Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Richie Kotzen will release his brand new solo studio album, titled “Nomad”, on September 27 via BMG. The effort will be available digitally, on CD, and on standard black vinyl. Presave/Pre-order “Nomad”, HERE.
Richie has premiered the official video for “Insomnia”, the third single from “Nomad”. Fittingly, the main melody for “Insomnia” came to Richie while he was sleeping, and as inspiration struck, he immediately woke up, fired up his studio and, not wanting to lose the creative momentum, worked through the night and what would become “Insomnia” emerged.
“I was woken up with that chorus melody and in that moment had no idea the title would be ‘Insomnia’,” explains Kotzen. “Although the song was written around the chorus melody, the actual end recording relies heavily on the bass guitar and how it is treated. I’ve got more than one bass track playing at the same time in order to get that sound you are hearing. It’s interesting that I’m known as a guitarist but the bass guitar plays such an integral role in my music and in my songwriting. So much of what I create comes out of the bass guitar lines that I write.”
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.
