Saturday 8 September 2007

SHIKABANE - 1st 7" EP 人間に生まるること難し・・・


The year was 1997, my friends and I had just opened a squat. A new guy was also moving in and with him some cassette tapes. So, I was fixing something in my room when I heard music coming from this guy's room. It was Gauze, and I thought: "wow! I haven't heard that for while" (a few months maybe). Then a new band came up on that tape. It was Japanese like Gauze, tight like Gauze, but faster and shorter -not too short- just like a HC band should be. After 1, 2, 3 songs I had to ask what the name of that "atomic bomb" was, ironically coming from Japan. It was SHIKABANE. Needless to say that became the top band for that year.
I needed the record though, as the tape was missing some tracks. It only had 8, with the last one being incomplete! But at that time it wasn't so easy to hunt records like nowadays.
Although it was quite easy to get their next release, which was a split with AGATHOCLES (what a great record) both bands delivered a wicked fastloudpogotightcore. I was happy, but was still looking for the first single. Then came the wonderful 12"/ CD "Living for Someone or Living For Myself" released by MCR. Next came another single/MCD "Ego & Desire", where they started to change their style to a more dark direction, combining slow and fast tempos and even gloomy with the "Why Do You Live? LP".
Now the year was 2003, I'd lived in many squats, got loads of records, but still could't find that 1st Shikabane single, until -thanx to the internet world- I finally found it on the Circledelic shop in Japan. Of course I ordered it immediately, then I waited, waited, and nothing arrived. I told Shoko (the seller) and fortunately after a few weeks he got me another copy. Again I waited, waited and nothing. I knew Shoko wasn't a rip-off guy, I had bought records from him before and I trusted him. Then it came to me: I asked him to what address he had sent the parcel to and, bingo! He hadn't updated my address and it was sent to an old squat. I had to knock on the new tenants door and ask about the record, luckily they found one of the copies. I believe the first copy was wasted by the kids as I heard the mother asking one of them about it; that she'd seen them playing with a "CD" that had Japanese writing on it. And so I finally put my hands on the first, and very hard to get, Shikabane 7'' EP. DOWNLOAD HERE:
SHIKABANE - 1st 7" EP 人間に生まるること難し・・'96 ( self release [?] )

9 comments:

Roilo Golez said...

Thanks for posting this, to me it's their best release so far,
strange everybody seems to forgot the existence of that killer ep...

Anonymous said...

Indeed, this is the best of 屍 and one of the best 90's fascore. Complete destruction.

Anonymous said...

What else can be as tight and fast as this single?
SHIKABANE RULES!

Anonymous said...

forget the EP which came later, Ego and Desire, not so good.

THIS and the first MCR cd are the shit!

thanks for let everyone hear this. as you said the best of 屍 !

fassby from Italy

Anonymous said...

Great stuff, later stuff was shitty attempt at playing a grindcore style. This 7" had the same impact on me as the 1st SOB 7" (blew me away) when I first heard it, another band who also rather sadly did a shitty attempt at grincore later on.

MrWanky

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for posting this amazing record. I just can't stop listening to it!

Anonymous said...

Oh.... indeed Shoko is a girl and she's not a rip-off, ha !

GeroGeriGeGeGreg said...

Any chance of upping the Shikabane 12"? Can't find it anywhere, to buy or download

Anonymous said...

LINK FIXED!!!

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