Panchiko

Panchiko's defining iconography

Panchiko is a British indie rock band originating from Nottingham, England. Formed sometime between 1997 and 1998, it originally consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Owain Davies, guitarist and keyboardist Andrew "Andy" Wright, bassist Shaun Ferreday, and a drummer named John. In 2020, one year after the revival of Panchiko, the band was joined by two new members—guitarist Robert "Rob" Harris and John Schofield, who replaced the original John on drums.

The band first received public attention in 2016 when their 2000 demo EP *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was discovered by a 4chan user in a charity shop in Sherwood, Nottingham and shared online. The EP's status as lost media led to a dedicated cult following and a community devoted to tracking down Panchiko. This was unbeknownst to the band until 2020, when a fan found Davies on Facebook and messaged him.

Panchiko has since released two compilation albums remastering their older music—a reissue of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, which combines the titular EP and their second EP *Kicking Cars*, as well as *Ferric Oxide (Demos 1997-2001)*. In December 2021, the band performed their first show in over twenty years in their hometown of Nottingham, after which they embarked on their first tour in the United States. In November 2021, they amassed over 10 million streams on Spotify. As of March 2023, they have over 700,000 monthly listeners.

The band's debut album *Failed at Math(s)* is slated for May 5, 2023, followed by their second full tour in the United States.

## History

### 1997-2001: Formation, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, and disbanding

#### Formation and early performances

> *For details regarding Panchiko's band name, image, influences, and musical style, see Artistry.*
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The original line-up consisted of childhood friends from Nottingham—Owain Davies, Andy Wright, Shaun Ferreday, and John. Before Panchiko's formation, its members had performed in other bands. Wright and Ferreday formed the group when they were "around 13," before Davies joined their line-up sometime between 1997 and 1998, when its members were 15-17 years old and nearing the end of secondary school.

Panchiko performed their first show as part of a youth club when guitarist Wright was 15. The band would often spend weekends at John's home in rural Lincolnshire, practicing in his family's converted cellar. Despite being underage, Panchiko initially performed live in local pubs as a cover band, primarily covering Nirvana "because they are easy to play," The Beatles, Green Day, Ash, Suede, Longpigs, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. They also performed in Battle of the Bands competitions, but never won and rarely received positive feedback. Wright recounts the band occasionally played for small groups of friends, whose reactions he described as "bemused."

#### The making of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*

##### Background

Using the money they earned from live performances, Panchiko paid to record demos at a studio, believing that writing original music would help to elevate the band. After an unsuccessful visit to a studio, Panchiko eventually began to produce music in their basements and bedrooms using "cheap equipment."

The members of Panchiko began recording their first EP, called *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, when they were in sixth form and college. Ferreday said that he was balancing college, studying classical guitar, and working different part-time jobs during this time. Davies estimates that the band members were aged 16 and 17 at the time of the EP's recording. He has also stated that *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was recorded between 1999 and 2000.

Wright served as the group's producer, and much of their music was recorded in Wright's bedroom using a TASCAM digital recorder and Roland Virtual Studio. A DJX keyboard vibraphone was utilized for sampling. Regarding the bass parts, Ferreday said, "I'd meet Owain and Andy in the evenings and discover most of a song had been written and I just had to add in a bassline."

Panchiko created *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* not expecting the music to be listened to by an audience. Wright acknowledged that Panchiko did not confine themselves to one genre during the recording process. Nevertheless, the music on the EP has been described as shoegaze, trip hop, emo, and indie rock. post-rock, dream pop, industrial, The band has described some of their lyrical content as "nerdy."

##### Cover art

> *For details regarding the cover artwork of* D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, see the cover art section.*
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The artwork found on the cover of Panchiko's *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* has since become the band's defining iconography. It simply depicts a girl drawn in the style of anime. During the search effort for Panchiko, the girl was eventually identified as Miyu Makimura, a character from *Mint na Bokura*, a Japanese manga series by Wataru Yoshizumi spanning from 1997 to 1999. Notably, the EP's liner notes only credit the band members by their first names: Owain, Andy, Shaun, and John.

##### Release

The EP was released in June 2000. Roughly 30 self-produced copies were burned on CD-R and shared among friends and family, with a few copies being sent to journalists, reviewers, and labels. In return, Panchiko received some "not very positive" reviews, with one suggesting that Davies—the lead singer—be fired. Panchiko only received one response from a label they had sent their EP to, London-based record label Fierce Panda. On November 14, 2000, label owner Simon Williams made the following note in his demo logs documenting his impressions of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*:

"'*Death Metal', of course, is anything but death metal. Hahaha!! Lovely sweet vocals, then some wiggy wiggy stuff. Needs a bit of va-va-va-voom on the vocals front. Very good letter.? I really like this. It would make my ears stand on end if I heard it on the radio. 'Stabilizers For Big Boys' = great. Swearing + ranting in a very familiar stylee. 'Laputa' is lovely and slow. Bugger knows what they remind me of.*"
— Simon Williams of Fierce Panda (November 14, 2000)

Despite Fierce Panda Records showing some interest, the band ultimately remained unsigned. Davies stated that they did not have the means to perform in London at the time and speculated that "no A&R would travel to Nottingham to see one band."

