ASIA
Asia is a prog rock band created in 1981. The superband was formed with members of other groups. The success of the band was the hand of four members: John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer.
Important facts about the band
Current members
Geoff Downes, Carl Palmer, Billy Sherwood and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal.
YEARS OF ACTIVITY
1981-present
FORMER MEMBERS
Al Pitrelli, John Payne, Luis Jardim, Aziz Ibrahim, John Wetton, Mandy Meyer, Pat Thrall, Sam Coulson, Michael Sturgis and Steve Howe
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY...
The birth of Asia in 1981 as a rock band is quite a novelty. In truth, it originated from the union of four rock legends of the 1970s. Carl Palmer, John Wetton, Steve Howe and Geoffrey Downes were convinced by David Geffen (music producer) to create this band.
Asia owes its appearance to the separation of the two most important bands of British prog-rock: Lake & Palmer and Yes and Emerson. After this, the ideas of creating a supergroup with great musicians was a vision that would eventually become a reality.
From that moment on, Asia became an icon of rock culture. In fact, one of their particularities was the daring design of each of their album covers. They all pointed to exotic and fantastic trends.
ASIA ALBUMS
Asia - 1982
In the fall of 1982 Asia released their first album bearing the same name of the band. All the musical work was carried out in the city of London. Downes and Wetton were in charge of the composition of almost all the songs. Undoubtedly, it was an album of the highest quality.
Listen Asia on Spotify
Alpha - 1983
Their second album called “Alpha”, arrived to rock fans in 1983. In this case, the sounds were worked with the aim of catching the American listeners. The particularity of the album revolves around symphonic songs linked with instrumentals and guitar solos.
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Astra - 1985
In 1985, Asia avalanched to the public with their third album known as “Astra”. It was then that veteran guitarist Mandy Meyer joined the band to replace Steve Howe. It could be said that this album is quite similar to the first two compilations released by the band.
Aqua - 1992
This is the band’s fourth studio album. Its particularity is that it was the first album without founder John Wetton. “Aqua” the album stands out for its quite rock sound in comparison with the previous ones. There are excellent symphonic resources such as the violin.
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Aria - 1994
All the compositions of “Aria” were made by Payne and Geoff Downes after the band was restructured in 1992.
Arena - 1996
It was recorded in London in 1995. Its producer was John Payne. In charge of the keyboard was Geoff Downes. “Arena” departs completely from the band’s traditional sound and approaches acoustic tendencies. The predominant influence of the album is Middle Eastern and Latin American.
Rare - 2000
The most important feature of “Rare” is the use of instrumentals composed by Geoff Downes and guitarist John Payne. This material was used as soundtrack in the documentary about David Attenborough. Also, for a video game.
Aura -2001
“Aura” is a versatile album that has different musical influences due to the number of guest artists that were part of its recording. The sounds go straight to the band’s origins. However, other compositions are still oriented towards the Latin style.
Silent Nation - 2004
This album was well received by the band’s fans. The work is much more inspiring and mature in contrast to the previous ones. The album featured John Payne on vocals before the original reunion in 2006.
Phoenix - 2008
This is the first material since the band’s original lineup. The album features unreleased full-length tracks such as Parallel World. In addition, there are important references to the style of the band Yes.
Listen Phoenix on Spotify
Omega - 2010
“Omega” is the 11th title of Asia’s studio work. It was the fourth recording from the original line-up of the band since their reunion in 2006. This album sadly, did not have good sales compared to the previous one. however, in Japan it ranked 29th.
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XXX - 2012
The name of this album is due to the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the release of the band’s first album. This work was placed at number 134 on the Billboard 200 for July 2012. But it was not the only list, it also achieved recognition in lists such as Rock Albums.
Listen XXX on Spotify
Gravitas - 2014
This is the last album in which vocalist John Wetton participated before his death in 2017. It is also the only work to feature guitarist Sam Coulson.
Listen Gravitas on Spotify
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
Since its members were part of other rock bands, the musical influences were not long in coming. For example, compositions by Yes, Atomic Rooster and King Crimson were linked. In addition, there were other tendencies of the band for the English music very characteristic of its current member Geoffrey Downes.