wrong with this album. It's a fantastic journey that plays well in the car, at work, or late at night - whether alone or with someone special.

Dance Extravaganza.......2007-02-12

I think this style of music would be called House. It's the music you hear in a dance club. Thump thump thump thump thump for 7 minutes or so, then the thumping stops and a fluttering synthesizer swirls around long enough for you to catch your breathe and trip out for a while. Then the thumping starts again. Sort of like the 21st century version of disco. There are some interesting talking dubs here and there, and great rhythms, but nothing stands out as really creative or catchy. I wouldn't say it's bland necessarily, well maybe a little.

This is a good thing in my opinion. It's definitely not pop music, thank God. It's great in a club. It doesn't translate well to my home, though. Probably, this would be better for an ipod. If you are working out or running or dancing, this would be perfect. I don't know if it would be interesting enough for me while driving.

I would suggest downloading it from the internet rather than buying the CD. It looks like that is the way the industry is heading anyway. Who needs all those CD's stacked all over the place. Save the plastic for the take out containers and mesclun salad packaging. Maybe we should all just go digital.

I'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars, but that's not an option so it gets 3. Definitely not 4.

A quick note.......2006-09-01

I heard a track of this CD while driving, wrote down the name and ordered it immediately from Amazon. The main track -- Last Train to Lhasa -- is a classic. I have listened to it dozens of times and it doesn't get old.

It is electronic music, which I usually do not bother with, but Banco de Gaio is compelling. They have carried the train theme throughout the track, a drumming beat that becomes insistent as the song goes on and drives the mood and excitement. The long track develops vocals and instrumentals around the train theme. It dies out slowly, as does a train fading into the distance, and leaves you wanting to begin the piece again.

a landmark electronic music album.......2005-08-14

I absolutely adore this album. It's political without being brash (in fact, without very many words at all), it's got dance beats but it's not your standard formulaic techno, and it's got a nice variety of Eastern instruments and that worldbeat sound, but it's fresh and uncliched, and, like Paul Simon and Talking Heads and other great artists from the U.S. or the U.K. who borrowed from musical styles from elsewhere around the globe, this feels like true musical exploration rather than theft. Toby Marks is a musician, not a sample plunderer, and a whole lot in the electronic music world today (many of them on the Six Degrees label) quite possibly owe their musical existence to groundbreaking records like this one.

More important even than all of the sociopolitical ramifications of the record, the record is REALLY REALLY GOOD. It's much lighter and more delicate than what I've heard of "Maya," the album that immediately precedes this one. But this is not electromuzak, and I assure you even when it's not danceable (which is actually rather often), that it's not boring.

P.S. The mixes on the second disc are so unbelievably long that it's a little over the top. But who cares?! Disc 1 is great.

driving through mountains while the sun is rising.......2004-02-27

I bought this in the summer of 1995 - just in time for a long drive with beautiful weather. That whole weekend I was mesmerized by the music. I still am. And whenever I get the opportunity to take a long drive, I savor putting in this cd at just the right time - when there ain't much traffic and the scenery is beautiful. . .

Average customer rating:

Great, but save your money...
Envision a Free Tibet
no weak subwoofers please
Duck, .........asteroids
The Greatest Electronic Trip ever!

Last Train to Lhasa
Banco De Gaia
Manufacturer: Planet Dog
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

International | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000006Z8D
Release Date: 1995-10-18

Customer Reviews:

Great, but save your money..........2002-01-30

This is a beautiful album. On the official Banco de Gaia website, Toby Marks informs us that he has recently obtained the rights to Last Train to Lhasa, Big Men Cry, Live at Glastonbury, and Maya. He will be re-releasing them soon! ...

Envision a Free Tibet.......2001-03-14

Toby Marks is at it again! Another intriguing disk blending ethnic and techno into a mindspace of freedom and openness. Although I gave it a full five stars, I feel it really only deserves 4.5. The second disk lacks the powerful marriage of ethnic and modern sounds, and while satisfying, is not worthy of a full 5 points.

The first disk is an interesting meld of ethnic and electronic music. Disk two is mostly electronica. Both compel, and cannot easily be turned aside. I find that Banco de Gaia has blended a seductive mixture, which too often lures me away from my work and leaves me in a creative trance, communicating with the Kosmos.

