ERIK uses evocative synthesizer techniques reminiscent of the legendary Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson and Jon Lord while still very unique and forward-moving in its own right. Erik takes many of the classic riffs and phrases of his heroes and reinvents them with highly emotional pitch bending, vibrato and authoritative phrasing. This technique combines brilliantly with Erik's mastery of sound and production. Erik has personally led sound design efforts on several major brand synthesizers, and his knowledge of synthesis and audio engineering are second to none. Erik's perpetual live use of vintage instruments such as Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer give his concerts a depth and authenticity of sound seldom seen in modern stage productions.
LANA is an accomplished rock vocalist with a long history of albums and tours. Born in Concord, California to a musical family, Lana grew up with a balanced diet of both rock music and big band swing music. Since music was always in the house, singing came very naturally to Lana, and she started singing in bands straight out of high school. To forward her career, Lana moved to Los Angeles in the late 80s where she met her husband / producer Erik Norlander.
Lana's first album, Love is an Illusion, was released in 1995 to critical acclaim. It soon caught the ear of a Japanese record company, Marquee Belle Antique, who saw great potential in the music, and of course in the voice of Lana Lane. The company released Lana's second CD, Curious Goods, in 1996, and then in 1998, Marquee launched a new high profile label called Avalon with the Lana Lane as their flagship artist. Avalon released Lana's Garden of the Moon album which skyrocketed her career on the international stage, resulting in her first European release.
Lana and Erik began touring in Japan in 1998 to support Garden of the Moon and the subsequent Ballad Collection and Queen of the Ocean releases. The two then expanded their touring efforts to Europe in 2001 to simultaneously support Lana's Secrets of Astrology and Erik's Into the Sunset albums with additional tours in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Lana released her first DVD, Storybook: Tales from Europe and Japan, in 2004 that documents her first years of touring on two continents. Lana and Erik celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Lana's first album in 2005 and have recently released a live DVD and CD of her 10th Anniversary Concert Tour.
Erik's first DVD will be released in the summer of 2006 and will be called Erik Norlander and Friends - Live in St. Petersburg with concert footage taken from his landmark concert in St. Petersburg, Russia. Featured on the DVD is leading rock frontman Kelly Keeling and of course ... a guest appearance by Lana Lane!
Erik Norlander was born in 1967 in Hollywood, California. He grew up in Los Angeles studying both jazz and classical music on several instruments from a young age through his years at the university where he also graduated with a degree in English Literature. Erik lists his keyboard influences as Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Mike Pinder, Geoff Downes, and even Geddy Lee! Erik lists his production influences as Alan Parsons, Jeff Lynne and Bob Ezrin. His favorite bands are Yes, ELP, ELO, King Crimson, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Blue Oyster Cult. While clearly a prog rocker, Erik is surprisingly quite adamant that he prefers melody over flashy playing and strong songwriting over artsy meandering.
Erik Norlander's releases span several music genres. In 2004 he released an electronic album, Seas of Orion, commissioned by and debuted at the Dutch Alfa Centauri Electronic Music Festival. Also in 2004 Norlander released Stars Rain Down, a live album from his tours in Europe recorded between 2001 and 2003 with a full rock band featuring vocalists Kelly Keeling and Lana Lane. In 2003 Norlander recorded a grandiose 2CD rock opera concept album called Music Machine about the dramatic rise and fall of a genetically engineered rock star. Previous solo albums are Threshold (1997, re-released as the 2CD Threshold Special Edition in 2004), an instrumental progressive effort with a decidedly electronically bent, and Intro the Sunset (2000), a prog metal vocal album with a more traditional rock band sound.
OFFICIAL WEB SITE LINKS:
thetank.com
eriknorlander.com
lanalane.com
Buy Erik Norlander and Lana Lane CDs at thetank.com
Download high quality FLAC and OGG audio from Erik Norlander at mindawn.com/artists/ErikNorlander
Download high quality FLAC and OGG audio from Lana Lane at mindawn.com/artists/LanaLane
Visit the Erik Norlander & Friends - Live in St. Petersburg site at thetank.com/ensp.htm
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