John Payne unveils new Asia featuring John Payne and its line-up, which includes Francis Dunnery and Ryo Okumoto. The new-look Asia feat. John Payne are currently working on a new studio album and will tour the US, Japan and UK later this year.
Asia featuring John Payne have announced an updated line-up, now including It Bites frontman Francis Dunnery and Spock’s Beard keyboardist Ryo Okumoto.
Joined by Canadian drummer Aaron Olson, the band is currently in the studio working on their upcoming album Aviana, and will hit the road for a US tour starting in August, with UK shows planned for November.
“We welcome esteemed guitarist and vocalist Francis Dunnery to the band,” says Payne. “Currently, we are in the studio working on the new album Aviana. Francis is well known for his incredible work with It Bites and Robert Plant.
“I have been a long-term follower of his works with It Bites from day one. He’s a superlative musician and his chemistry fits the band so well. We all welcome Frank on board”.
This news follows recent activity from the Asia line-up led by original keyboardist Geoff Downes, alongside Lonely Robot’s John Mitchell, Planet X drummer Virgil Donati, and vocalist Harry Whitley. The group recently performed the band’s first three albums live at Trading Boundaries in East Sussex and has signed with Frontiers Records to work on a new studio album.
Payne explains why there are two versions of the band: “John Payne was the lead singer with Asia for 14 years, touring the world and recording eight albums. In 2006 John Wetton returned to the band for a reunion it was contractually mutually agreed that Payne would continue as Asia Featuring John Payne and Howe, Wetton, Palmer and Downes would proceed as Original Asia. The music of Asia, old and new, has been John Payne’s main drive for 36 years and will continue to be so”.
