Platinum-selling recording artist and world class guitarist, Orianthi, recently spoke with Guitar World about the 10 guitarists that shaped her sound. Following is an excerpt from the rundown.

Carlos Santana

Orianthi: "First and foremost is Carlos Santana. He's the reason why I picked up the electric guitar. After hearing the Abraxas record, Carlos really inspired me because of his tone and not choices. The way that he put his heart into every note was so illuminating. And then, when you see him live, there really is something about him where after you step away from the performance, you feel enlightened and totally inspired. Carlos brings people together with his music and his playing, which will always be special to me. And he's become a dear friend, so he's even more meaningful to me now."

Steve Vai

Orianthi: "Steve Vai is another massive inspiration to me and another dear friend. I first met him when I was 14, and I got to play with him for the first time. Getting to sit with Steve Vai at such a young age was a massive learning experience in and of itself. I mean… how could it not be?

He's incredible. He's an absolute genius. The way he orchestrates things is unreal. No-one does it the way he does. And I got to see that firsthand when I worked on a song called Highly Strung from my first record [Believe (II)]. We wrote that together and demoed the guitars all in one afternoon. So, he's something else. You don't even need to be into the guitar to enjoy watching him play because he's such a showman. It's like watching a sci-fi show or something. That and the melodies he plays that are unlike anything else makes him so unique to so many people. I love him as a player and person. He's a beautiful human."

Read the complete rundown here.

Orianthi released her new studio album, Rock Candy, in late 2022. The release follows 2020's studio album, O, which, at the time, was her first new studio album in seven years and her first new music as a solo artist in six years.

Sonically, Rock Candy is a hard rockin', blues tinged, display of Orianthi's dazzling guitar playing and her soulful vocals. Order/save Rock Candy on CD/Color LP/Digital here.

Orianthi’s first major solo artist success, as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, was with the Geffen Records release of According To You, which is now RIAA-Certified Platinum and has over 29 million streams on Spotify. Her music’s ability to transcend time and remain relevant cannot be more clear than its recent resurgence on TikTok. There are over 110 million views on the “According to You” hashtag making it a viral trend that is introducing Gen Z to Orianthi for the first time in a big way. Career-long fans are used to seeing their favorite world class guitarist playing arenas with rock royalty and global superstars like Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana, Carrie Underwood, Alice Cooper and more. The juxtaposition of her newly arrived online popularity and her lifelong pursuit of artistic credibility shows the transcendence of this shining star.

Joining Orianthi on this release is the multi-talented Jacob Bunton, who produced the album. Additionally, he provides guitar, bass, keyboard, piano, and violin playing through the course of the album. Jacon Bunton is known in the rock world for his work with Steven Adler, amongst others, but he is an Emmy Award-winning composer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose credits include Mariah Carey, Steven Tyler, Smokey Robinson, Akon, Pop Evil, and many more. Drummer Kyle Cunningham rounds out the lineup for Rock Candy.

Rock Candy tracklisting:

"Illuminate (Part I)"
"Light It Up"
"Fire Together"
"Where Did Your Heart Go"
"Red Light"
"Void"
"Burning"
"Living Is Like Dying Without You"
"Witches & The Devil"
"Getting To Me"
"Illuminate (Part II)"

"Where Did Your Heart Go" video:

"Fire Together":

"Light It Up" video:

Lineup:

Orianthi - Vocals, Guitars
Jacob Bunton - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Violin, Backing Vocals
Kyle Cunningham - Drums