Photo by Gabe Dreschler
Although point of origin shouldn’t be an issue, Panchiko hail from Nottingham, England. And while the band’s inception date has been hard to pin down, it’d be safer to say to it was over two decades ago and change. Their story, however, is an odd one and deserves your attention.
After releasing the ‘D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L’ demo in 2000 on a small batch of CDRs, the band’s music would sit dormant until an avid music fan discovered the demo in a small shop in Nottingham some 16 years later. Through the powers of social media, a 4chan user and new Panchiko fan contacted the group in 2020. The band would later re-issue the recordings as well as releasing more digital and physical media in the form of compilations and singles. At present, the song “D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L” has gone viral and racked up over 25,000,000 dedicated streams with other tracks “All They Wanted” and “Laputa” clocking an astounding 17,000,000 and 13,000,000 streams respectively.
For those not in the know, Panchiko includes core members Owain Davies (vocals, guitar, sampling, production, piano, artwork), Andrew “Andy” Wright (guitar, keyboard, sampling, sequencing, engineering, production, lyrics), and Shaun Ferreday (bass, bass programming, effects). The band is rounded out by newer musicians Robert Harris (guitar) and John Schofield (drums, percussion).
Today, Panchiko are touring in support of their first full-length effort – the oddly-named ‘Failed at Math(s)’ – released in 2023. Starting in Berkeley and just a day before their Sacramento show, the tour will inevitably end over a month later in San Diego with two headlining shows at majestic Southern California venue, The Observatory.
Fans of both the anime culture as well as electronic, shoe-gaze, and melancholy lo-fi indie fare will appreciate the songs found on their latest album. Highlights from the 8-song offering include the title track, “Gwen Everest,” and the largely instrumental “Breakfast Seance” which could easily have been an outtake from Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ release or a Clinic B-side.
We caught up with Andy Wright while the band was preparing for their pending US tour.
Capital Chaos TV: Will there be more shows after the tour ends on May 19th in San Diego?
Andy Wright: We’re planning some more shows and hoping to do another month to cover all the lovely places we had to miss on this tour later on in the year. We love to play to folks as often as possible, but we have families at home in the UK that we occasionally need to check in with.
Capital Chaos TV: What do you recall about your first US tour? Any highlights?
Andy Wright: The first tour was just incredible from start to end. None of us had spent any significant amount of time in the US before. We loved pretty much every show, but the highlight for us was on our second tour. In Los Angeles, someone made a marriage proposal on stage. They said yes!
Capital Chaos TV: How long did it take to write and record ‘Failed At Math(s)’? Any songs that didn’t make the record?
Andy Wright: At least half the songs from ‘Failed At Math(s)’ had been written 25 years ago, so we had a bit of a head start on the process. There were plenty of songs that didn’t make it onto the album for one reason or another, but we’re proud of the songs we released. The whole thing took about a year to finish whilst we were all juggling full time jobs, families and a new born baby.
Capital Chaos TV: Are there any other musical projects you or the other members are involved in aside from Panchiko?
Andy Wright: All of us have worked on various projects over the years, but we prefer our lovely Panchiko friends to find out about our old bands by themselves. It’s more fun that way.
Panchiko play Ace Of Spades located at 1417 R Street in Downtown Sacramento. You Ain’t Doing That Kitty Kat opens the show. Tickets start at $38 and can be purchased at www.aceofspades.com. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. All ages are welcome.
(Capital Chaos TV)