Erik Norlander (born 6 February 1967) is an American musician known for his work in the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

genre. From 2007 to 2014, he was the touring and recording keyboardist for

Asia Featuring John Payne Asia featuring John Payne is a British–American rock group band formed in 2007 following a schism in the lineup of Asia. The band is a continuation of singer and bassist John Payne's career as the band's frontman, which lasted from 1991 unt ...

. He is also the managing director of the sound production company Sonic Reality.About Sonic Reality Inc.
Sonic Reality. Retrieved 22 April 2015.

History

Starting in 1993, Norlander's earliest releases were with his band

Rocket Scientists A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

. He also collaborated in multiple roles on albums released by

Lana Lane Lana Lane is an American rock singer. She sings lead in her eponymous band, and has sung backing vocals for the band Rocket Scientists and guest sung on Ayreon and Erik Norlander albums. She is married to music producer Erik Norlander, who co- ...

, his wife. In November 2007, Norlander was announced as the keyboard player for the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

spin-off,

. In 2009 Norlander was involved in a group named Roswell Six, who record album accompaniments to the work of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

writer and lyricist

Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

. Norlander produced and composed the music for the group's album ''Terra Incognita: Beyond the Horizon''. The album featured a variety of guest vocalists including

James LaBrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Ontar ...

, John Payne, Michael Sadler of

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

and

. Norlander also toured in Europe in 2009 with vocalist

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Deep Purple. During his career, Turner fronted and played guitar with pop ro ...

and the band Big Noize, featuring bassist

Phil Soussan Philip Raphael “Phil” Soussan (born 23 June 1961, London, England) is a British bass guitarist, songwriter and producer who has gained notoriety as a member of a host of famed rock and roll bands, including some who have been frontman, front ...

, guitarist

Carlos Cavazo Carlos Cavazo (born July 8, 1957) is an American guitarist best known as the guitarist for Quiet Riot during their commercial peak. He has also played with Snow, 3 Legged Dogg, Hollywood Allstarz, and Ratt. Biography Cavazo was born in Atlanta, ...

and drummer Simon Wright. In 2011, Norlander again played with Big Noize, reformed with drummer

Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. Career Appice ...

. In 2014, Norlander played Hammond organ on the blues rock album by

Alastair Greene Alastair L. Greene (born April 18, 1971) is an American blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His debut album, ''A Little Wiser'' was released in 2001, the first of nine under his name over the next 20 years. Greene's guest appearances in ...

, ''Trouble At Your Door''. Norlander worked extensively with the non-profit organization, the

Bob Moog Foundation The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation was created after the death of Dr. Robert Moog in 2005, and officially launched in August, 2006. His family established the foundation to honor the legacy of Moog "through its mission of igniting creativity at the ...

, from 2009 to present as both artist and advisor. In 2016, Norlander joined heavy metal band

Last in Line Last in Line is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2012 by former members of the original lineup of Dio. The band's name comes from the 1984 Dio album '' The Last in Line''. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010 ...

as their touring keyboardist, debuting with the band in Miami, Florida, on 20 January 2016. It was also announced that Norlander had joined the rock ballet production Heart of Storm with live dates in 2017 announced. He is also involved in the duo, Dukes of the Orient. Norlander was also a key designer of the IK Multimedia UNO Synth.

Discography

Solo albums

Studio albums

* ''Threshold'' (1997, re-released as a 2-CD package in 2003 as ''Threshold Special Edition'') * ''Into the Sunset'' (2000) * ''Music Machine'' (2003, 2CD) * ''Seas of Orion'' (2004) * ''Hommage Symphonique'' (2006) * ''The Galactic Collective'' (2010, re-released as a 2-CD and DVD package in 2012 as "The Galactic Collective - Definitive Edition") * ''Surreal'' (2016)

Live albums

* ''Stars Rain Down'' (2004) * ''Live in St. Petersburg'' (2006, CD and DVD) * ''The Galactic Collective: Live in Gettysburg'' (2012, 2-CD and DVD)

Rocket Scientists albums

* ''Earthbound'' (1993) * ''Brutal Architecture'' (1995) * ''Earth Below and Sky Above: Live in Europe and America'' (1998) * ''Oblivion Days'' (1999) * ''Revolution Road'' (2006) * ''Looking Backward'' (2007) * ''Supernatural Highways'' (2014) * ''Refuel'' (2014)

Lana Lane Lana Lane is an American rock singer. She sings lead in her eponymous band, and has sung backing vocals for the band Rocket Scientists and guest sung on Ayreon and Erik Norlander albums. She is married to music producer Erik Norlander, who co- ...
albums

* ''Love Is an Illusion'' (1995) * ''Curious Goods'' (1996) * ''Garden of the Moon'' (1998) * ''Echoes from the Garden'' (1998) Japan only * ''Live in Japan'' (1998) Japan only * ''Ballad Collection'' (1998) Japan only * ''Queen of the Ocean'' (1999) * ''Echoes from the Ocean'' (1998) Japan only * ''Best of Lana Lane 1995 – 1999'' (1999) Japan only * ''

Secrets of Astrology ''Secrets of Astrology'', released in 2000, is the fifth album, but the fourth studio recorded album, by symphonic rock vocalist, Lana Lane. Though this album is Lane's fifth album release in the US, it is her eighth in Japan. The album was reco ...

'' (2000) * ''Ballad Collection II'' (2000) Japan only * ''Ballad Collection – Special Edition'' (2000) * ''Project Shangri-La'' (2002) * ''Covers Collection'' (2003) * ''Winter Sessions'' (2003) * ''Return to Japan'' (2004) * ''Storybook: Tales from Europe and Japan'' (DVD, 2004) * ''Lady Macbeth'' (2005) * ''10th Anniversary Concert'' (DVD/CD set, 2006) * ''Gemini'' (2006) * ''Red Planet Boulevard'' (2007) * ''Best of Lana Lane 2000 – 2008'' (2008) Japan only * ''El Dorado Hotel'' (2012)

References

External links

Official Erik Norlander's websiteErik Norlander
NAMM Oral History Interview (2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Norlander, Erik 1967 births Living people American rock keyboardists 20th-century American keyboardists American record producers American audio engineers American heavy metal keyboardists