Photo: Simon Green
European Blues Award winner Erja Lyytinen will release her brand-new studio album “Another World” on April Friday 26th via Tuohi Records. The best musicians are masters of reinvention. Bob Dylan’s electric revolution at Newport Folk Festival. Radiohead’s bold rebirth with Kid A. Robert Plant’s fearless escape from the shadow of Led Zeppelin. To that list of trailblazers and rulebreakers, add Erja Lyytinen.
For seventeen years, we’ve known her as the award-winning slide guitar goddess whose heart-and- soul songs have shaken the blues-rock scene. But as the Finnish bandleader confirms with latest album Another World, we’ve only scratched the surface. “The album title is the idea of stepping into a new territory, musically and spiritually,” she explains. “Walking towards a new land of musical ideas, not being afraid to express myself. This album is open- minded, curious and empowering.”
The Finnish slide-guitarist returns to the UK for a nationwide 12-date tour including dates in Brighton (March 18), Sheffield (March 21), Glasgow (March 23), London (March 26) and Birmingham (March 28). Tickets for all dates are available now via www.erjalyytinen.com/tour.
In a cynical world where manufactured bands stick to the formula, Lyytinen has always broken through the boundaries of genre. This is an artist capable of flowing from the primal blues of international debut “Pilgrimage” (2005), to the orchestration of “Voracious Love” (2010) and the soulful Elmore James tributes of “The Sky Is Crying” (2014). But following the shattering breakup that fueled “Stolen Hearts” (2017), Lyytinen found herself tearing out the page and writing a new chapter. “While Stolen Hearts was made during tough times,” she reflects, “Another World is like spring, bringing in new fresh life and hope. The whole album is rockier and funkier, with elements of blues, pop, hard-rock, prog-rock – one song even has an Irish vibe.”
Written, recorded, mixed and mastered across the planet by the greatest sonic architects on the modern scene, Another World feels like an album in motion. The songs passed through iconic locations including Gavin Lurssen’s Grammy-winning Lurssen Mastering in LA, while the thrilling mix was crafted by Austin, Texas legend Chris Bell, who recognized Lyytinen as a talent to match up to A-list clients like The Eagles, Erykah Badu and Eric Johnson. But Lyytinen’s soaring vocals and fire-in-fingers slide work mean these songs always feel like one vision, even with the track listing running the gamut of genres and moods. “Snake In The Grass” lays biting riffs on a stop-start groove, Lyytinen cutting heads with Michael Jackson’s favorite shredder, Jennifer Batten, on a harmony solo that “becomes a guitar battle”.
TRACKLISTING – “ANOTHER WORLD”
1. Snake In The Grass
2. Cherry Overdrive
3. Another World
4. Hard As Stone
5. Wedding Day
6. Miracle
7. Torn
8. Break My Heart Gently
+ Bonus Track “Without You” for Digital Download Music & lyrics by Erja Lyytinen
Another World is the freshest of starts, drawing a line in the sand under Erja Lyytinen’s stellar career so far and announcing that the next chapter will be truly unmissable. “This album is about deep stories, emotions and feelings after a breakup,” she says. “Going towards something new, discovering the new, and being courageous and naturally interested in the future. So, take a step into Another World with me…”
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