WAITING FOR THE DAYLIGHT
European Blues Award-winning guitarist Erja Lyytinen (pronounced Air-ya Lute-in-en) 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 Iiro 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 technics. 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 pallet 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 crowd funding campaign.
| Interpret: | Erja Lyytinen |
| Datum: | 23.09.2023 |
| Ort: | Ulmenhofschule Kellinghusen |
| Einlass: | 19:00 Uhr |
| Konzertbeginn: | 20:00 Uhr |
| Ticketpreis Vorverkauf: | € 27,00 Euro |
| Ticketpreis Abendkasse: | € 29,00 Euro |