By Monk
Finnish blues-rock guitarist Erja Lyytinen is preparing to invite us to wake up and #SmellTheRoses with the release of her first studio album in three years.
Not that she has been quiet in the interim, continuing to tour the Überverse almost incessantly. Last year was a particularly busy one, rounded off by two landmark moments – one of which was perhaps a bit surprising, as she explained:
I got to perform on ‘The Masked Singer’ in Finland, where I made it through to the finals. It was such a fantastic experience. My character was ‘Skeleton’, and I got to sing cool songs like ‘Master of Puppets‘ by Metallica, ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush and ‘Hallelujah’ by Jeff Buckley, [which] I recorded as a single.
Also at the close of 2024, Lyytinen released a new live album, ’20 Years of Blues Rock!’ recorded in her hometown of Helsinki to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of her debut solo album, ‘Wildflower’. In November, she also was recognized as an ‘Angel of Rock’ at the HRH Awards in Great Yarmouth.
It really made me very happy. Especially being a Finnish artist who started playing guitar at 15 years old and dreamed of playing abroad for audiences. It feels great and being recognized always gives me a push to improve myself as an artist. It also makes me feel so grateful to my fans who have been so supportive all these decades.
In the midst of all this, and continual touring, Erja was in the studio working on her new album.
[It] was [a] very innovative [year] for me. I started to write new songs in Spring, when I had a chance between my hectic schedule.
On my last album, ‘Waiting For The Daylight’, we had lots of layers on each track – violins, keyboards, tens of guitar tracks and lots of backing tracks. With the new album, I wanted to go the opposite direction. For ‘Smell The Roses’ I wanted to put the focus on the guitar riffs and guitar solos and make the band instruments stand out individually.
The album’s backing tracks were recorded at Hollywood House Studios in Helsinki. I told my mixing engineer, Matias Kiiveri, to go for the sound of Seventies rock albums. I have been recently listening to mainly vinyl and recordings from the Sixties and early Seventies. While mixing the album, we used some analogue gear like a two-track tape machine to get a fat and warm sound on the album. This sound and the organic way of creating music speaks to me a lot.
Erja once again was at the helm of production duties during the recording sessions:
I was working in the studio with my band for only three days, and all the backing tracks were recorded at that time. Then I recorded my guitar solos and vocals on my own at Sniper´s Studio in Helsinki.
This is not the first time I produced and recorded my own album, so I knew what to expect from the task. There were long hours and hard decisions and a lot of guitar playing on my own! I didn’t let myself off easy in the studio this time either. I challenged myself to create more advanced solos than ever before. The album has some fully arranged guitar solos, but also some improvisational lead parts.
Whilst the genesis of the artist’s last three albums centred around the breakdown of a relationship, by her own admission she wanted to make the songs on ‘Smell The Roses’ to be “edgier” (as our recent #SinglesClub #DailyPick exemplifies):
There are songs about encountering deep sorrow, meaning getting the blues and subsequently going to hell. Topics like forgiveness, hope, lust, loss and betrayal have been inspiring my songs along with my love for nature. I wanted to add a bit of mystery to some of the songs too. There are some puzzles you need to put together yourself.
Like a lot of artists, Erja wants the subject of her lyrics to be open to the listener’s interpretation.
I don’t want to explain the songs too thoroughly but rather have the listener find their story and their interpretation of the song. Titles like ‘Going To Hell’, ‘Abyss’ and ‘Empty Hours’ probably tell a lot – this isn’t just an album played in a major chord with a smile on your face.
The album is a lot heavier than my previous ones, but it does still lift you up. The rhythms on the album are groovy and rocky and I´m pretty sure most of the songs will be fun to play at festivals and live shows!
- ‘Smell The Roses‘ will be released on Friday 28 March via Tuohi Records.
- Erja Lyytinen tours next month:
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