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John Peel OBE, 1939 - 2004
Early Blues Interview
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"Erja Lyytinen is part
of an exciting young generation of European blues artists who are
carrying this traditional form of American music into the future. From
her home in Finland, she has ventured out to captivate audiences
throughout Europe and recorded albums in places as far flung as her own
Seasound Studio in Helsinki and the heart of the Mississippi Delta.
Acclaimed for her slide guitar playing abilities, keen songwriting and
smooth vocal delivery, Lyytinen is committed to a life of music. And, as
her newest release Voracious Love shows, she continues to develop and
hone her craft".
_________________________________________________________________________ I was fortunate to meet up with Erja at the the Linton Music Festival: Alan: What were your first musical memories growing up in the small town of, err, is it, Kuopio in Finland? Erja: Yes, Kuopio. I remember that we always had music at our house. My father used to play a lot of guitar, he still does, just for fun in the house. I remember when I was very small, perhaps 4, I used to sing about my father’s chord progressions and I came up with my own lyrics and melody and my Daddy later said that he was amazed at my improvisation at that age. It just came naturally. I remember that I really liked it and I ran around the room and singing at the same time. It was something that I had inside me. My mother plays bass and sings and she and my father had a Finnish traditional band together in the 60s so it was very easy. Growing up in that sort of musical environment I don’t think there was much choice. Alan: So did you feel that you always wanted to become a musician? Erja: Yes, although there was a tiny phase in my teenage years when I thought that I wouldn’t do music, but it didn’t last long.
Erja: I had what is probably a common background in that I was put into the concert circuit when I was 7 years old to play violin. In Finland we didn’t have a school for, say African-American music. If you wanted to learn music you had to go to classical education. I enjoyed it but when I turned to be a teenager I was wanting to know why there isn’t any improvisation in this music, why does it have to be so formal all the time. So I did my graduations in case I needed them later for something like music high school and then I just stopped playing violin. It took a year that I was without music but I had this urge that I needed to do something with music and I started playing guitar. I grabbed my father’s electric guitar and started playing these different cover songs I liked, songs I could sing with – you know old pop and rock, Procul Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale, a bit of Led Zeppelin. I applied to music high school and I got in and I met new people, more people and started to have bands. Then I went to different schools after high school; I studied in Los Angeles Musicians Institute for a couple of months, then in Denmark in Copenhagen at the rytmusikkonservatorium [Rhythmic Music Conservatory] which is really good quality and then also in Sweden I actually graduated from the Sibelius-Akatemian musiikkikasvatusosastolla [Sibelius Acadamy's Department of Music Education] last year. My band, they laugh at me that I must be Europe’s most educated blues musician. For me, school has always given me the freedom to do my music while I was receiving college music. They have had to work the cafes and then do the gigs so I’m glad I did it but the biggest school was to go abroad and play internationally. Alan: What first attracted you to the blues? Erja: The feeling. I felt that everybody was playing jazz music – jazz is fine, I enjoy it and I listen to a lot of jazz and fusion guitar players but maybe it was the school world but they sang so beautifully and I just wanted to do something with my feelings and with my heart. I remember hearing Coco Taylor first in my life and hearing 'I’m a Woman' from 'The Earthshaker' album, and it just changed my world. I started playing her songs and I had this blues song at the time, at about 18. I was also listening a lot at the time to Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt, they were idols at that time.
