Erja Lyytinen is pleased to release the third single and title track from her ninth studio album Waiting For The Daylight. The single is released the same day as her highly anticipated new album Waiting For The Daylight, which is available in the link below. The music video for the Waiting For The Daylight single is available to watch below.
To support the release of the new album, Erja will embark on a co-headline UK tour with the award-winning Belfast-based blues guitarist Dom Martin from November 7-10. Dates include Southampton, The 1865 (Nov 7), Bilston, The Robin (Nov 8), London, The Grace (Nov 9) and Grimsby, Yardbirds Club (Nov 10). Erja will be also playing with her band at Dudley, The Lamb (Nov 11) and Sittingbourne, Bourne Music Club (Nov 13).
“Waiting For The Daylight” starts with a big guitar riff,” says Erja. “The intro leads to an airy verse and the choruses are quite heavy and dramatic. The heavy guitar riff that repeats throughout the song. I played two guitar solos on the end of the song in the style of Tony Iommi to create tension towards the end.
Continues Erja, “Recording this song was emotional experience for me. I was playing the solo for my friend who died because of a long-term illness. I also poured a lot of the pandemic frustration on this one, so the track became very passionate. In the lyrics, this beautiful creature comes to you on your last day to release you from your earthy pains. The story has a bit of that chivalry romance in some way. We filmed the music video also on the beautiful castle of Raasepori in Finland.”
“My band does an amazing job on the track, with Tatu Back on bass, Iiro Laitinen on drums and Harri Taittonen on Hammond,” concludes Erja. “I also dusted off my violin and played violin tracks to the end of the song. There´s a lot of layers in this blues-rock piece!”
For musicians, the last two years have been a period of reflection and soul searching. What to do with oneself in the absence of life on the road? And would live music ever be able to return to the way it was pre-pandemic? Artists and music fans alike waited for that glimmer of hope and the return of some semblance of normality. Written largely during the pandemic era Erja Lyytinen’s new studio album Waiting For The Daylight encapsulates these emotions.
With time on her hands, Lyytinen was able to pause, dig deep and fully process her feelings. Some of which she had been carrying for a long time. This journey of self-exploration proved to be a source of inspiration for the artist’s latest offering. Carrying on from the gifted guitarist’s last two studio albums, Stolen Hearts, and Another World, respectively, Lyytinen continues to explore themes such as love, loss, heartbreak, and sometimes even revenge. Events transpiring around the world occasionally fed into the storyboard of Lyytinen’s song writing.
The album was recorded during the first half of 2022, between Erja’s hectic touring schedule, with the bulk of the sessions taking place at the Hollywood House in Helsinki, Finland. Lyytinen was joined in the studio by long-standing bass player Tatu Back and drummer Iiro Laitinen. Having played on every one of Lyytinen’s albums since 2008, Harri Taittonen features once again on Hammond and keyboard.
Waiting For The Daylight illustrates a new chapter in Erja’s musical and artistic trajectory. The album was proudly produced by Lyytinen herself. Subsequently, Erja simultaneously explored sounds on the periphery of the blues-rock genre. She fearlessly pushed herself and the band further than previously before.
During her formative years, Erja was schooled on the sounds of the 60s and 70s by her mother, and with her latest offering, she pays homage to rock greats such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heap. With its heavy groove, atmospheric textures, and passionate delivery the title track is a testament to this. The song Waiting For The Daylight also features perhaps one of the artist’s most mesmerising and emotive solos to date. Lyytinen further showcases her chops during the album’s hook-laden opening number and lead single, Bad Seed.
The artist pours her heart and soul into the cathartic number Last Girl. Erja describes the latter a cross between Satriani meets Iron Maiden. Says Erja, “The song talks about bullying in schools and how you can be left out of a friendship group. I always put something of my own in the songs as well, so it became a very important song on many levels.”
Just as the title dictates, at approximately seven minutes long, The End of Music concludes the release to great effect. “The song talks about missing being back on stage and the audience, as many musicians did during the pandemic” explains Erja.
For Erja and her fans alike, the new studio album and her return to touring the UK is worth the wait.
