On March 28th, 2025 award-winning guitarist and blues artist extraordinaire Erja Lyytinen will release her new studio album “Smell the Roses”. The lead single and title track will be released on Wednesday 29th January and will be accompanied by a new music video. Elaborating on the track Erja said: “The message is simple - wake up and Smell the Roses. There’s so much beauty in the world, so why don’t we stop and enjoy it?”
The single is available on all streaming platforms here  |
ERJA LYYTINEN ‘SMELL THE ROSES’ (CD) RELEASED ON MARCH 28 2025! ERJA LYYTINEN SPRINGS INTO ACTION WITH NEW STUDIO ALBUM. Erja Lyytinen’s eagerly anticipated new studio album ”Smell the Roses” continues to showcase the musical evolution of the Queen of Slide Guitar. Musical style of the album leans to 60’s and 70’s rock music with it’s long guitar solos and tension creating themes. ”Smell the Roses” is heavier than Lyytinen’s previous albums, still delivering uplifting experience.
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It’s been three years since the release of Erja Lyytinen's last solo studio album, “Waiting for the Daylight”. Since then, the High-Flying Finn has continued to tour the globe relentlessly, performing at prestigious events such as the Byron Bay Blues Festival in Australia, headlining HRH Blues at the O2 Academy in Leicester, and making her debut at the legendary Rory Gallagher Festival in Ballyshannon, to name but a few.
Throughout her career Erja Lyytinen has appeared on many television shows in her native Finland, but in the latter stages of 2024, the artist was invited to participate in The Masked Singer on Finnish TV. As one would imagine, Erja was sworn to secrecy about her role on the show; even her twin boys were left guessing whether their mum was on the programme. "I got to perform on The Masked Singer in Finland, where I made it through to the finals. It was such a fantastic experience, and I always love doing TV shows. 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. I recorded my version of the latter as a single.”
Amid extensive touring activity and her stint on The Masked Singer, at the close of 2024, the Queen of the Slide Guitar released a new live album titled “20 Years of Blues Rock!”. The concert recording was captured in her hometown of Helsinki, Finland during an evening that celebrated a musical milestone – that being the 20th anniversary of the release of Erja’s debut solo album Wildflower.
During what was already a sterling year for the artist, in November 2024 Erja Lyytinen was recognised as an Angel of Rock at the HRH Awards in Great Yarmouth following in the footsteps of legends of the genre such as Doro Pesch and Jackie Chambers from Girlschool. “It really made me very happy. Especially being a Finnish artist who started playing guitar at fifteen years old kid 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.”
Behind the scenes, throughout much of 2024, Erja was in the studio working on her upcoming full-length studio album. “2024 was very innovative for me. I started to write new songs in Spring 2024 when I had a chance between my hectic schedule,” says Erja. “On my last studio album from 2022, “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 the album “Smell the Roses” I wanted to put the focus on the guitar riffs and guitar solos and make the band instruments stand out individually.”
“Smell the Roses”, continues to showcase Erja Lyytinen’s musical evolution as the artist proceeds to push her creative boundaries with each release that follows. "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,” explains Erja. “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 of “Smell the Roses”. “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 Little Sniper´s Studio in Helsinki,” confirmed Erja. “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 admission she wanted to make the songs on “Smell the Roses” to be "edgier". "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,” she says. “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,” laughs Erja. “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!”
With a March release date, Erja Lyytinen is preparing to spring into action as she unveils her eagerly anticipated new studio album to her loyal followers around the globe. The album release will be accompanied by Erja’s most extensive UK tour since before the pandemic.
Smell the Roses, the new album from Erja Lyytinen, will be released on the 28th March 2025 via Tuohi Records. For further information, including an up-to-date touring schedule, please visit https://erjalyytinen.com/.
Erja Lyytinen – UK Tour Dates:
- 02.04. UK - Oxford, O2 Academy2 *
- 03.04. UK - Dudley, The Lamp Tavern
- 04.04. UK - Liverpool, O2 Academy2 *
- 05.04. UK - Newcastle, The Think Tank *
- 06.04. UK - Edinburgh, The Mash House
- 07.04. UK - Glasgow, Nice 'N Sleazy
- 08.04. UK - Sheffield, The Greystones
- 09.04. UK - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club **
- 10.04. UK - Blackpool, Waterloo
- 11.04. UK - London, O2 Academy2 Islington
- 12.04. UK - Sittingbourne, The Apple Yard
Supports:
- * Thieves of Liberty
- ** Syteria
Erja Lyytinen - Smell the Roses – Song Backgrounds:
SMELL THE ROSES
“Smell the Roses” is the album's title track. The song has a cool riff that is fun to play and keeps repeating throughout the whole song. This is a rhythmic number and the first single of the album. The message is simple - wake up and Smell the Roses. There’s so much beauty in the world, so why don’t we stop and enjoy it? Why do we need more, and why is the grass always greener on the other side? The song is a reminder for all of us to wake up before we turn into senseless robots who don’t know what to do in the overwhelming flow of material and needs.
