Richie Kotzen has released two new songs, “You” and “Cannibals,” both of which are available on iTunes. You also can check out the music videos for both songs below.
“You” was co-written by Kotzen’s daughter, August, who also appears in the bottom video below.
“It must have been four years ago and my daughter, who is now 17, was constantly playing this piece of music on the piano," Kotzen said.
"I finally asked her what it was and she said she just made it up. I set up the microphones and recorded her playing for about seven minutes. Years later, I found this on my hard drive and decided to write lyrics to it over this past summer. The end result is what you see and hear in the video. It is one of my favorite things I’ve done and I’m happy to have been able to collaborate on music with my daughter.”
“Cannibals” made its debut during his recent three-month solo tour, which started in Europe, taking Kotzen through Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Chile and concluding with a month-long trek of the U.S.
“I did something I’ve never done before on this tour,” Kotzen said, “which is performing an original composition that has yet to be released. The only place you could hear the song ‘Cannibals’ was at the show, and it went over quite well with the fans. Rather than wait to release the song as part of the new album next year, I figured it would be cool to share the studio version now while it’s fresh in the people’s minds who attended my shows. I was able to collect live footage that was shot during the tour and compile a live video to go along with the song.”
Kotzen has been touring in support of The Essential Richie Kotzen, which was released September 2 on Loud & Proud Records. It’s a two-CD and DVD career retrospective set that encompasses this iconic talent’s entire career of his most essential work: classic material; acoustic performances; bootleg material; and two new songs (“War Paint” and “Walk With Me”). The DVD features music videos, acoustic performances and bootleg material.
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Stay tuned for new Kotzen album news in the coming weeks.
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