Steve Vai has joined forces with Jonah Nilsson – the lead vocalist for Stockholm-based three-piece Dirty Loops – for an uber-funky new single, Diamond Ring.
Joined by keys king Kristian Kraftling, guitarist Jesper Naenfeldt, drummer Kefa Figaro and bass guitar man Tobias Grenholm, the pair’s new track combines blues, rock, soul, funk and pop, and features one ridiculously silky solo from the man himself.
There’s also a cameo from music industry icon Quincy Jones in the video, too, which you can check out in its entirety below.
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The electric guitar god makes his appearance on Diamond Ring during its closing stages, where he is given free reign to do what he does best: set the fretboard ablaze with some mind-bending soloing.
Initially opting for a clean tone that serves up a subtle bite, Vai wields his Ibanez to maximum effect, following up some scale sweeps and pentatonic runs with rapid-fire string-traversing licks and fret-hopping single-note stabs.
The entrance of the overdrive pedal ushers in a cohort of even tastier licks, with Vai diving into his big book of six-string tricks as he delicately and deliciously treads the line between all-out shredding and funky-fueled phrasing.
“There’s a new breed of brilliant evolutionary musicians breaking onto the scene, and this track is the evidence,” offered Vai. “It takes pop to another dimension of groove, musicality and overall bad-assery. It’s amazeballs.”
Of the new track, Nilsson commented, “I’m so so excited to present this song that has been in the works for a long time!
“It’s a very dance-friendly song with lots of fun musical elements with Steve Vai ending the song with a crazy solo,” he added. “I thought to myself, this song needs the most epic, crazy, guitar-hero solo possible and there is only one person who could’ve delivered that: Steve Vai.”
Diamond Ring is available to stream now.