GOING TO HELL
The song is a mixture of blues and prog-rock! The progressive guitar pattern in the introduction takes you to the burning coals, alternating slow power blues refrain with an empowering feeling. In the story, someone puts you through a bad experience and you get the blues, that melancholic feeling. You might be going to hell, but so is the other one too. Maybe you’ve done wrong but so has the other person who has put you on your knees. We all make selfish choices in life and no one of us is above the others.
ABYSS
I came up with the song when I was staying in an Air B&B flat during an off day. I was pretty fed up with some things going on and while sitting on the apartment’s sofa, I picked up my guitar and tuned it to a dropped D and it became the heavy opening riff of “Abyss”, following the verse and bridge. Later, I realized this song has similar vibes to the Soundgarden song “Black Hole Sun”. When you dive deep into the abyss. When people around you let you down you hit the very bottom. It was fascinating to record a solo for Abyss. There are two different kinds of solos, the first one with some tremolo bar bombs, and surfing on waves and the latter with some speeded-up guitar runs, that might get you on the first listen. The whole track is over seven minutes long, but it does keep the tension until the very end. “Abyss” is one of my favourites on the album and the first song I wrote for the album
WINGS TO FLY
The song is about hope, forgiveness and about understanding that you are just a little piece in this enormous world. The song is growing little by little, embracing the nature around us. A person has left your life, but you only wish him/her well, hoping he/she can spread their wings and fly. I feel this song has a bit of a Southern Rock/Americana feel to it. When I was sixteen years old, I was listening to a lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd. I thought they were the best rock band ever! So, I wanted to have something similar. There’s a twin guitar part halfway in the song, anticipating the moment right before where you open your wings and take the leap to rise towards the sky.
DRAGONFLY
I love hiking and wandering in nature and the stomping intro takes me back on the duckboards crossing the swamps. In the story, you take off to the woods to escape the bad words and negative feelings. You feel sorry for the nature that has been exploited and hurt, like you have been. A beautiful dragonfly comes to greet you, and you share similar feelings. You both want to wander free, but the woods are being chopped down around you. So, this song also speaks about the woods and nature. We should take care of our nature, the way it heals us and takes care of us until there’s nothing left.
THE RING
Let´s rock in the wrestling circle! The Ring is an upbeat and energetic track with some slide guitar riffing! It was fun to write a proper straightforward rock track and I’m pretty sure this will become a great live track to play at the shows. The story is about someone challenging you, so you have no other chance than to get into the ring and defend yourself. Let the game begin!
BALL AND CHAIN
I woke up in the middle of the night having this chorus “Nothing to do about it, nothing to do about it” repeating over and over again in my head. So, I had to get up and pick up my guitar and write this song down. Sometimes you try so hard, but it’s not enough and things won’t succeed, no matter what. Then it’s better to shrug it off and note that there’s nothing to do about it. My slide solo on this one reminds me of computer game music. It came out so funny and cute that I simply had to use this take for the song. The lyrics are quite bluesy, though the song itself is pretty peppy. What a refreshing and funny contrast
STONEY CREEK
This is a mysterious story about a hiking trip gone wrong. Something is calling you to step away from the marked path, whispering to you to come to the river. And something unexpected happens, that no one lives to tell. While I already had the idea of a place “Stoney Creek”, I was googling the name and there has been a battle of Stoney Creek back in time - what a coincidence. I remember hearing Nick Cave’s song “Where the Wild Roses Grow” as a teenager. I didn’t get the grim story right away, but “Stoney Creek” perhaps has a bit of the same mysteriousness, just not so frankly told. It was fun to play the guitar parts for this one! I’m playing slide guitar on open G tuning, with a capo on the second fret in A. However, the song is on E, which forces me to approach the playing from a different angle.
EMPTY HOURS
“Empty Hours” is a love story where it has ended, and you’re left alone. I wanted this song to be daunting and airy. The slide guitar melody came to me when I had a lonely moment in my hotel room while on tour. I tuned my slide guitar to an open D - minor tuning, which is perfect for this tormenting feeling on the song. The sad slide melody accompanies the obsessive love and lust. The melancholic slide melody somehow takes me to the slide guitar classic “Dark Was the Night, Cold was the Ground”, which I have always liked very much.
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