By Sarah French.
European Blues Award-winning guitarist Erja Lyytinen (pronounced Er-ya Lieu-tenen) marks a new chapter in her career with her latest studio album, Waiting For The Daylight. The Helsinki native proudly self-produced this her now twelfth studio release. The album was recorded largely in her hometown at Hollywood Studios during the first half of 2022. As with both of her previous albums, Another World, and Stolen Hearts, the High-Flying Finn further explores the subjects of love and loss.
For her latest offering, Lyytinen explains that she wanted to make a 'band album'. "My drummer Liro Laitinen and bassist Tatu Back are doing a fantastic job. We practised the songs a lot before going to the studio, which you can really hear on the tracks. My long-term keyboardist Harri Taittonen joined on the album, which was a real treat," she says. “I also wanted to improve my guitar chops and guitar skills, so I was practising a lot, exploring different guitarists and their techniques. I wanted to make a guitar album, with lots of guitar solos and interesting guitar parts, and a lot of slide guitar of course. In some of the songs, I have played over twenty different guitar tracks, and the whole album sounds huge.”
Erja Lyytinen was in the middle of one of the busiest times of her career when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. However, despite the challenges she faced, the entrepreneurial artist continued to develop new products and ideas throughout the lockdown period including, an autobiographical book titled the "Blues Queen" (now available in both Finnish and English), a pair of guitar tuition books and the development of her own brand of tea.
Lyytinen’s musical palette is vast, encompassing the very best of contemporary blues-rock whilst inspired and influenced by the blues greats of yore. And that respect for those guitar greats has been reciprocated throughout the years.
One of the many highlights of the artist’s musical career was in 2018 when Erja opened for one of her musical heroes Carlos Santana at Helsinki's Kaisaniemi Park. The guitar legend invited Lyytinen to play on stage in front of 20,000 people. Carlos was full of praise, declaring: "It was inspiring to see her play. It was from the future, and I like the future.” It was here also where Santana gave Erja the nickname "Lightning", referring to Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Since the European borders opened once again, the celebrated slide guitar player has returned to the international stage. Lyytinen recently performed at shows and festivals in Finland, Belgium, Norway, Germany, and France as well as making her live debut in Algeria.
Throughout 2021, Erja Lyytinen and her band performed multiple times on Finnish national TV, including a much-revered appearance as part of the country's Independence Day celebration. The artist has appeared in Guitar Player Magazine (US), where she was chosen as one of the "10 guitarists who are keeping the blues alive and well for a new generation of players". The artist was also inducted into the prestigious Finnish Hall of Fame.
Consisting of nine original songs, Waiting For The Daylight by Erja Lyytinen will be released on Friday 7th October 2022, via Tuohi Records. The album has been supported via a crowdfunding campaign.
TOUR DATES
SEP 8 THU
BAR ROBO @ 7:00pm
WellBad
Ottawa, ON, Canada
SEP 9 FRI
SOUTHSIDE SHUFFLE @ 7:00pm
Mississauga, ON, Canada
SEP 17 SAT
OULU ALL STAR BIG BAND & ERJA LYYTINEN @ 9:00pm
Oulu, Finland
SEP 23 FRI
BLUESNIGHT RANDERS @ 8:00pm
Randers, Denmark
SEP 24 SAT
B'SHARP @ 8:00pm
Silkeborg, Denmark
SEP 26 MON
GODSET @ 8:00pm
Kolding, Denmark
OCT 7 FRI
Zentrum Altenberg @ 8:00pm
Oberhausen, Germany
OCT 8 SAT
BLUES ALIVE FESTIVAL II @ 7:00pm
Walter Trout
Köln, Germany
OCT 9 SUN
JUGENBISTRO LIFE HOUSE @ 7:00pm
Stemwede, Germany
OCT 11 TUE
NEUS SCHAUSPIEL @ 7:00pm
Leipzig, Germany
OCT 13 THU
MUSEUMSKELLER @ 8:00pm
Erfurt, Germany
OCT 14 FRI
KITO - Altes Packhaus Vegesack @ 8:00pm
Bremen, Germany
OCT 15 SAT
BLUESCAFE @ 10:00pm
Apeldoorn, Netherlands
OCT 16 SUN
HARMONIE BONN @ 7:00pm
Bonn, Germany
OCT 19 WED
HOUSE OF OLAF @ 8:00pm
Savonlinna, Finland
OCT 20 THU
KERUBI @ 8:00pm
Joensuu, Finland
OCT 21 FRI
MAXIM @ 7:00pm
Kuopio, Finland
OCT 22 SAT
PATO AREENA @ 8:00pm
Kouvola, Finland
OCT 23 SUN
TAVASTIA-KLUBI @ 8:00pm
Helsinki, Finland
OCT 26 WED
UTOPIA CLUB @ 8:00pm
Turku, Finland
OCT 27 THU
OLYMPIA @ 8:00pm
Tampere, Finland
OCT 28 FRI
KULTTUURIKUPPILA BRUMMI @ 9:00pm
Rauma, Finland
NOV 7 MON
1865 @ 7:30pm
Dom Martin
Southampton, United Kingdom
NOV 8 TUE
THE ROBIN @ 8:00pm
Dom Martin
Bilston, United Kingdom
NOV 9 WED
THE GRACE @ 8:00pm
Dom Martin
London, United Kingdom
NOV 10 THU
YARDBIRDS @ 8:00pm
Dom Martin
Grimsby, United Kingdom
NOV 13 SUN
THE BOURNE MUSIC CLUB @ 5:00pm
Chris Antonik
Sittingbourne, United Kingdom
Website: erjalyytinen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/erjalyytinen
Twitter: twitter.com/erjalyytinen
Instagram: www.instagram.com/erjalyytinen
Comments