Segaki by Hungry Ghosts

Segaki is the second album of the Norwegian-Malaysian trio Hungry Ghosts, consisting of Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen accompanied by the Norwegian powerhouse duo of Christian Meaas Svendsen on double bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. Their debut record has been described as an album with an «unstoppable energy» and like actual hungry ghosts — the unfortunate souls who are reborn as pitiful creatures into their own miserable realm, punished for their mortal vices — the trio has an insatiable appetite for more.

This appetite was temporarily quenched during their European tour in 2022. As part of this tour they played in a small Austrian town by the name of St. Johann in Tirol. That concert was recorded, and that recording became the raw ingredients for this release. Now, after having gone through a rather extensive two year long digestive system of listening, mixing, listening, mastering and listening again, the trio has brought us their second dish of hard hitting improv.

Hard hitting, yes, but there is also room for nuance, even more so than on their first album. The three musicians bring a rich arsenal of ideas and sounds to the table. Yong sticks to his saxophone, which in reality is just an extension of his abdomen. He howls, screams, whines and wails. But he also breaks it apart, and In a lyrical manner he accompanies Meaas Svendsen who — apart from playing his instrument in all sorts of unconventional ways and with multiple bows simultaneously — also doubles on shakuhachi and ancient Buddhist chants. Nilssen-Love shows us — as those who have followed him for some years know very well — that he can do much more than just play hard and fast. He listens, pauses, plays small gongs and other percussion instruments as well as his drum kit. He gives space, and sure knows how to take space when needed.

The somewhat grotesque and vulgar track titles are taken from actual texts that describe the different types of hungry ghosts that exist in Buddhist mythology. The title of the album, Segaki / 施餓鬼, translates as «service for the benefit of suffering spirits» or «feeding the hungry ghosts». The depiction on the cover is taken from page 9 from the Scroll of Hungry Ghosts, or in Japanese Gaki Zōshi / 餓鬼草紙. The scroll itself is from the Heian period in the late 12th century. This particular image shows a hungry ghost which is being forced to throw up what it just ate by a demon.

Perhaps it’s not too far a stretch to say that part of this music sounds like a forced regurgitation. Still, this record doesn’t only scream; it sings, dances and grooves, showing us that there’s a whole lot going on in the realm of the Hungry Ghosts.