Erja: It is a feeling, something very deep and rural, how would I say, feet on the ground – earthy! Alan: The Finnish Magazine, “Blues News” gave you the nickname, “the Bonnie Raitt of Finland”. Would you describe yourself this way? Erja: Oh well, It’s hard to describe yourself, but she’s a great lady. As a performer I think we are different. I like to be a bit more wilder perhaps than what I‘ve seen what she does. Alan: Didn’t you perform with her at the Puistoblues Festival in Finland? Erja: Yes, I opened for her and I got to meet her. She’s a fabulous lady, really nice. The comparison comes from the fact that we both play slide guitar which is rare for women and then again she also does her own music like me. Alan: Who has influenced you the most in your music? Erja: That’s a really hard question because there has been so many guitar players that I’ve been listening to. I had a phase of listening to Brian Setzer playing the jump blues kind of thing and in my early years I was listening to a lot of Rebben Ford a very different guy. And Scott Henderson, an American guy. Then I found quite late all these old guys like Muddy Waters and nowadays when I’m at home I like to listen to Mississippi John Hurt, Son House and all the old stuff. So it’s hard to say really, my music is a melting pot full of everything. Alan: In 2006 you were involved with Ruf Records' Blues Caravan with Aynsley Lister and Ian Parker and you toured Europe and the States. Tell me about that experience. Erja: I call that my baby year because that was the first time I was really exposed to the international music world and to go there, to Mississippi, to THE place with the history had a big impact on me and I think it changed me mentally. I started to think about who is different and it gave me more zest for the whole blues idolship. It was a very nice experience, definitely. Alan: Also in 2006 you recorded your first record for Ruf Records, 'Dreamland Blues', with the single featuring on Sue Foley's 'Blues Guitar Women' double album. How was that experience? Erja: Well, that was the educated white girl from Finland who goes to Mississippi and record with some of the Delta Blues legends. They are very straighforward there and very relaxed. We wrapped the whole album in three and a half days, that was fast! Ian Parker was releasing the album, he was with me there. It’s a different world there. Alan: You are often quoted as an exceptional guitarist – which is your favourite guitar? Erja: It must be the blue GFL, A-SATZ 3, it’s a semi-hollow A-SATZ 3 GL guitar, it’s blue flake, very fancy looking. That’s my favourite because I play all my gigs with this and I’ve had it since 2005, something like that.
Alan: Are there any particular songs you play which have special meaning to you? Erja: Many! Of course in the new CD we did, the 'Voracious Love' album, there’s a lot of personal stuff but also many fictional stories as well. I guess 'Grip of the Blues', because that’s a very personal song I wrote when I was feeling down and that is my blues. Alan: I know you’ve got a string of concert dates in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Germany. Is Linton the only UK gig this time around? Erja: It is for the summer although we did a tour in March and we are coming back at the end of this year, at the end of October. Alan: So what is the blues scene like in Finland now? Erja: Blues is getting more and more attention. In the past ten years it has been increasing quite a lot and getting more and more attention from media. We have quite a lot of blues festivals as we are such a small country, some 5.5m inhabitants. Alan: The Puistoblues Festival – what sort of crowd does that get? Erja: That's a good crowd, it’s near the capital Helsinki but it gets a good audience around 10,000 every year depending on the weather! We opened for Santana this Monday in Helsinki in this big stadium and it was raining and you can always see it coming there the evening before and it can really destroy some stuff.
Erja: With this album I wanted to use as much time as I could. The previous albums I did 'Dreamland Blues' and 'Grip of the Blues' were 'studio live' albums but we wanted to make it sound like the way we are on the stage and with 'Voracious Love' I wanted to put all these different layers there and play many many guitar tracks. There’s more guitar than the previous albums but it’s more subtle, more hidden there as a little inner candy thing. We didn’t try the songs out at the gigs beforehand but we went to the studio to build them up so it’s very much a studio album and I also had a lot of guests on the album.
Erja: I guess I’m always pushing myself, I’m challenging myself I guess and it’s a challenge for the audience and listeners. I’ve received different kinds of feedback, some people say, “I want this to be just ordinary blues but it’s okay there's bands that will do this as well”, and I have this urge to do a bit different kind of work, my style. Alan: Some music styles may be fads but blues is always with us. Why do you think the blues carries on? Erja: That is a very good question, but I think it’s because it’s an old form of music and the marketing has always there, since a hundred years ago even. There’s something genuine about blues music and you can't fake it. Blues is strong and still growing and evolving and that is why we have to be open to new modern sounds. Alan: So you’ve got this tour now and you’ll be going back to Finland. Anything else coming up? Erja: We are going straight to Germany from here so this summer is going to be good for festivals. Later on this year we are going to do this Double Trouble Tour with Meena from Austria touring Europe. Then I’m back to England and then Scandinavia tour. Alan: Thank you so much Erja and good luck with the tours. _________________________________________________________________________
Check out Erja Lyytinen at the Linton Music Festival
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Return to
Blues Interviews List
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Alan:
How did you get started in music professionally?
Alan:
So what does the blues mean to you?
Alan:
Tell me about the making of your latest album, 'Voracious Love'.
Alan:
It’s been described as a crossover album that pushes style
boundaries. Did it push your personal boundary too?