#### Leading up to their disbandment

Between 2000 and 2001, Panchiko recorded three more songs for an EP called *Kicking Cars*, which would go unreleased.

On April 13, 2001, Panchiko participated in a Battle of the Bands competition at the Little Civic venue in Wolverhampton. They competed against Sonic Lord and Available in Braille, with Fuse—a guest act—also present.

Wright remembers performing at a small festival in Sutton-in-Ashfield in mid-2001, "playing to people milling about, buying a hotdog, and staring at you weirdly." Panchiko disbanded shortly after this festival. Wright recalls that this decision was not entirely conscious because he, Wright, and Ferreday were already enrolled in college, while John was enlisted into the British military. After his enlistment, the other three band members lost touch with John; Davies and Ferreday reconnected with Wright on occasion but not with each other.

##### See also

* Click here for more information about *Kicking Cars*.
* Learn about the post-Panchiko whereabouts of the band members on the band members page.

### 2016-2020: Resurgence and search effort

I picked this up because it looked interesting
I wasn’t able to find any references to it, online, whatsoever. even with super obscure bands, you might expect to find some an old myspace page or mention in some forum.
does anybody recognise the album?
I half expected it to be noise pop or some vapourwave wankery. listening to it, now, track 1 is like hella Wikipedia:lo fi shoegaze with noise panning back and forth.
this isn’t some viral marketing bullshit. I’m just curious if anyone can shed some light on it and I’m slightly excited by the prospect of owning a rare album

#### 2016-2017: *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* is shared on 4chan and gains a cult following

> *For details regarding theories about Panchiko and general skepticism, see Skepticism toward the band and hoax theories.*
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Sometime in 2016, a copy of Panchiko's EP *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was discovered by an anonymous user of the online message board 4chan. This would mark the first mention of the band on the internet. On July 21, 2016, the user shared three images of the CD to the music board /mu/ and requested assistance in uncovering more information about the band. Unfortunately, the liner notes contained only the band members' first names and the EP's year of release, making further investigation difficult. While the original poster did not specify where they purchased the CD, it could be gauged that the band was from the United Kingdom due to a sticker revealing that the copy had been purchased from an Oxfam charity shop for £0.49.

The same anonymous poster was eventually pressured into ripping and sharing the EP's audio so that other users could listen, which they did online via download links on Mega, but due to the age and deterioration of the CD-R, disc rot had corrupted and heavily distorted the audio, causing effects of bitcrushing and panning. Many users debated whether the distortion was intentional or not, but the effects of the disc rot nonetheless became a staple of the music. The 4chan thread only received moderate attention, and reception of the music was both positive and negative. The original anonymous 4chan poster subsequently disappeared and deleted the photographs they had uploaded; the thread became inactive and expired, but *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* continued to circulate via file sharing websites.

In 2017, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* gained more popularity when a full rip of the EP was uploaded to YouTube by a user called "Sticki," a 19-year-old from the San Francisco Bay area who had 10,000 subscribers at the time. He was the first person to share the EP to an audience outside of 4chan.

Despite generating considerable interest, no information was uncovered regarding the band and *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was deemed "lost media." Some believed the EP to be a hoax, speculating that the initial 4chan post was a marketing ploy or publicity stunt, but the band would nonetheless gain a significant cult following without their knowledge.

#### 2019-2020: Panchikord launches a search effort

On August 5, 2019, Sticki re-uploaded *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* to his new YouTube channel, called "dismiss yourself," which served to catalog obscure music. Their re-upload sparked renewed interest in Panchiko and catalyzed the formation of a dedicated search effort on Reddit and Discord.

In August 2019, a moderator of the subreddit r/LostWave—known as "Toad"—discovered and shared Sticki's video. On September 15, 2019, a designated Discord server—officially called "Panchikord"—was established by an Argentinian user known as "Zod." He then posted a link to the Discord server on r/LostWave, capturing the attention of Toad; from there, the two spearheaded a designated search effort for Panchiko using Zod's server. Going forward, Panchikord served as the *de facto* platform and central hub for the community to gather, compile, and discuss their research into the mysteries surrounding Panchiko. It was originally a small-scale effort, with members initially spending hours searching for indie musicians from the United Kingdom who bore the same names as the credited band members. They were spurred on by negative conspiracy theories regarding the EP's authenticity.

On September 16, 2023, members of the search took note of a message within the 4chan thread that read, "I feel like I’ve seen this album before... It didn’t happen to be located in the Southampton Oxfam Music store did it?" On September 20, 2023, Panchikord user Apollo emailed the shop manager of Oxfam Music Southampton; the manager replied two days later, claiming the store had no record of the CD being in their stock.

