Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Richie Kotzen premiered the official lyric video for “Nihilist” to coincide with the release of his brand-new solo studio album “Nomad,“ out now via BMG. The effort is now available digitally, on CD, and standard black vinyl. Order “Nomad”, HERE.
“’Nihilist’ may be the cornerstone of the entire album as I see it” says Kotzen. “It is certainly the oldest composition as I have been holding onto this master recording for a few years. I knew it was a special song and I wanted folks to hear it, but I wasn’t clear on how to go about that. Meaning, it could have been a single but I didn’t have the right window for that. Once I felt like I was on the path to making a full-length album it became clear to me that this was the closing song regardless of what may come before it.”
Written, recorded, and produced by Richie Kotzen, “Nomad” features eight new tracks showcasing Kotzen’s multi-faceted musical styles with Kotzen playing almost every instrument on the album. On “Nomad”, Kotzen expresses his diverse techniques and influences, from hard rock to 70s-infused soul and funk, jazz fusion to R&B. It’s all intertwined with his own unique playing and songwriting approach while retaining his ever-evolving signature style.

“I came up exposed to the soul, funk, and R&B music extensively but at the same time I was a hard rock fan all the way,” explains Kotzen. “So I’ve got this sort of interesting dynamic happening with my music where you hear elements of Parliament or Curtis Mayfield but then at the same time you’ve got the Bad Company early Rod Stewart influence as well. Then when I started taking the guitar more seriously, I was drawn into Fusion bands like The Dixie Dregs, Return To Forever, and Allan Holdsworth’s work. It is a wacky mixture but that is the formula for Richie Kotzen.”
While “Nomad” has no shortage of heavy guitar rockers, the sheer diversity of the album as heard on tracks such as “Nihilist,” “This Is A Test” and the title track “Nomad,” showcases not only Kotzen’s musical range and vocal prowess, but his fearless imagination as a producer/arranger. Already globally renowned as an extraordinary guitarist, “Nomad” Kotzen stands tall as a truly remarkable all-around lyricist-producer/arranger and singer.