Last Train to Lhasa
Last Train to Lhasa is an album by Banco de Gaia which was released in 1995. It was released as double CD or triple LP. A "Special Limited" 3 CD/4 LP edition contained three additional remixes.
| Last Train to Lhasa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 June 1995 | |||
| Genre | Trance | |||
| Length | 120:55 143:20 (limited edition) | |||
| Label | Mammoth Records/Planet Dog Records/Disco Gecko Recordings | |||
| Banco de Gaia chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
It is widely assumed that the album's techno and ambient compositions contain sampled chantings of the people of Tibet but in fact there is only one sampled Tibetan sound on the whole album.
The album reached No.31 in the UK's Album Charts. It would have entered the Top 30 but an error with the barcode on some copies led to not all sales being registered correctly. It did however still reach No.1 in the UK Independent Album Charts.
In 2002 the album was reissued on CD by Toby Marks's own Disco Gecko Recordings record label, and an expanded digital download version with extra tracks was made available in 2011. A new 4 CD Limited Edition version was released on June 21, 2015 to mark the album's 20th anniversary.
Influence
After a big success of the debut album Maya and a European tour with Transglobal Underground Toby Marks continued searching for new inspirations and began working on tracks for a new album. He joined The Tibet Support Group, a part of International Tibet Independence Movement and the decision of the Chinese government to build the Qingzang railway between the cities of Xining and the Tibetan capital of Lhasa inspired the title of one of the tracks. This later became the title of the whole album and Marks used the album's cover to highlight the plight of the Tibetan people under Chinese occupation.
"Amber" contains the sampled line "My god, it's full of stars…" from the Peter Hyams movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
The song "Last Train to Lhasa" was included in the first disc (named "0° North") of the album Northern Exposure released in 1996 by DJs Sasha & John Digweed.
Track listing
Disc one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train to Lhasa" | 11:44 |
| 2. | "Kuos" | 6:56 |
| 3. | "China (Clouds Not Mountains)" | 7:30 |
| 4. | "Amber" | 7:34 |
| 5. | "Kincajou" | 6:48 |
| 6. | "White Paint" | 6:05 |
| 7. | "887 (Structure)" | 14:17 |
Disc two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kuos (Gnomes Mix)" | 11:19 |
| 2. | "Kincajou (Duck! Asteroid)" | 36:09 |
| 3. | "Eagle (Small Steppa Mix)" | 12:33 |
Disc three (limited edition)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "China (Follow The Red Brick Road)" | 9:30 |
| 2. | "Amber (Insect Intelligence)" | 10:23 |
| 3. | "887 (Darkside Return)" | 22:32 |
Special Edition (2011 Digital Release)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train to Lhasa" | 11:43 |
| 2. | "Kuos" | 6:56 |
| 3. | "China (Clouds Not Mountains)" | 7:30 |
| 4. | "Amber" | 7:34 |
| 5. | "Kincajou" | 6:47 |
| 6. | "White Paint" | 6:06 |
| 7. | "887 (Structure)" | 14:17 |
| 8. | "Eagle" | 7:31 |
| 9. | "Kuos (Gnomes Mix)" | 11:19 |
| 10. | "Kincajou (Duck! Asteroid)" | 36:09 |
| 11. | "Eagle (Small Steppa Mix)" | 12:33 |
| 12. | "Amber (Live in Seattle)" | 7:32 |
| 13. | "White Paint (Live in Seattle)" | 7:10 |
| 14. | "Kincajou (Live in Seattle)" | 7:58 |
| 15. | "Last Train to Lhasa (Radio edit)" | 3:47 |
| 16. | "Kincajou (Here Come the Norse Gods)" | 5:22 |
20th Anniversary Edition
Disc one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train to Lhasa" | 11:44 |
| 2. | "Kuos" | 6:56 |
| 3. | "China (Clouds Not Mountains)" | 7:30 |
| 4. | "Amber" | 7:34 |
| 5. | "Kincajou" | 6:48 |
| 6. | "White Paint" | 6:05 |
| 7. | "887 (Structure)" | 14:17 |
| 8. | "Eagle" | 7:31 |
Disc two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kuos (Gnomes Mix)" | 11:19 |
| 2. | "Kincajou (Duck! Asteroid - Extended Version)" | 44:06 |
| 3. | "Eagle (Small Steppa Mix)" | 12:33 |
Disc three
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "China (Follow The Red Brick Road)" | 9:30 |
| 2. | "Amber (Insect Intelligence)" | 10:22 |
| 3. | "887 (Darkside Return)" | 22:30 |
| 4. | "White Paint (Where's the Runway Dub)" | 19:24 |
| 5. | "Last Train to Lhasa (Very Extended ambient mix)" | 18:04 |
Disc four
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train to Lhasa (AstroPilot Remix)" | 7:11 |
| 2. | "Kuos (Bluetech Remix)" | 7:20 |
| 3. | "China (Andrew Heath Remix)" | 7:11 |
| 4. | "Amber (Andy Guthrie Mix)" | 6:13 |
| 5. | "Kincajou (M N Taal Mix)" | 5:59 |
| 6. | "White Paint (alucidnation's Dream Remix)" | 5:43 |
| 7. | "887 (Sonasha’s Wrath of the Space Potato Remix)" | 8:10 |
| 8. | "Eagle (Nick Manasseh Dub)" | 7:31 (4:52) |
Singles
Last Train to Lhasa
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train to Lhasa (Radio edit)" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Last Train to Lhasa (original version)" | 12:03 |
| 3. | "Last Train to Lhasa (extended ambient mix)" | 12:15 |
Kincajou
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kincajou (Oliver Lieb Remix)" | 8:49 |
| 2. | "Kincajou (Here Come the Norse Gods)" | 5:22 |
| 3. | "Kincajou (Speedy J Remix)" | 7:00 |
| 4. | "Kincajou (Album Version)" | 8:28 |
Last Train to Lhasa 20th Anniversary EP
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train to Lhasa" | 11:43 |
| 2. | "Last Train to Lhasa (AstroPilot Remix)" | 7:10 |
| 3. | "Last Train to Lhasa (Silinder Remix)" | 8:47 |
| 4. | "Last Train to Lhasa (Very Extended Ambient Mix)" | 18:03 |
