Torzs - 'Átfordul' |  Enchanting Post-Rock From The Depth Of The Forest

Hungarian post-rock formation TÖRZS released their new single and live music video Átfordul. TÖRZS are presenting their first material since they introduced themselves to the world in grand fashion with 2019’s majestic audio-visual experience Tükӧr. Átfordul is a prelude of things to come for the band, but also a standalone musical and cinematic achievement of its own. Recorded in the Bükk Mountains, Átfordul stands proudly as a definitive next step for the production. The entire experience – music and images – were recorded in a single take, with no cuts, and what the listener hears is not a studio rendition, but rather the direct audio from this session. The band stayed at a small cottage in the forest leading up to the recording, with no electricity or running water, just a solar battery to fulfill basic needs for the shoot. This experience allowed them to tune in to their surroundings, and to get in lock step with their environment in a way that would inform the essence of their performance.

Depicted in arresting black and white, the wooded mountain terrain becomes an important dramatic counterpart for the music, as the camera — led by Máté Szombath, the video’s cinematographer — glides past sparsely leafed trees, revealing a depth that allows viewers to better perceive the expanse of the forest surrounding the band. Átfordul’s first notes ring with pristine clarity as the camera pushes towards the performance, eventually reaching and thoroughly exploring a stage set in a small clearing. It serves as something of a counterpoint to the caverns of Tükӧr, whose immensity made the band feel almost diminutive by comparison. Here, they seem more naturally intermingled with their backdrop, harmonizing in unison with the forest as opposed to resounding through the vast depths of the caves.

The track itself follows a motif befitting the concept, with individual notes given room to grow and flourish as they ring out through the columns of trees. It possesses a gentle and unhurried arrangement that plays well with the steadily but slowly roaming camera. The viewer is pulled closer as the track moves toward its crescendo, and only when it has joined the band onstage does the song break into a more hastened pace. But even as the volume is increased, the peaceful sensibilities remain; there is no aggression in these climactic moments, only joyous catharsis. As the track settles into its serene outro, the camera pulls back into the forest, leaving the band united within the trees, and finally comes to rest on the Czechoslovakian wolfdog that can be seen running just ahead in the video’s opening moments.

Átfordul - Live at Bükk serves as a reminder of both Törzs’ ability to create a breathtaking union with their surroundings, and the natural companionship post-rock shares with the world around us. It cannot be understated how much a beautiful landscape can boost the effect of post-rock songwriting, and vice versa. The band clearly understands this and consistently seeks out ways to capture this harmonious partnership at its most striking. Fans can look to Átfordul as a warm reminder of this, and as an alluring taste of what’s to come.

TÖRZS - Átfordul (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO: TÖRZS - Átfordul (Live at Bükk) - YouTube