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CHENTS takes the wake up call twice a week on The NTS Breakfast Show.
Translating literally as “Shibuya-style”, named after the shopping district of Tokyo, which during the ‘90s was the epicentre of the kitsch and Western retro throwback aesthetic, Shibuya-kei bands drew heavily from easy listening pop movements of the 1960s – bossa nova, psychedelia, yé-yé and more.
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Hungry Ghost, a Portland supergroup of obscure '90s indie rockers, was born of decades long friendships and mutual admiration. Stewed and simmered in the cauldrons of Olympia post-punk, Portland experimentalism, and New Mexican trash-garage, Hungry Ghost is Sara Lund (Unwound, Corin Tucker Band) on drums, Andrew Price (Irving Klaw Trio) on guitar, and the Lorca Wood attack (The Drags) on bass. Masterfully produced by PacNW indie rock legend Sam Coomes (Quasi, Heatmiser, Elliot Smith, Pink Mountain, Crock, etc), who also contributes guest keyboards on the album, these recordings manage to capture the focused, gritty edge and hypnotic raw power of the band’s live performances. In addition to the aforementioned bands, nods are given to influencers as far and wide as Led Zeppelin, Erkin Koray, Alice Coltrane, The Groundhogs, The Staple Singers, John Fahey, Black Sabbath, Pussy Galore, Nick Drake, The Kinks, X, Joy Division, The Gories, desert blues, and African Psychedelia of the '60s and '70s.
“You can tell (or at least I can tell) when a band is playing together for the joy of it, for the love of rocking; where all other aspirations are secondary at best, where you never feel for a second that the band is trying to put one over on you. Hungry Ghost! This music is spare, honed down to essentials – there is no faking it at this level. There’s no need to know what hip, respected underground bands the players were previously members of at whatever time in the past – this band doesn’t really sound like them anyway; but suffice it to say these are real players, their cred is legit. The distillation of classic American forms (and I consider punk a classic American form, as much as blues and jazz) into a simultaneously familiar and individual sound is relatively common strategy, but in practice it is extremely difficult to pull off with anything resembling a natural, uncontrived result. Hungry Ghost! But then this isn’t theoretical stuff – you just have to hear it and feel it – if you do this, it’s there, I’m telling you! At which point they won’t need me to justify it with verbiage.” – Sam Coomes
"Led Zeppelin meets ESG" (J. Funk, Helll, Tokyo)
"Hungry Ghost extrapolates from a bluesy, guitar-forward template into a gloriously unpredictable din that recalls better times" (Portland Monthly)
"That's really cool, mom" (Milo, age 11)
Hungry Ghost, a Portland supergroup of obscure '90s indie rockers, was born of decades long friendships and mutual admiration. Stewed and simmered in the cauldrons of Olympia post-punk, Portland experimentalism, and New Mexican trash-garage, Hungry Ghost is Sara Lund (Unwound, Corin Tucker Band) on drums, Andrew Price (Irving Klaw Trio) on guitar, and the Lorca Wood attack (The Drags) on bass. Masterfully produced by PacNW indie rock legend Sam Coomes (Quasi, Heatmiser, Elliot Smith, Pink Mountain, Crock, etc), who also contributes guest keyboards on the album, these recordings manage to capture the focused, gritty edge and hypnotic raw power of the band’s live performances. In addition to the aforementioned bands, nods are given to influencers as far and wide as Led Zeppelin, Erkin Koray, Alice Coltrane, The Groundhogs, The Staple Singers, John Fahey, Black Sabbath, Pussy Galore, Nick Drake, The Kinks, X, Joy Division, The Gories, desert blues, and African Psychedelia of the '60s and '70s.
“You can tell (or at least I can tell) when a band is playing together for the joy of it, for the love of rocking; where all other aspirations are secondary at best, where you never feel for a second that the band is trying to put one over on you. Hungry Ghost! This music is spare, honed down to essentials – there is no faking it at this level. There’s no need to know what hip, respected underground bands the players were previously members of at whatever time in the past – this band doesn’t really sound like them anyway; but suffice it to say these are real players, their cred is legit. The distillation of classic American forms (and I consider punk a classic American form, as much as blues and jazz) into a simultaneously familiar and individual sound is relatively common strategy, but in practice it is extremely difficult to pull off with anything resembling a natural, uncontrived result. Hungry Ghost! But then this isn’t theoretical stuff – you just have to hear it and feel it – if you do this, it’s there, I’m telling you! At which point they won’t need me to justify it with verbiage.” – Sam Coomes
"Led Zeppelin meets ESG" (J. Funk, Helll, Tokyo)
"Hungry Ghost extrapolates from a bluesy, guitar-forward template into a gloriously unpredictable din that recalls better times" (Portland Monthly)
"That's really cool, mom" (Milo, age 11)
Thanks!
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