Of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, the members of Panchikord attempted to identify the lyrics, to transcribe the songs into musical notation, and to isolate the vocals from the instrumentals, but the distorted audio stunted their efforts. Much of these efforts were cataloged within a Google Doc. In spite of some setbacks, they successfully traced the EP's cover artwork to the 13th volume of *Mint na Bokura*, a Japanese manga series by Yoshizumi spanning from 1997 to 1999.

Participants of the server then took note of a blurry but legible barcode on the CD—a "gift aid" number—"not an ID for the item, but for the person who gifted it." The numbers read, "20 11800429 1510." However, even if it was to be found in a shop’s stock history, it would be impossible to follow up with the person who donated the CD due to the United Kingdom's privacy laws. This was reconfirmed on November 13, 2023, after Panchikord member Mandapoe messaged the Facebook page of the same Southampton Oxfam Music shop. The manager reasserted that it was not possible to disclose information on donors, but they added that the sticker found on the CD did not have their "shop code" on it. This not only ruled out the Oxfam in Southampton, but it confirmed that the numbers—or "shop code"—found on the sticker in the 4chan image contained valuable information about where it was purchased.

On January 19, 2020, Zod Googled "Oxfam 1510," a search query containing the last four digits of the barcode, yielding the search result "Oxfam Shop — Sherwood, Nottingham, UK," a district of only 15,000 people. Rather than contact the store, the area was instead scoured for musicians named "Owain"—a common name in Wales but not England.

On January 20, 2020, a Panchikord member who previously aided in lyrical transcriptions—known as "Granlar"—posted a link to a Facebook profile belonging to a musician named "Owain." He then promptly left the server without explanation. Toad sent the profile a message which read, "Hello, you’ll probably never read this, but are you the lead singer of Panchiko?" to which the owner of the account replied on the following morning, "Yeah."

On January 21, 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Toad had successfully made contact with Panchiko's lead singer, Owain Davies. Davies, now 38 years old, had been completely unaware of the circulation of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L>* on the internet. At first, he was apprehensive about replying to the message, finding it "random" and "weird," as the band had never released their music to the internet. He then contacted Wright, who was in South Korea; Wright then contacted Ferreday, who was in Cambridge. Neither of them were aware of the band's newfound popularity either.

Overall, the search effort spanned from July 21, 2016 to January 21, 2020, lasting a total of 1,279 days. The original members were 30-40 years old when they were made aware of their growing success. At this point, Ferreday had not spoken to Davies in over ten years. The original drummer, John, is no longer in contact with the band, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. It is also unclear if he is aware of Panchiko's current status or success.

### 2020-present: Reformation, reissues, and touring

#### Restoring *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*

Davies followed up with this message. The Panchikord moderators, Zod and Toad, continued to speak with Davies thereafter, inquiring about a potentially clean copy of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, the version online being heavily distorted by disc rot. None of Panchiko's band members possessed a copy of the EP; however, Davies did provide correct song lyrics and divulge previously unknown information to the moderators. (I.e., Panchiko had recorded a second project called *Kicking Cars* and the sample used in "D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L"—"don't play the track"–was lifted from a Sega Saturn game disc being played in a CD player. He also revealed that the distortion heard in the songs was not deliberate. Wright subsequently created an email and took over correspondence with the moderators.

"*What I find interesting is after listening to many videos on YouTube about the EP, I feel that the degradation of the CD is part of the music now. It is a part of why people enjoy the music. And whilst I try to look for an original copy, I feel like it may take something away from what people found in the music. Maybe it's best left how people found it, as this interesting half-destroyed piece of music from a far-gone era... I think it's what makes it charming today, and that's what people should hold onto and enjoy about the CD.*"
— Owain Davies of Panchiko explains how he feels about the distortion found on *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* (January 25, 2020)

The band members initially preferred the disc rotted version of their EP. They also had reservations about restoring and rereleasing *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*.

Wright, after being contacted by Davies, tasked himself with recovering and remastering Panchiko's past works. He initially struggled to restore the audio because the original masters had since become lost, but he was hopeful that friends or family might be in possession of an original copy. On February 3, 2020, Wright was contacted by a friend in possession of an original copy of the EP, their copy in significantly better condition and without the disc rot.

Using this copy, Wright managed to remaster the original EP's four tracks by mid-February, along with *Kicking Cars*. To commemorate clean audio being found, Davies, Wright, and Ferreday joined the Panchikord server to conduct Q&A sessions.

#### 2020: *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* is reissued along with other previously unreleased material

> *For details about the reissuing of* D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, see D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L#D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L (compilation album).*
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On February 16, 2020, Wright created a Facebook profile and Instagram page for Panchiko. Later that day, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was officially reissued through Bandcamp; it had been expanded into a full-length and remastered compilation album. The reissue includes tracks from their previously unreleased EP *Kicking Cars* from 2001, as well as the original "rotted" versions of songs from their first EP. Coinciding with the release, six key contributors of the Panchiko search effort were credited: Apollo, Granlar, Helena, Sticki, Toad, and Zod; a thanks was also extended to Panchiko's "Discord friends"—a reference to the Panchikord server.

