For those of you who don’t know Hymen records and what they’ve been up to, a very small introduction. What started out as a sub division of the highly respectable label Ant-zen quickly (willing or unwillingly) detached itself and began living its own life. Although each release on the label brings something different and there is certainly a lot of room for innovation and experimentation, the overall sound of the label can best be described as a mixture of ambient, noise and IDM with a lot of extra ingredients now and then. Today it deservedly takes its place amongst the top electronic music labels with a big raster of great artists and more importantly a constant output of high quality releases. Fans of Hymen (or Ant-zen) know that with some of these releases they are not too shy on experimenting and going all out with the packaging and presentation. Over the years this has resulted in some superb and highly collectable packages. A great example being the box with a small plastic TV for the Venetian Snares release “a giant alien force more violent & sick than anything you can imagine”. So when news came about Travel Sickness, a wooden box with a total of eight three inch CD’s from different artists I knew it would be something very special.

Nothing, however, can prepare you for the moment you have the release in front of you and open the wooden box for the first time. Without exaggerating, this is by far the most beautiful and original package I have seen in years, maybe ever. Hymen really outdid itself (and with it everyone else) on the part of presentation and packaging. The inside of the box consist the eight CD’s which are all labeled with a different picture of a butterfly. The CD’s are placed around a small info sheet with the whole track list of the project. On the other inside of de box another sheet is attached with the whole story behind “Travel Sickness” and some additional info about the release and the artists. The story itself makes for and interesting read and injects even more flair into the release. So as for the packaging itself, I will go as far as to say that it itself is already worth the price. It would certainly not be misplaced as a piece of decoration on your bedroom wall.

But fortunately this is not only a piece of art which you can put on your wall and stare at. There is off course the content of the eight CD’s. And what a content it is. The artists featured on the project are: Lusine icl, Solarx, Lowfish, Gridlock, Psi spy, Snog, Hecq, and Map ep. Some of those names we already know from the fine releases they made for Hymen, the others couldn’t wish for more exiting entry to the label then on this release. Together they produced thirty-five tracks making for a total of almost three hours worth of beats, glitches and ambient sounds, blended into one unique concept with high quality written all over it.

As listening through this release obviously takes a lot of time and I’m not in the luxurious position of having that, I have only listened to it twice before writing this review. This is however more then enough to already conclude that the musical content is of the same level of quality as the box itself. On that note I’ll leave it to a brief impression of each of the CD’s so this won’t become a review with the length of an average Harry Potter book.

CD1 - Lusine icl: Does what he does best, ambient electronics, groovy rhythms and interludes full of melody covered underneath a warm woolen blanket and spread out over four hypnotizing tracks. Exactly what Lusine is known and liked for.

CD2 - Solarx: Although not a new name to Hymen, it is to me. Retro sounding synths and basses combined and blended with cutting percussion and some real nice beat patterns. The first four tracks are seriously catchy, in a good way.

CD3 - Lowfish: Also an artist I didn’t know. Some very dirty basslines and threatening strings in four very cool electro styled songs. Even some oldschool acid influences. Track four “Black clouds” is extremely fine dancefloor material. If this won’t get people moving, nothing will.

CD4 - Gridlock: This CD is something special as it consists of two tracks which are probably the last ones we’ll ever here from Gridlock as they decided to quit at the end of 2005. If these really are the last tracks, then what a conclusion it is. Inbetween is nothing short of breathtaking. A musical dive into the deep of over sixteen minutes. Grabbing you by the throat, taking you down under, returning to the surface barely in time for you to breathe some air only to pull you back even deeper. Followed by the second track in true Gridlock style. Harsh broken and industrial beats layered on top of ambient soundscapes. A very worthy goodbye then.

CD5 - Psy spi: Once again a new name for me. The CD begins with a nice soundscape leading into the second song. Heavy beats, weird noises and glitches take over, slowly moving forward whilst creating a mesmerizing wall of sound. The CD is concluded in the same stylish way as it began, with two ambient soundscapes.  

CD6 - Snog: There is something about Snogs releases that you either hate or love. Always a bit odd and different from everything else. This CD is no exception. Musically it has absolutely nothing in common with the rest of the release other then being part of the same concept. No beats, no clicks, cuts or even synthesizer sounds are to be found here. Just a guitar, David Thrussells low voice and whole lot of sarcastic and very comical lyrics. As said, this is something you’ll instantly love or hate.

CD7 - Hecq: Hecq made quite an impact with the three albums he released so far and he is constantly popping up here an there doing remixes for other well known artists. For this project he made one track with the respectable length of just over twenty minutes. Although the track could easily have been cut into a few separate ones because of the many switches of style this is also the main reason it works as a whole. Varying a lot between beautiful breaks, different beat patterns and cool samples it melts into a very danceable rollercoaster ride being led by the now distinguishing sharp and crispy Hecq sound.  

CD8 - Mad ep: Mad ep brings the most experimental and dark offering. A haunting atmosphere floats underneath six tracks filled with gloomy sound, broken patterns and occasionally some classical instruments and influences. Very surprising indeed and one of my favorites for now.

So, what is left is the final verdict. From the moment of opening the box to the second time I finished listening to the whole experience, I was left with such an overwhelming feeling of excitement and awe that there is really nothing else I can do but give it a ten out of ten. You can always argue that there is no release that is “perfect”, but giving it anything less would mean that there is something that could have been better or different. There are tracks that you’ll like more then others, some that you don’t play as much and I’m not someone who easily gives away high scores. But what you’re offered here with Travel Sickness (especially taking in account the low price, considering what it must have cost) is brought with so much conviction and attention to detail that it just screams out the love its maker must have for this music scene and the people supporting it. Neither costs nor trouble have been spared to show what it is that music is really all about, the conveying of a vision and the feeling that goes with it. Therefore it deserves nothing less then the highest possible score. On a side note it also gets another kind of ten from me. Although it is only February I can confidently say that it is certain to become one of my top ten releases of 2006.