Eric Nurhassen

Eric Jean Nurhassen (born: September 29.1964) also known as Yerzhan Nurhasen (Ержан Нурхасен) is a typical representative of Central Asian "middle-of-the road" and techno-pop.

He started to write songs, play and sing in the band "Sayahat-division" in his hometown in the late 80's after graduating from the University of Taldykorgan. "Sayahat" means "Journey", so the name of the band was indicating that the guys liked to travel (they liked to go to Europe and South Eastern Asia). The band was bilingual (Kazakh, English) and was working under the influence of European dance music and "high-energy pop" (like Bad Boys Blue, Chyp-Notic, DJ Bobo, Sash! and others).
Being persistent in becoming famous, Eric Jean Nurhassen left the band in 1995 and moved to Almaty. He won a TV contest (Kazakhstan 1) and made his initial success in 1995 with the song "Tears From My Eyes", one of the two English songs included in his first album "Alystaghy shanyrak (Faraway Shelter), the production of which was inspired by this success. The next album "Altyn kala" (The Golden City) was released in 1997 (in Kazakh). The song "Suikti Aru" ("My Beloved Beauty") is dedicated to his wife Rita Nurhassen. "Suikti Aru" opens his last album (released in 2012) named after this song, which became a hit in Kazakhstan and Western China.

In addition to music, Eric Jean Nurhassen is involved in scientific and business translation work. English teacher, English-Russian-Chinese-French translator and business consultant certified by University of Cambridge. Likes photography, traveling, movies, hiking, reading SF books. Devout Christian. Wife: Rita Nurhassen. Two sons: Vincent Nurhassen and Patrick Nurhassen. Lives in Canada.