The reissue became one of the best-selling albums on Bandcamp on the day of its release, holding the number-two position on the alternative music chart; and in hours, the band had sold out of CDs. Additionally, Wright permitted the owner of "dismiss yourself" to distribute the release on his YouTube channel, expanding the band's reach even further. As of April 2023, Sticki's upload of the reissue has over 400,000 views. The compilation album was released to Spotify two months later, accumulating millions of streams.

After rereleasing *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, Davies, Wright, and Ferreday worked together to revamp their band, albeit without their original drummer John, who could not be tracked down. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Panchiko issued more unreleased music recorded between 1997 and 2001, as well as new original music. This music was released to streaming services and sold in a variety of physical formats through Bandcamp, including vinyls and cassettes.

In August 2020, Davies, Wright, and Ferreday reconvened and began collaborating in Nottingham. On September 25, 2020, they released a live studio version of “D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L” to their YouTube channel, with many uploads following suit.

In the fall of 2020, Panchiko held a remix contest centered around their song "D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L." The winning remix was submitted by Columbus-based artist Identity Clinic. In November 2020, Panchiko released *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L＞S*, a collection of remixes of their song "D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L."

#### 2021-2022: More members recruited, new live performances, and first tour

In June 2021, Panchiko released a compilation of live renditions and studio sessions in the form of an EP; *L＞I＞V＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was released to Bandcamp on June 2, 2021, while *Live* was released to Spotify on June 18, 2021.

In late 2021, Panchiko recruited Tongg members Harris and Schofield as guitarist and drummer, respectively. On August 31, 2021, the band held their first practice session in 20 years.

Up until this point, no images of the band members had been publicized on the internet. The band chose to keep their identities and appearances anonymous, fearing their ages did not fit the image of their past music. This changed on December 5, 2021, when they performed their first live show since disbanding at the Metronome venue in their hometown of Nottingham, playing in front of a crowd of a couple hundred attendees. Fans travelled great distances to see the band in person, including from Briston, London, Ireland, and Belgium. On May 13, 2022, they performed another concert in Hackney, London alongside alt-indie act Lindsay Munroe.

* Panchiko poses with Julie
* Panchiko poses with Julie
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In October 2022, Panchiko embarked on their first tour, playing a total of 20 shows set in the United States, including a performance at the South by Southwest festival in Texas. This was the first time any of the members had visited the United States. Supporting acts for this tour included They Are Gutting a Body of Water (TAGABOW), Julie, and Computerwife. During their tour, they released a deluxe pressing called *D＞E＞L＞U＞X＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, which rose to the number two spot on Bandcamp's alternative chart on October 20, 2022.

While on tour, the band sold out Antone's Nightclub in Austin, Texas—for this feat, they received a baseball signed by the venue's staff. On October 30, 2022—the final day of their tour—Panchiko filmed two videos with Digital Tour Bus at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, Illinois; the band appeared in episode 1,702 of the web series *Bus Invaders*, and Davies featured in episode 430 of the web series *Gear Masters*. These episodes were uploaded to YouTube in January 2023.

In *Bus Invaders*, it was revealed that their tour van is driven by their tour manager during the day and by bassist Ferreday at night; in the middle section of the van sits Wright and Schofield; in the back of the van sits Davies and Harris. They also exhibited merchandise from their supporting acts, including a T-shirt for They Are Gutting a Body of Water and stickers for Julie.

#### 2023-present: *Failed at Math(s)*

On February 2, 2023, popular YouTube content creator Justin Whang uploaded a video covering Panchiko's story. As of April 2023, the video sits at over 245,000 views.

On February 13, 2023, the band announced the release of their debut album *Failed at Math(s)*, slated for May 5 of the same year. On March 7, 2023, Panchiko released "Failed at Math(s)," the titular track from their upcoming album. It is the second original song to be recorded and released after their reformation. On March 30, 3023, they released the album's second single, "Until I Know." Alongside this single debuted the band's first official music video.

In February and March 2023, Panchiko performed a series of shows in the United Kingdom: on February 26 in Nottingham, on March 4 at Club Academy in Manchester, on March 5 at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, and on March 26 at The Garage in London. These shows were supported by associated acts CJ's Mirra Maze and Tongg. During the tour, Ferreday was injured in a fall. A man named Ollie briefly substituted for the bassist.

*Failed at Math(s)* will be released on May 5, 2023. During this month, Panchiko will also embark on their second full tour, consisting of 19 shows around the United States, including performances at the "Sick New World" festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds and at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City. Supporting acts for the Failed at Math(s) Tour include Horse Jumper of Love and LSD and the Search for God.

## Artistry

### Band name

Panchiko's band name is derived from a misspelling of "Pachinko," a mechanical slot machine arcade game originating in Japan. Allegedly, Davies coined the name, but Wright is the one who misspelled it.

