Written by Laura Curry
The Asbury Park-based duo, Daughter Vision, provides a spectacle for fans with their tantalizingly bizarre synthpop music. Their new album, Do What You Want, explores transcendence and breaks the boundaries of what is normal. We interviewed Daughter Vision to understand more about the minds behind the music, and to give listeners an idea of what to expect in their show tonight at the Wonder Bar.
Who is Daughter Vision? (Names of the band members & the instruments you play): Brian O’blivion (Brian Powell): guitar, synth, vocals and Stephen H. Christ (Steve Honoshowsky): bass, synth, percussion, vocals.
What year did the band form? 2012
Where are you based out of? Asbury Park, NJ
What’s the story behind your band name? The name Daughter Vision has no explicit meaning. It’s just some words that provide an opportunity for association. Just like when someone meets you for the first time, the words “Laura Curry” have little meaning but over time become imbued with the history and character of your actions. The story behind the name Daughter Vision is happening now and you just became part of it.
Who has your sound been likened to? Depeche Mode, Devo, Duran Duran and various other bands that start with D. Older people tend to make the connection with 80’s New Wave while younger people liken us to bands we’ve never heard of.
Have you performed in bands before Daughter Vision? If so, what are the names of those bands and did they have any influence on the sound of Daughter Vision?
Brian: I’ve just always been in Daughter Vision.
Steve: No Use For Humans, Intense Men, and in petto. Those are the three that may have influenced Daughter Vision’s sound.
Have you had any recent releases? We just released our second album, Do What You Want, last week. It is available or will soon be available on all the usual digital music platforms.
What is your album, Do What You Want about? Are there themes explored in your music that you tend to come back to?
The album is about transcendence, self-induced brain change, identity in a world increasingly divorced from meaning, psychological consumerism, and getting laid. I’d say we continually revisit these themes. But beneath the lyrics it’s about beats, sweeps, bleeps and change.
What is your favorite song on the album?
“Reach.” [It] was the last song we wrote and recorded for this album. It was one of those lucky tracks that just happened and was finished relatively quickly without the tedium of endless tweaking and reworking that usually results in us being a bit tired of a song before playing it for anyone. Besides that, it’s a banger with a great beat, an uplifting vibe and a hooky chorus. It’s a power tune.
What’s the best part about being in Daughter Vision?
Man-on-man mutual epiphanies. It takes a special kind of partnership that allows us to Do What We Want while agreeing on and supporting those things. It’s an honor.
How would you describe the style of Daughter Vision (in terms of clothes/body art)? What (or who) are the influences behind this style?
Our style has never stuck to one thing. It is always loud, colorful and incorporates some element of risk. Our style is Spectacle. Our influences are anyone who ignored their friends when they told them not to do something.
You guys are definitely more performance-oriented than other bands. From what I’ve seen in the videos for “Superconductor” and “Disconnection,” it’s almost like performance art in a way. What are you trying to convey to listeners with your music and performance style?
We’re reprograming people’s expectations when attending live music. A stage and an audience are opportunities for spectacle. We hope to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
When you think about all the bands in the Asbury Park scene right now — what makes Daughter Vision stand out?
I’m racking my brain for something that makes us stand in.
If someone has never heard your band before, what song would you recommend they check out in order to fully grasp what Daughter Vision is about, and why?
We would recommend “Built for the Storm” or “Superconductor.” These songs seem to have a more general appeal. If the wrong person were to listen to one of our stranger songs first they might not come back for more. If they start with something appetizing and light they’ll hopefully want to stay for dessert.
What are your plans for the rest of 2016?
Recording, collaborating and gigging outside of our local area and country. We also have plans for a larger theatrical production.
Daughter Vision are true artists of sight sound and creativity.