[SONG OF THE DAY] The New Division - "Fascination"

Last week Los Angeles future synth project The New Division dropped their latest EP Fascination and shared the music video for the title track on the EP. The track is the first single from the band’s forthcoming album Hidden Memories and is about project mastermind John Kunkel’s experiences of being on tour both stateside and internationally, and how sleep deprivation alters the mind.

“I’ve always wanted to write a song that touched on the mental health aspects of being on tour, sleep deprived, and how that starts to mess with your thoughts,” he shares, “The words are a series of lyrics that jotted down on a notepad, which at the time made no sense, but I jotted them down regardless. To me the song is a dream sequence where half of the time I’m enjoying being on the road while the other half I’m kind of hating life, wishing I was home. Touring never feels completely right and never feels completely wrong, and that’s where the fascination aspect of it all comes together. You’re in a constant zombie state where normal life ceases to exist, and your mind begins to adapt to being on the road.”

The accompanying video offers a different interpretation of the songs lyrics, showcasing the isolation that comes with everyone being obsessed with being on their phones.

“One of the things you notice a lot on tour is how little people interact with one another due to constantly being on their phones,” recalls John, “I remember touring 10 years ago and compared to what it’s like now. There’s a huge disconnect that nowadays we accept, but at the end of the day we all crave that real, undistracted human interaction with one another. I’m guilty of it as much as the next person."