ONE of the hottest albums of the moment is the debut set by Vision, entitled "Exposed". Cuts such as "Exposed", "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Private Passion" have been lighting up the dance floors all over the world through the Christmas/New Year party period.
Vision is actually two young men ? Brandon McLaughlin and Leni Law ? who call Atlanta home these days and who are signed to William Bell's Wilbe label.

                      

ONE of the hottest albums of the moment is the debut set by Vision, entitled "Exposed". Cuts such as "Exposed", "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Private Passion" have been lighting up the dance floors all over the world through the Christmas/New Year party period.
Vision is actually two young men ? Brandon McLaughlin and Leni Law ? who call Atlanta home these days and who are signed to William Bell's Wilbe label.

"I guess that William saw something new in us that excited him," Brandon explains. "We were totally self-contained and we like to think that we have something a little different. Also, William is very close friends with out manager, Earl Simms ? Speedo! The main thing it is that we are also good friends outside of working together and that is very important."
"We really enjoyed working with William," Leni interjects. "When we first met him, he was working on getting his own "Passion" album ready and we hit it off immediately. And he had a lot of good input into the recording of our album ? and we needed that! We needed that 'outside ear'.

"It wasn't so much that he changed the songs from the original demos we did. It was the little, subtle things that William added. Especially on the ballads. I also think he got a kick out of working on some of the uptempo tunes because they were different and something of a challenge to him.

"Speedo has had a lot of influence on us, too. Not so much in the studio or in the recording of this album. His input has been more long term. He really helped us find ourselves. When we first hooked up, I'd say that our main aim in life was to become the black version of Police! But it wasn't working and Speedo guided us to becoming what we really were naturally."

THE "Exposed" album itself is quite a variety ? especially impressive for a debut album, I'd say. "There are all kinds of influences in there," Brandon smiles. "A little bit of jazz, a little pop and a whole lot of funk and R&B.

"It's basically an extension of the way we feel about ourselves and it
was our intention to bring as many styles into play as possible."
One of the key tracks on the album is entitled "The Seduction", an eerie instrumental that requires explanation, methinks!
"We wanted to create a song about pure emotion," Brandon responds ? he co-wrote it with his cousin, Victor Jett. "We deliberately used no lyrics because we wanted the song to speak for itself instrumentally. The girl's voice is really just like the icing on the cake."

THE future? "I'd like to get more involved in writing and producing," Leni says. "I really enjoyed witnessing the birth of these songs ? it's like having your own kid!"
"Long term, I think we'd like to reach the point where we can headline a Wembley Arena," Brandon adds. "Our aim is to be innovators and set trends rather than follow them. Movie soundtracks is another thing that really appeals to me for some reason.
"And obviously, we want to go on the road. So far, we've only done local dates and that has whet the appetite for something more."
Judging by the initial response to "Exposed", Vision may just get their own way ? and SOON! (JA B&S)