### Image and iconography

> *For details regarding the cover artwork of* D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, see the cover art section.*
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Davies has stated that otaku culture had an influence on the music Panchiko made in their early years, as well as their image, describing himself to be a fan of anime soundtracks, JRPGs, *Final Fantasy*, and Studio Ghibli. When asked by IMPCT Journal what other art mediums—besides music—he draws inspiration from, Davies replied, “Film, graphic novels, artwork, video games, anime. I watched a lot of documentaries on the BBC whilst sitting writing songs.”

The artwork found on the cover of Panchiko's *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* EP features a manga panel depicting Miyu Makimura, a character who is often incorrectly described as an "anime girl." The EP's cover art has since become the band's defining iconography, as well as a *de facto* mascot of sorts. The image is often used in the band's profile pictures, merchandise, and concert posters.

Regarding Panchiko's contemporary success, Davies has guessed that it is in part due to "retro anemoia," or their audience feeling nostalgic for something they have no experienced.

Private information pertaining to the band members, including their full names and appearances, was not divulged to the public until late 2021, during their first live performance since disbanding.

### Influences and musical style

The music Panchiko made was primarily influenced by Radiohead, Super Furry Animals, and Ultrasound, as well as Massive Attack, Air, and Suede, among many other bands.

Panchiko often refers to themselves as a "pop" or "indie pop" band. The band has nonetheless been labelled by others as shoegaze, emo, and indie rock. Their music has also been characterized as dreampop or as generally "dreamy."

Justin Rioux of *Corduroy Threads* describes the music of Panchiko as embodying a "90s inspired sound" and "harnessing that great era for alternative rock music." In regards to *Kicking Cars*, he notes that "as the rest of the industry was shifting towards post-grunge, Panchiko could have been leading the way for the alternative rock genre along side Radiohead, Oasis, and The Flaming Lips."

Davies—particularly fond of the disc rot found on original copies of *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*—intends to recreate the degradation of the original CDs by experimenting with granular sampling, creating the "atmosphere [Panchiko] never intended in the original recordings."

## Band members

> *For details regarding the individual band members of Panchiko, see Band members.*
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> *For information about the pictured timeline, see Band member timeline.*
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On many of their releases, the band members are credited with "Panchiko" as a surname, i.e. "Andy Panchiko."

**Current members**

* Owain Davies – vocals, guitar, sampling, production, lyrics (1997-2001, 2020-present), piano, artwork (2020-present)
* Andrew "Andy" Wright – guitar, keyboard, sampling, sequencing, engineering, production, lyrics (1997-2001, 2020-present), artwork (2020-present)
* Shaun Ferreday – bass, bass programming, effects (1997-2001, 2020-present)
* Robert "Rob" Harris – guitar (2021–present)
* John Schofield – drums, percussion (2021–present)

**Past members**

* John – drums, sequencing (1997-2001)

## Tours

List of tours
* Julie
* Computerwife

* Tongg
 Failed at Math(s) Tour
* LSD and the Search for God

## Discography

> *For a complete list of Panchiko's discography, see Discography.*
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List of Panchiko's significant releases
 *Failed at Math(s)* | Studio album | 2023