Why "Last Train to Lhasa?" The liner notes say it well:

"In 1950 China invaded Tibet, a country the size of Western Europe. The Tibetans have calculated that 1.2 million died as a result of the chinese take-over. In 1959 the Dalai Lama was forced to flee his home and now travels the world gathering support for his people. The biggest threat to Tibet today is the hundreds of thousands of Chinese moving in and squeezing the Tibetans out. In 1994 the Chinese government announced that it intends to build a railway across Tibet to ease the way for even more settlers."

Imagine the *last* train to Lhasa. Imagine the Chinese leaving Tibet. This double CD set begins with railroad sounds blending into flowing synthesizer over a steady beat, reminiscent of a train clacketting along the rails, speeding over the steppes. Tibetan chanting voices fading in and out. Let the music carry you to a place where you envision the Chinese on that train. Leaving Tibet. Going home. Free Tibet!

Track two, "Kuos," continues the railroad motif. Exotic horns (reed instruments of some sort, maybe?)lay over the locomotive sounds, gradually percussion blends in, a wild mix of exotic sounds. The horns fade to synth work, with some electronic percussion as well. Finally, the Tibetan sounds return, with rhythmic chanting overlaying the exotic percussion.

China (clouds not mountains) opens with some esoteric harp music underlying a narrated fable of how persistent work will win out over an insurmountable obstacle. The feel to this track is very flowing. The synth holds the rhythm, while a Chinese sounding melody weaves through the song, synthesized to sound alternately like gongs, bowed- and then plucked-strings.

Amber, begins with windchimes, adds in some distant chanting, then pulls in very mid-eastern sounding rhythms and chanting. Some western orchestration accompanies this piece. Very compelling.

Kincajou begins with percussion. It's a very techno number. Still, the ethnic feel is there. Distant chanting, which almost sounds Native American overlays the dance rhythm and synthesizers.

Disk 2 begins with the gnomes mix of Kuos. Techno opening segues into ethnic percussion. Synthesizers carry a counter-rhythm back in a few minutes later. Lots of rhythm, little melody. Fun.

Kincajou (duck! asteroid) comes next. A repetitive synthesizer melody slowly morphs into a more textured sound as harmony begins to fade in behind the repeated melody line. Still, the melody carries the rhythm. A slow-dance for the Mind. Gradually, the rhythm intensifies & FX get tossed into the mix. It fades into esoteric space & winds, then the synthesizer brings it back with a tocata melody line born, ex nihilo, from the vacuum of space. Melody & harmony continue to morph & evolve, dancing with each other, sometimes orbiting at a distance, other times grazing the folded gray of the mind, finally laying down to rest, 36 minutes after it began.

The CD concludes with Eagle (small steppa mix). This starts out with spacey electronics. It melds in distant sounds of NASA communications, although the words cannot quite be grasped. It builds to a solid, driving synth rhythm, then settles back into a drifting space trance, culminating in a countdown sequence, terminated by random percussion shots and a distant fading doppler effect.

no weak subwoofers please.......2000-12-29

I've actually had this 2-disc set for quite a while now. It ranks as one of my all time favourites (of any category). Track 2, disc 2 has a segment that will give your subwoofers, if you have them, a good workout.

Duck, .........asteroids.......2000-06-30

Toby's production, mixing and layer skills are truly outstanding. We have again a masterful collection of tracks featuring multitudes of layers and beats. I love 887. Gorgeous arrangement yet quite disturbing and dark. Kincajou one of my favs with its little six note melody and Last Train with its brilliant repeating steam train sample driving the track.

While the first disc is a wonderful collection of flowing global etectronica, it was track two on disc two which really affected me. Thirty six minutes of ebbing layers and repeating scales make it a truly atmospheric trip. The six note repetition throughout this track provides such a warm comfortable feeling. You can't help but feel happy within. He hit the tone just right on this one. I absolutely love its progression. A life changer.

The Greatest Electronic Trip ever!.......2000-05-19

This cd is one of my all-time favorites. Turn out the lights, turn up the volume, lie back and enter another world... one full of haunting ethnic sounds, powerful beats, and an ambience that transports you to another world. Very good stuff. I create electronic music myself, and this is who I aspire to be like!

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