{"id":23721,"date":"2024-05-03T15:11:11","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T15:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/?p=23721"},"modified":"2024-05-03T15:11:13","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T15:11:13","slug":"dutch-music-legends-focus-announce-new-studio-album-focus-12-available-july-5-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2024\/05\/03\/dutch-music-legends-focus-announce-new-studio-album-focus-12-available-july-5-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Music Legends Focus Announce New Studio Album \u201cFOCUS 12\u201d Available July 5, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Spirit of Unicorn Music are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of\u00a0\u201cFOCUS 12\u201d, the brand new studio album from Focus.

Founded by Thijs van Leer, Focus have been at the forefront of the progressive music movement since 1969, yet they still continue to deliver engaging, innovative and skillfully crafted music.\u00a0\u201cFOCUS 12\u201d\u00a0exemplifies this and proves why they are still a firm fan favourite, the world over.

For Thijs van Leer (75) and Pierre van der Linden (78), age is nothing more than a number. Both continue to contribute to Focus with a passion. Thijs, who has written the majority of the new album, rises at 4.30 am every day in order to work on his compositions. Whilst the album boasts some of Pierre\u2019s greatest and most energetic drum sequences to date.

Allowing the younger guard to take the audio reins for the first time,\u00a0\u201cFOCUS 12\u201d\u00a0is produced by band members Udo Pannekeet and Menno Gootjes, who also contribute two compositions on the album.
Thijs commented \u201cHow beautiful life can be when a band plays so easily and so together.\u201d

\u201cFOCUS 12\u201d\u00a0was recorded at the world-renowned Wisseloord Studios, in the band\u2019s native country of the Netherlands. A first for Focus, the album features a completely improvised piece which was captured as it spontaneously took place in the studio, during the recording process. Thus, proving that more than 50 years on, the band are still excited by undertaking something new and different.

Van Leer continues, \u201cThanks Pierre, Udo and Menno for so much musical passion!\u201d

The band continues their long association with legendary artist Roger Dean whose stunning artwork graces the front cover and packaging. The vinyl version features a stunning gatefold sleeve.

Focus continues to be one of the hardest working rock bands on the planet, regularly touring the globe playing live. This July, they undertake a string of live dates across the USA and Canada, as part of Asia\u2019s Heat Of The Moment Tour.

Thijs van Leer concludes, \u201cAfter all these years, Focus is in the here and now; the triumph of survival!\u201d
\u201cFOCUS 12\u201d by Focus can be pre-ordered here:\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/burningshed.com\/store\/focus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Fjord Focus<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Focus 13<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. B\u00e9la<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Meta Indefinita<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. All Aboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Born To Be You<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Nura<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Bowie<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Positano<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Gaia

    <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Focus are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thijs van Leer: Flute, Organ, Piano, Synths
    Menno Gootjes: Guitars, Piano, Synths
    Pierre van der Linden: Drums
    Udo Pannekeet: Bass, Synths, Programming<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Produced by Menno Gootjes and Udo Pannekeet
    Recorded by Danny Sykes, Udo Pannekeet and Geert Scheijgrond at Wisseloord Studios and Wedgeview Studios, Netherlands
    Mixed by Udo Pannekeet
    Mastered by Sander van der Heide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Heat Of The Moment 2024 Tour Dates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wednesday, July 3: Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
    Thursday, July 4: Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, ON
    Saturday, July 6: Chevalier Theatre, Medford, MA
    Sunday, July 7: The Paramount, Huntingdon, NY
    Tuesday, July 9: Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
    Wednesday, July 10: Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ
    Friday, July 12: Tropicana Showroom, Atlantic City, NJ
    Saturday, July 13: Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA
    Sunday, July 14: American Music Theatre, Lancaster, PA
    Tuesday, July 16: Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Spartanburg, SC
    Wednesday, July 17: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
    Thursday, July 18: Columbia County Performing Arts Center, Evans, GA
    Saturday, July 20: Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
    Sunday, July 21: Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL
    Monday, July 22: Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa, FL
    Wednesday, July 24: North Charleston PAC, North Charleston, SC
    Thursday, July 25: Macon City Auditorium, Macon, GA
    Friday, July 26: Saenger Theatre, Mobile, AL
    Sunday, July 28: VBC Mark Smith Concert Hall, Huntsville, AL
    Tuesday, July 30: The Arcada Theatre, St Charles, IL
    Wednesday, July 31: The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Spirit of Unicorn Music are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of\u00a0\u201cFOCUS 12\u201d, the brand…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[310,125],"class_list":["post-23721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-news","tag-focus","tag-prog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23723,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23721\/revisions\/23723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}