Finnish slide guitar extraordinaire Erja Lyytinen has released the third single and title track from her ninth studio album, Waiting for the Daylight.
Written mainly during the pandemic, Lyytinen’s soul-searching LP highlights those thoughts and feelings experienced by music lovers everywhere as the world waited pensively for a return to normality.
Making good use of her time off the road, Lyytinen was able to really dig deep and fully process such personal themes as love, loss, heartbreak and revenge in this musical journey of self-exploration.
Pouring out heart and soul into perhaps her most cathartic work to date, the guitarist references a swathe of classic rock behemoths such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heap and Black Sabbath.
Speaking of her new single, “Waiting for the Daylight,” Lyytinen says: “I played two guitar solos on the end of the song in the style of Tony Iommi to create tension towards the end.
“Recording this song was an 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 earthly 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.”
Recording at the Hollywood House in Helsinki, Finland, earlier this year, Lyytinen's band included long-standing bassist Tatu Back, drummer Iiro Laitinen and keyboardist Harri Taittonen.
“My band does an amazing job on the track,” says the guitarist. “I also dusted off my violin and played violin tracks towards the end of the song. There´s a lot of layers in this blues-rock piece!”