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rioux writes, "The current revival of shoegaze type acts gives Panchiko a resurgence in potential popularity as more people become aware of this phenomenon."
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Due to the band's initial tendency to omit their full names from the liner notes, John's surname has never been made public.
3. ↑ Ferreday said, "We were doing Oasis, Beatles... we’d probably go see Owain’s band and see what they were doing, and then rip it off! ... 'Band' is a very loose term for what it was at that point, because neither of us could play our instruments. Me and Andy were in a band just doing covers and trying to figure out how you play with other people. Later on, we 'poached' Owain!"
4. ↑ Panchiko's compilation album *Ferric Oxide (Demos 1997-2001)* implies that some of the band's demos date back to 1997; however, many sources maintain that the band was established in 1998.
5. ↑ Wright said, "Panchiko formed around 1998(ish)."
6. ↑ Wright said, "Panchiko formed towards the last years of our time at secondary school, in the late 1990s, but the timeline gets a bit wonky after such a long time."
7. ↑ Wright said, "We’d go out to Lincolnshire to our drummer’s place to rehearse. He had a converted cellar and bit of a bigger house, so his parents were a little more tolerant of the 'horrendous' amount of noise we’d make."
8. ↑ Wright said, "We started playing covers in local pubs that were lenient with licensing laws in regards to allowing underage secondary school kids to get drunk and play in their pubs..."
9. ↑ Wright said, "I remember we entered a Battle of the Bands at a place called 'Berlins' in Nottingham, and when they found out that we were underage, we got disqualified... (Well, I’m assuming that’s the reason we didn’t win anyway.)"
10. ↑ Ferreday said, "There was another [competition] in Wolverhampton where there were only three people in the audience and they were there to support the other band."
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Wright said, "We eventually started entering battle of the band competitions and sending demos to record companies... both of which didn’t go quite as we’d hoped!"
12. ↑ Wright believes Panchiko's initial studio recordings to be lost.
13. ↑ Adame writes, "They took the money they'd earned from their first gigs and paid for a recording session after experimenting with a four-channel recorder."
Andy said, "What we wanted was to be famous, but you don't get that playing covers."
14. ↑ Wright said, "I used to have a keyboard called the DJX, and it was this 200-pound instrument that had two seconds of sample memory. So, you had two seconds to sample—that was it."
15. ↑ Wright said, "We were DIY teens. We just wanted to make our record. I don't think we were trying to please anyone. We didn't have an audience in mind, and in doing so, we connected with no audience."
16. ↑ Davies or Wright explained, “We started writing songs with no regard to how they might be received. We were just making what we wanted."
17. ↑ Wright explained, "We were perhaps a bit odd and mixed up a few genres. This might’ve made it a bit difficult to get gigs, as it wasn’t always easy to say what kind of music we played. We were still experimenting and releasing as we went."
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Pearis writes, "Panchiko mixed guitars with dreamy electronics for a unique sound somewhere between indie rock, post rock and trip hop."
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Semple said, "Panchiko’s original sound was a pastiche of whichever bands the boys liked: a mixture of shoegaze and indie rock influences..."
20. ↑ Davies said, "One of the things that the original fanbase liked was that we wrote lyrics with references to video games or anime—nerdy things which weren't very common."
Wright said, "There's some ambiguity in the lyrics that makes it so we can speak to everyone, not just nerds—but it's more for heartbroken nerds."
21. ↑ Ferreday said, "We didn't have money to promote it. We made 30 copies, sent it to a few labels, a couple of magazines, and we didn't get any responses."
22. ↑ Davies said, "I think we got a few reviews. I remember them not being that great. One really disliked my singing and suggested the band sack the singer!"
23. ↑ Wright said, "I remember the first time we received a reply from a label called Fierce Panda, and I was blown away... He didn’t sign us, but I still occasionally talk to the guy who runs the label."
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Wright said, "I don’t think it was a conscious decision. We all left school to join our various 6th forms, colleges, and I believe John the drummer joined the army..."
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 When asked about the Panchiko members' whereabouts after disbanding, Wright explained, "We’ve all moved on with stuff. We’re tree surgeons, teachers, and engineers... Not really sure where John is. I think he joined the army!"
26. ↑ Of initial reactions the 4chan thread received, Wilson explains, "There was a comparison to 'Bowie pop,' while one user believed the cover was an obscure reference to US hip-hop group Death Grips. Another even offered to buy the EP there and then for £130...
There were queries about the spelling of Panchiko, perhaps an incorrect reference to a popular arcade game in Japan called "Panchiko," which would tie into the manga image on the front cover."
27. ↑ Wilson writes, "Some thought it might be a sound effect, others said it was damaged, a few dismissed it as a bad recording."
28. ↑ Sticki's name is usually formatted with a lowercase "s," as "sticki." His original channel was called "whimee."
29. ↑ Sticki deleted their original channel, however, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* was subsequently uploaded to their new channel, "dismiss yourself," where it remains today.
30. ↑ Zod was also known as "Zen."
31. ↑ Zod first became aware of Panchiko in June 2019.
32. ↑ Wright said, "The Discord server have been so supportive of the whole project. A fellow called 'Zod' had gone to huge lengths to track us down."
33. ↑ A member of Panchikord said, "There was only a handful of people [in the channel] at that time... There wasn't much information to go on, so we spent hours looking for indie musicians across the UK who shared the same first names."
34. ↑ While Davies' Facebook profile once listed his name, the information was removed after he was contacted by Toad—likely to maintain his privacy at the time. However, the Facebook profile is still public and available to view. It is a page dedicated to music Davies created under the stage name "(last)exile."
35. ↑ Davies said, "I woke up one Tuesday morning to a strange message on social media asking me if I was the singer from Panchiko. It was on a music page I had no updated for years. I almost did not answer. Funny how the smallest things can completely change your outlook on life."
36. ↑ Ferreday said, “I was at work when I got a message from Andy saying 'Google Panchiko.' I didn't know what he was referring to, I said, 'What are you talking about? I'm sure there's nothing about it on the Internet,' but I did and it was crazy. There was so much out there about us, I had no idea how they knew so much. The internet was going crazy with conspiracy theories. They said we were Banksy."
37. ↑ Ferreday said, "Before all this happened, I hadn't talked to Owain for ten years, and it wasn't on purpose, it was because life got in the way."
38. ↑ Wright said, "The songs had suffered some nasty deterioration through what sounds like data corruption due to aging and various other factors. Despite the songs being nearly inaudible, I was really happy that some people were into it, and I actually really like the sound of the messed up versions."
39. ↑ When asked about remastering *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*, Wright said, "I work as a mastering engineer, so I couldn’t resist trying to restore and remaster everything."
40. ↑ Wright said, "The EP recording process was a little more tricky 20 years ago... Most of it was hardware-based recording and sampling. A a Roland VS-840 was used for the multi-tracking
41. ↑ Wright said, "[*D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L*]" was bounced to the VS840, which vanished a long time ago! I will keep asking friends and family for copies and hope that we might be in luck."
42. ↑ Wright said of the *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L* reissue, "We can’t believe the response; we sold out of CD’s in a few hours and people from all over the world are listening to Panchiko!"
43. ↑ Davies said, "We don't reveal our identities because... we are older... we're not teenagers anymore, and I think that can change people's perception."
Wright said, "Basically, we are three 40-year-old gentlemen. I don't think that is representative of the music."
44. ↑ Davies revealed, "From my point of view, the name was meant to be 'Panchinko' after the slot machines, but we spelt it wrong, and it stuck for a while."
45. ↑ Davies or Wright explained, “We just got the spelling wrong, going for 'Pachinko,' but we didn’t double-check... There was pretty much non-existent access to the internet to check stuff in those days, but maybe it was a little bit lazy. Then again, things might’ve been a little different if we’d have spelled it correctly!”
46. ↑ When discussing what influenced Panchiko's first two EPs, Davies said, "I was a bit of an otaku in a way. I loved anime soundtracks, JRPGs, *Final Fantasy*, and Ghibli."
47. ↑ Semple muses that "the girl on the album’s cover, combined with the music itself, seemed perfectly curated for a mid-2010s audience."
48. ↑ Davies said, "There may be something in the idea that folks who would get the most out of the music were not even born at the time we made the music, and the world it could be a part of was not quite there yet. It also could be a retro Anemoia thing."
49. ↑ Wright said, "At the time, Owain and I were listening to a lot of Super Furry Animals..."

