Hydrogen Sea's third full album Creature Comforts is a luscious, fresh, and vibrant collection of new songs that explore everything that offers us, fragile creatures, physical and mental comfort, and makes us feel good. It’s the duo’s first collaboration with producer Luuk Cox. The record sounds unapologetically light and colorful but dares to look at the shadows. As the soft-spoken TV painter Bob Ross once said, ‘You need the dark in order to show the light.’
Hydrogen Sea started out in 2012 as the brain and love child of the duo Birsen Uçar and PJ Seaux. For their most recent record Automata from 2019, they wrote and performed in full band formation alongside Steven Van Gelder, Joris Caluwaerts, and Patricia Vanneste. Forced by (but also pretty much enjoying) the solitude during the pandemic, Birsen and Pj huddled together in their studio and started to write and demo their Creature Comfort songs. It was an attempt to find some hope, softness, and joy in the slow apocalypses we live through. The duo wanted to explore sounds and themes that offer us, fragile creatures, physical and mental comfort, and make us feel good. On the other hand, Birsen’s lyrics could never overlook the mechanism of instant gratification and toxic consumerism. Above all, the new music was Birsen and PJ’s way of relieving their own stress and soothe their nervous systems. In February 2023, after having written and recorded the bulk of the songs in the solitude of their home studio, Birsen and PJ called in the multifaceted skills of Luuk Cox. He was welcomed into their creative process and produced and mixed the album, making it sound effortlessly bright, crisp, and filled with color.
With this album, PJ and Birsen want to stimulate all senses. In the limited first batch of the vinyl edition, they’ve included fragrant incense paper that will stimulate your sense of smell and aims to bring you comfort. The rich and creamy texture of the album cover will also come to life in a tactile ultra limited 3D edition that will be soft to the touch.