During a conversation with Ultimate Guitar's Justin Beckner, Steve Vai talked about his just-released new song, "Candle Power", and projects he currently has in the works.

UG: That new song, is that going to be part of a full-length album or an EP?

Vai: "I'm working on new material. I have four different projects going right now. This new song that I'm going to reveal is part of one of these records."

UG: Are they all guitar-centric solo records? Are you able to comment on those?

Vai "Yeah, I can comment on them but they can all change, you know, so take it with a huge grain of salt. One of them I don't want to talk about. The other one is the third installment of the Real Illusions Trilogy - that's the motherload. That's the record that is going to be the big production, but I'm also working on a very stripped-down, instrumental, guitar record and I'm also recording four hours of orchestral music that I've had. I was actually supposed to be in Holland right now for three weeks recording that - one week with the metropole orchestra and two weeks with the Denmark radio orchestra. I had to postpone that but we may be doing it in November. So I would assume that over 2021 and 2022, there should be a lot of product coming out."

Read more here.

Vai recently checked in with the following update:

"Hey Folks, Vai here. I wanted to challenge myself for my 60th birthday and decided to record a simple trio track. I gave myself some parameters to work within. I told myself I would use a Strat style guitar (tougher for me to play then a Jem), use a very clean tone (not conventional for me), no whammy bar (that’s like losing a body part for me), and no pick, just fingers (way out of my comfort zone).

I also had this idea for a particular type of riff that can only really be played on a guitar with no whammy bar. It’s a technique that I call 'joint shifting'. This is where you bend a note while fretting another, but I wanted to do this technique with a combination of double and triple stop single note bends while fretting other notes and releasing bends. After considerable experimenting, I discovered it created a unique sounding passage. You can hear this technique on a few sections of the song. I certainly hope other ambitious guitar player see the potential in this technique and take it to the moon!

We shot this quick little video of me performing the track at my Harmony Hut studio.

During this period, the world is slowly starting to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people are still facing challenges and are eager to find entertainment on the internet. I have seen the best come out in many people during this challenging time. When people join together with a common positive intention, the power surge they create within the collective is the healing element that is most needed. Like many little candles coming together to burn as bright as a star.

I needed a title for the song, and with the above in mind, and the fact that it’s my 60th, I choose the title 'Candle Power'. We are even issuing a limited edition commemorative 'Candle Power' candle in the new vai.com merch store that also comes with a high-quality download of the song:

Enjoy!"