Focus (NL)

About

Few bands have packed yodelling, jazz improvisation, and hard rock into a single song and made it a hit, but Focus pulled it off with "Hocus Pocus", the wild lead single from Moving Waves (1971) that put the Amsterdam quartet on the map internationally. Built around the interplay between keyboardist and flautist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman, Focus carved out a distinctive corner of progressive rock that drew equally on classical music, jazz fusion, and raw rock energy. Albums like Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto cemented their reputation in the early seventies, while "Sylvia" showed they could do melodic restraint just as well as instrumental fireworks. The band has sold over a million RIAA certified albums in the United States alone. After dissolving in 1978 and a couple of brief reunions, Van Leer rebuilt Focus in 2002 and has kept it going ever since, with drummer Pierre van der Linden back in the fold from 2004. The lineup has stayed stable since late 2016, with Menno Gootjes on guitar and Udo Pannekeet on bass completing the group. Focus 12 arrived in 2024, proof that one of the Netherlands' most enduring rock acts is still very much in motion.