Hungry Ghosts is a 4-piece indie rock band based in Hong Kong. The band was founded in 2007 by frontman Luke Chow, a well-known musician active in the Hong Kong rock scene, and guitarist Paul Lam. Bassist Tiffany Laue and drummer Michael Jack joined shortly after, having met Chow and Lam by jamming at open mic nights in the city. Along with groups including

Chochukmo Chochukmo () is a 5-piece indie rock band based in Hong Kong, with Jan Curious on vocal, Mike Orange on guitar and synthesizer, Les Hunter on guitar, Fai on bass, and Kitty Trouble on drums and percussion. Formed in the summer of 2005, the band h ...

King Ly Chee King Ly Chee is a hardcore band from Hong Kong. Music The band's sound is characterized by hardcore, usually with shouted verses, interspersed with melodic flourishes. History King Ly Chee was formed in May 1999 fueled by the fire and ...

, Poubelle International and

My Little Airport My Little Airport is a Hong Kong-based indie pop band. Their English lyrics are marked by spelling, grammar, and rhythm inflected by Hong Kong English. The band's lyrics and music are written by Ah P (Lam Pang) and sung by Nicole (Nicole Au Kin ...

, Hungry Ghosts are considered one of Hong Kong's most influential and well-established independent bands. The band has released two studio EPs and was featured on

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's annual compilation in 2010.

History

Formation and 'EP' release (2007–2010)

Luke Chow and Paul Lam formed the band in 2007. Chow had been performing and touring as a solo acoustic act for several years prior to forming Hungry Ghosts, releasing the ''Fast Forward Tour EP'' and a full-length record, ''Inspired By People''. Lam was working as a teacher at the time, but "had so much free time

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played a lot of video games and wrote many guitar songs." While early critics of the band were quick to label them as '

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

' based on the stylistic elements of their sound, Chow rejected that description, commenting, "“Emo” tends to suggest sappy losers whining about how they got dumped by their girlfriends, or bands like My Chemical Romance. We’re nothing like that." The Ghosts do, however, cite indie-emo acts Death Cab for Cutie, American Football and

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as influences. Hungry Ghosts released their first CD, ''EP'', in 2009, and spent the following year gigging intensely in Hong Kong, opening for visiting international acts such as

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, and Saosin. They were also featured on

's third annual compilation album, "Life After Roots – Rock Beyond" in 2010, and were described by ''

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'' magazine as being the "stand out" band of the record.

EP 2 (2010–2012)

Immediately following the release of ''EP'', the Ghosts began work on new material for a future release. Several release dates were announced for the new EP, but it was not until February 2012 that ''EP 2'' was finally made available to the public at a launch party at the

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venue Backstage. Leading up to the ''EP 2'' release, Hungry Ghosts opened for American instrumental band

Lymbyc Systym Lymbyc Systym is an American instrumental band from Tempe, Arizona, United States, which formed in 2001, consisting of brothers Jared and Michael Bell. Their sound combines elements of instrumental rock and electronic music. Lymbyc Systym have ...

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and sent Chow and Laue to the 2011 Clockenflap festival, performing as the Luke Chow Band. In 2012, the Ghosts opened for Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein and will play the main stage of the Clockenflap festival.

Discography

EP

*''EP'' (2009) *''EP 2'' (2012)

Compilation

*''The Underground Compilation CD No. 3: Life After Roots – Rock Beyond'' (2010)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hong Kong musical groups Post-rock groups Chinese indie rock groups