News: ASIA announce new studio album and August festival appearance

ASIA Begins recording album tomorrow, new line-up live shows ‘amazing’

John Wetton, Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer and new recruit guitarist Sam Coulson have certainly hit the ground running. Following Sam’s debut at a fully sold-out warm up show at The Stables, the band took to the stage in front of 15,000 fans at their high profile slot at Sweden Rock 2013. Topping that was going to be difficult, but there’s no time to rest on any laurels, ASIA announces that the band will be back in the studio on Tuesday 25 June to begin recording the next album. This brand new studio set, to be entitled ‘Valkyrie’, will be recorded for Frontiers Records continuing the band’s relationship with the label. John Wetton said, “Given that we had not performed a live concert together before this month, the shows have been simply amazing. The reaction from the fans has been truly heartening and we can’t wait to get into the studio”.

The next live performance for the band will be at the ‘Rockin’ The Park’ event held in Clumber Park [in Nottinghamshire] on Friday 16 August 2013. ASIA will be performing on a bill also boasting Family [making their only 2013 UK appearance], Caravan, Snakecharmer, Michael Chapman and more. Geoff Downes said, “We love playing big shows like this and promise that it will be rewarding for fans who wish to travel to this beautiful location.” Carl Palmer added, “ASIA is all about the music and we can’t wait to perform for the Clumber Park crowd.” Sam Coulson concluded, “I guess you could say this has been a baptism of fire for me, I’ve suddenly found myself playing huge shows with one of the tightest bands in the world – it’s been phenomenal and I’m really looking forward to working on the album”.

The band’s self-titled debut album was the biggest selling in the world in 1982 and monopolized the No.1 slot in the Billboard charts for 9 weeks; Asia is only the band in history whose debut album topped the US charts. The album is still in the top 3 Geffen sales of all time, with Guns ’n’ Roses and Whitesnake! With tracks like mega-hit ‘Heat Of The Moment’, ASIA helped to create the MTV phenomenon. The band’s work perfected the use of videos that encompassed stories and messages, examples being the work for ‘Wildest Dreams’, ‘Only Time Will Tell’, ‘The Smile Has Left Your Eyes’ and ‘Don’t Cry’. ‘Heat Of The Moment’ is still a radio fixture and has been in top TV and films including ‘40 Year Old Virgin’, ‘South Park’, ‘Cold Case’, ‘The Matador’ and more

In 2006 the original band reunited for a tour of USA, which was followed by four world tours and several continental tours. The reunited band played over 300 shows and released three new studio albums, three DVDs and a number of live albums. The track ‘An Extraordinary Life’, from 2008’s album ‘Phoenix’ was chosen as the theme music for America’s Got Talent. This is a band with plenty more to say.

With the new line-up showing renewed vigour, the live shows rocking, and now recording starting for ‘Valkyrie’, the ASIA trajectory continues: onward and upwards!

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