“Is the current state of the planet a reflection of our disconnection from nature?” asks the creators of the new music video for the track “The Red”. “Or are we still a part of it despite everything? Vulnerable mammals with basic instincts?” This motif is carried visually throughout the whole art piece, which in various levels and symbols discusses the relationship between humankind and nature, how they interact and intertwine with each other.
The track “ The Red” is featured on the album “Extinction Horizon” by the band Trilobeat. The album takes its name from the black ash line that signals the demise of civilization during archaeological excavations. It consists of a coherent story mapping the theme of the climate crisis and the fate of our civilization, delivered through instrumental compositions influenced by alternative music, nu-jazz, or prog-rock. On the album, Trilobeat collaborated with several international names – such as Adam Holzman (Steven Wilson, Miles Davis, Trifecta) or David Kollar (KOMARA, Steven Wilson, Erik Truffaz), whose distinctive guitar sound can also be heard in the epic solo in the track “The Red”.
“The visual aspect of the work has always been important to us,” pianist and composer Jakub Mikula explains. “When composing the new album, we constantly had its cinematic presentation in mind – an allegorical documentary, you could say. However, it was clear to us that we couldn’t do the concept alone, so we approached filmmakers to help us turn the concept into reality.”
Jana Durajová and Ivan Hrušovský – Slovak filmmakers with extensive experience in documentary films on social or investigative topics – took over the script, the director’s chair, and the camera. “It was very inspiring for us to come up with the visuals for the track from the album Horizon, environmental appeal is an important topic for all of us. At the same time, it was a challenge – to create a story into a coherent piece of music that would fit the musical arrangement with this theme. Most of the time we work in the opposite process, where the music supports the image,” comments director Jana Durajová on her collaboration with the band.
Natural history filmmaker Braňo Molnár provided the wildlife footage from his archive. They appropriately complement the storyline and post-catastrophic scenes.
“I was left in complete awe at some of the footage. For example, we managed to capture a herd of roe deer grazing in front of a steaming refinery, as if we had arranged them there – an accurate representation of how heavy industry interferes with the natural environment,” recalls cinematographer and director Ivan Hrušovský. “As the album has many symbolic and surrealistic layers, our visuals are complemented with animations by Marián Vredík.”
In the music video, he created an ephemeral mythological beast whose body is pieced together from all sorts of creatures. He used the animation principle of collage, where he worked with cut-out fragments of animals, mainly from historical encyclopedias. The filmmakers visited a number of antique shops and selected suitable, as little digital visual material as possible. Thus, for example, drawings from a 1931 textbook of Natural History for town schools or the 1948 Encyclopaedia of Animals are included in the video footage.
The main ideas of their art are various contemporary problems and crises of humankind – existentialism, unsustainability, insensibility but also aspects of life of each human being – love, sadness, misery, or contentment in simple living.
Since its beginning in 2017, the band has released several singles and audio-visual recordings as well as an eponym debut in 2019, which established its spot on the alternative music scene. The band´s live performances have been broadcasted on national TV and singles have been included in playlists on several radio stations. The band also gave outstanding performances at festivals in Central Europe, while also holding more intimate events during their multiple club tours of their home country, Slovakia.
The band’s second album, “Zánikový horizont / Extinction Horizon” was released in 2022 via Hevhetia, a prestigious Slovak label. It boasts of a collaboration between both local and international talents featuring names such as Adam Holzman, keyboardist (Steven Wilson, Miles Davis, Trifecta), and David Kollar, guitarist (KOMARA, Steven Wilson, Erik Truffaz) in addition to the original line-up. The album is an impressive sound adventure, while their compositions combine variable electronic surfaces, a distinct piano sound, and a rough rock background. The outstanding world-class sound quality of the recording was created in cooperation with the multi-genre Toronto-based producer, Vlad Avy (Iamthemorning, Gleb Kolyadin).
In 2023, the band signed a worldwide distribution deal with Epictronic, and the album will try to get the attention it deserves also beyond the borders of Slovakia.
Connect with the band:
www.facebook.com/Trilobeatband
www.instagram.com/trilobeatband
www.youtube.com/@trilobeatband
Spotify: SpotifyTrilobeat
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 