Davies said, "We all shared common ground on SFA. They are still great today!"

Ferreday said of their influences, "The band list was huge. Radiohead were obviously an influence, and as Andy said, super furries were listened to a lot..."
50. ↑ Davies said of Massive Attack, "Generally, I wanted to know how they made their music, but we never got to the point of finding out."

Adame writes, "Contrary to the bands they chose to play covers, *D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L'*s influences were much more inclined to the world of rock-electronic, being its main reference the music of Massive Attack."
51. ↑ Wright recounts he and Owain listening to "a lot of Super Furry Animals, Suede, Sparklehorse, Ultrasound, Simian, Soulwax, and of course The Beatles and Nirvana."
52. ↑ Davies agreed with Wright and also stated, "DJ Shadow was a massive influence on me. I loved breakbeasts as much as guitars. Kid Loco’s first album *A Grand Love Story* was a big influence... Maybe in 2000, I was just starting to get into Grandaddy, I loved how they mixed electronics and guitars. I also really liked The Smiths, New Order, Joy Division, and Air; and, maybe a little bit too much Radiohead—they were one of the bands of my generation, along with Blur."
53. ↑ Ferreday said, "There were so many amazing bands at the time from all genres, from Massive Attack and Portishead—to Pulp, Terrorvision, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (for me anyway)."
54. ↑ "I think we were all into quite different stuff, but there was plenty of crossover bands that we all liked. Artists such as Suede, Radiohead, Ultrasound, The Beatles, Kid Loco, DJ Shadow, Nick Drake, and stuff like that. We also watched a lot of the same TV..." (i.e. *Scrapheap Challenge*)
55. ↑ In an episode of *Bus Invaders*, Wright introduces himself as "Andy from the pop music band Panchiko."
56. ↑ In an episode of *Gear Masters*, Davies explains that he adheres to standard tuning because "we just do kind of simple pop songs really."
57. ↑ In an episode of *Gear Masters*, Davies said, "I like making beats, as well as the stuff in Panchiko where it’s like more indie pop and stuff."

## References

### Citations

Articles, documentaries, and interviews:

