JOHN WETTON AND GEOFFREY DOWNES CREATE A NEW ICON

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Mazur PR) - The core songwriting duo behind rock supergroup Asia's greatest hits, John Wetton and Geoffrey Downes, have regrouped for iCon 3, available on Frontiers Records.

While Asia was on a temporary hiatus, fans demanded more from Wetton and Downes. The duo took advantage of a short break from international touring in 2008 to write and record their third iCon studio album. The cover art is based on the OM symbol, a universal syllable not specific to one religion, meaning 'everything' as a reflection the diverse nature of the album's musical offering.

On the record, the pure power of Downes' keyboards and Wetton's jaw-dropping voice and stellar bass playing are enhanced by performances by guitar virtuoso Dave Kilminster, fresh from successful tours with Roger Waters and Keith Emerson and former ELO cellist Hugh McDowell, whose unique sound has helped frame all three iCon studio releases. Rounding out the band is Pete Riley, whose work with Keith Emerson, Kilminster and extensive live and session work shows an extraordinary breadth and depth of style.

Renowned new age harpist Andreas Vollenweider also appears as special guest, adding his unique sound to the album, playing on 'Raven' and 'Anna's Kiss,' while acclaimed vocalist Anne-Marie Helder (Karnataka, Mostly Autumn) appears as special guest on vocals on several songs.

Since the start of their new artistic union in 2002, Wetton and Downes have produced several superb releases. During 2004 they finally sat at the same piano upon which they had written the '80s anthems and emerged with the first album of their renewed partnership christened 'iCon,' an outstanding musical creation that met with the unanimous fan and critical acclaim.

Wetton and Downes decided to continue this collaboration and released another outstanding album, 'Rubicon,' in 2006.

Wetton and Downes' songwriting also formed much of the fabric of 2008's successful Asia original lineup reunion release, 'Phoenix,' an excellent record which gathered great chart success all over the world.