Akkerman Jan Close Beauty

All great rock guitarists come from English-speaking countries. All of them? No! The Dutch-based enthusiasts of the Mascot Label Group never cease to give the greats of their guild the worldwide attention they deserve. This is true for superstar Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) and recently also for the string virtuoso Jan Akkerman, who became famous as a member of the progressive rock heroes Focus in the 1970s. Together with organist and flutist Thijs van Leer, Akkerman coined the unique Focus sound, a previously unheard of brilliant mixture of hard, classical and jazz rock, enriched by van Leer with crazy yodel interludes, before he began to cavort as a solo artist in various musical fields. Newly signed to Mascot, the 72-year-old now returns after a long break as a record releasing artist: His new album "Close Beauty" will be released on 25 October 2019 as a CD in Digipak, digitally, and on golden vinyl as a beautifully designed double LP.

Jan Akkerman recorded his Mascot debut "Close Beauty" together with bassist David de Marez Oyens, keyboarder Coen Molenaar and drummer Marijn van den Berg. The twelve compositions contained on it finally present that unmistakable and coherent sound, which will touch Akkerman fans deeply - not only when it sounds like "Retrospection ..." with a clear focus. Among the highlights here are the sophisticated opener "Spiritual Privacy", the triumvirate from "Beyond The Horizon", "Tommy's Anniversary" and "Meanwhile In St. Tropez", the acoustic title track and the lively bouncer "Good Body Every Evening".

The cover artwork shows a surrealistic painting created by the American painter Michael Cheval called "Sunset Tango", which is especially accentuated on the LP edition. Akkerman chose this painting because, in his opinion, it reflects the flow of music on "Close Beauty" and the mood it conveys particularly well and without words. Aprops LP: "Close Beauty" is Akkerman's first album in 30 years, which will also be released as a vinyl version.