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Panchiko: the internet’s greatest music mystery (February 27, 2022).
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Interview with Panchiko (November 24, 2021).
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Panchiko Interview (June 10, 2021).
4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 The Surprising Story of Panchiko (March 15, 2020).
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 Panchiko's Lost Media Icon, the Internet's Most Searched Band #BandsYouNeedToKnow (Spanish) (December 8, 2020).
6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 Panchiko Reflect on “D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L,” Lost Y2K Demo Turned Internet Cult Hit (May 18, 2020).
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Gig Review: Panchiko at Metronome (December 8, 2021).
8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 Spectreview: Panchiko – D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L (February 25, 2020).
9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20 9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 9.25 Panchiko and the Power of the Internet: From Message Boards to an International Tour, Two Decades Later (October 9, 2022).
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Album Review: D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L by Panchiko (May 26, 2021).
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Panchiko share 1st new single in 20 years, add more US tour dates (March 8, 2023).
12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 ‘We didn’t even know they were there’: the little-known bands finding fans years later (August 16, 2022).
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Episode 2 - Panchiko Interview. Play By Play Podcast With DC (July 1, 2022).
14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 14.14 14.15 14.16 Panchiko delve into the widely speculated mysteries surrounding the enigmatic band (December 29, 2021).
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Panchiko Interview: Emotion is an Art. Mosher's Records (March 19, 2023).
16. ↑ 16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 16.15 16.16 16.17 16.18 How Panchiko Made Me Fall For Death Metal (January 3, 2021).
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 E3 - Liv & Gigi's So-Called Life (Featuring: Panchiko) (February 1, 2022).
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8 UK cult group Panchiko announce first album in 20 years & North American tour (February 13, 2023).
19. ↑ 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 19.12 19.13 19.14 19.15 19.16 19.17 19.18 19.19 19.20 19.21 19.22 19.23 19.24 19.25 19.26 19.27 19.28 19.29 19.30 19.31 19.32 19.33 19.34 19.35 19.36 19.37 19.38 19.39 19.40 19.41 19.42 19.43 19.44 19.45 4Channer Discovers Mysterious Album, Asks “Who Is Panchiko?” (September 4, 2021).
20. ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 20.17 20.18 20.19 20.20 20.21 20.22 20.23 20.24 20.25 20.26 20.27 Panchiko: How a Mysterious Shoegaze Album Sparked an Global InterSearch (February 2, 2022).
21. ↑ 21.00 21.01 21.02 21.03 21.04 21.05 21.06 21.07 21.08 21.09 21.10 21.11 21.12 21.13 21.14 21.15 21.16 21.17 21.18 21.19 21.20 21.21 21.22 21.23 21.24 21.25 Panchiko DEATHMETAL - Tales From the Internet (February 3, 2023).
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Panchiko premieres 'The Death Of' with the last song they recorded in 2001 (Spanish) (February 15, 2021).
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 How Dismiss Yourself Became a Hub for Internet Weirdness (July 8, 2021).
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Panchiko - A Mysterious CD Found in a Shop (March 18, 2021).
25. ↑ Wet Leg lead new additions to SXSW 2022 line-up (January 27, 2022).
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 PANCHIKO - “UNTIL I KNOW” (March 30, 2023).
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Panchiko - BUS INVADVERS Ep. 1702 (January 3, 2023).
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Panchiko's Owain Davies - GEAR MASTERS Ep. 430 (January 25, 2023).
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Panchiko - D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L Lyrics and tabs (September 15, 2019).
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Panchikobin (July 10, 2020).

### Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous information compiled by fans:

1. ↑ Battle of the Bands - 2001-2002 (Wolverhampton).
2. ↑ Panchikobin (July 10, 2020).
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Panchiko - D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L Lyrics and tabs (September 15, 2019).

### Discord messages

Discord messages left on Panchikord by the band members:

1. ↑ [Discord message] (February 5, 2020). “There’s an old VHS of our first show as part of a youth club when I was 15 years old...”
2. ↑ [Discord message] (February 3, 2020). “I can’t imagine that I made more than 20/30 copies or so. They weren’t sold, just given out for review, friends and A&R purposes.”
3. ↑ Davies directs fans to Sticki's YouTube channel "dismiss yourself."
4. ↑ [Discord message from Deleted User] (January 24, 2020). “From my point of view, the name was meant to be ‘Panchinko’ after the slot machines, but we spelt it wrong, and it stuck for a while.”

### Panchiko sources

Information found on the band's social media:

1. ↑ [Instagram post] (July 16, 2020). “Here’s the evidence of our existence in the year 2000 that you hoax folks never thought would pop up!”
2. ↑ (last)exile.
3. ↑ Davies said the following to Toad: "Yes I made it. I was 16-17 at the time. Just checked out the videos the distortion is from time. It was never meant to sound like that, and I kind of like how its turned out after all these years. Personally I wouldn’t want anyone to hear the original, and unfortunately I don’t thinkI have a copy. I wouldn’t know if the other people involved would want to be associated with it but I could get in contact with them."
4. ↑ D＞E＞A＞T＞H＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L (February 16, 2020).
5. ↑ [Community page] (December 26, 2020). “We spent much of our Christmas listening to the amazing remixes that folks have been submitting for our remix competition, and after many hours of intensive listening we have finally made a decision! We'd like to say how grateful we are to everyone for taking the time to work on their versions. We particularly enjoyed the music of CritARC, Cameron Simm', Griffin Ashburn and Skullboy's remixes, but our overall winner is by an artist called Identity Clinic from Columbus, Ohio! We've put the remix on our bandcamp page so take a listen! We love it!”
6. ↑ L＞I＞V＞E＞M＞E＞T＞A＞L (June 2, 2021).
7. ↑ [Facebook profile, filtering posts containing the word "pop"]. “Check out [our] new/old pop music... Take a listen to our latest pop music video! ... Head on over to our Bandcamp thingy to listen to our first pop show in 22 years... What’s all this then?! Pop music that’s what!”

## See also

* Skepticism toward the band and hoax theories
* Cover art
* Band members
* Discography

## External links

* Panchiko on Bandcamp
* Panchiko's Linktree