Smith/Kotzen is the exciting partnership between guitarists & vocalists Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen (solo artist, Winery Dogs, Mr Big, Poison). Both artists are seasoned performers on the global stage, having honed their skills throughout their careers to create their own unique musical sound.

Smith spoke with Rock Sverige about the collaboration and the debut album. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: What was your working relationship like when you were putting songs together?

Smith: "It was great and we have a great chemistry. It doesn´t always work like that. Richie and I sat down and in the first afternoon we worked together, we had two songs. We both sat there with guitars and we both had a microphone and we had an idea for “Running” and put that down on tape, the verse. The he said 'I´ve got a chorus.', so we put the chorus on and then it was back and forth. He does something and I´ll say 'Oh, that inspired something!' and so on. That´s a perfect chemistry. I´ve tried to write with people, very well known people where we sat in a room, and it´s been very awkward and it just has not clicked. So when you get someone you click with, you want to take advantage of it and get the best out of it. It´s very natural and I think we had the same vision, we wanted to make a classic hard rock album with a bit of a bluesy tinge and that was our starting point. Then we saw that vision through I think."

Q: You´re in Iron Maiden, so with this band, is that more of a freedom for you? Being able to go outside of the box and play something quite different?

Smith: "Yeah, of course it is. I mean, I love what I do in Iron Maiden and I love being on stage. It´s great, but these days we get a lot of time when we´re not on the road and I like to be creative. I don´t think it´s healthy to do nothing. I like to be creative and I think I´ve still got a lot more to say kind of thing. I´m quite a prolific writer and I need to get these ideas out and I wanted to get back into singing, so I´m working on that as well. It´s nice to have something as you get older, to feel like you can improve and it sort of drives you. I´m really excited about this and I can see us doing another album."

Read the complete interview here.

"Scars" is the second single from the upcoming Smith/Kotzen debut album by Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen. "Scars" is described by Adrian Smith as a song which "starts off with a dreamy intro then comes in heavy,’ a hark-back to 70’s bluesy rock which the duo found particularly fun to work on."

As Richie Kotzen explains, "I remember 'Scars' being one of the songs we wrote in the very beginning of the process. There is something moody and mysterious going on in this track that I find quite engaging. This would be a great track for us to stretch out live for some guitar improvisation between the two of us."

As well as the pair co-writing, co-producing and sharing guitars and vocals, Richie also plays bass and drums on the track. The black & white video was once again shot on both sides of the Atlantic. Performances from the band take place in home studios in London and Los Angeles while outdoor footage juxtaposes the rugged beauty of the British Jurassic coast with the historic Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific coastline near Malibu.  You can watch the video below:

BMG has announced the worldwide release of the debut album Smith/Kotzen for March 26.

Recorded on the Turks & Caicos Islands in February 2020, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, this nine track opus is a consummate collaboration between these two highly respected musicians who co-wrote all the songs and also share lead vocals and trade off on guitar and bass duties throughout the record.

Exploding with powerful melodies & harmonies, the album embodies the spirited attitude of 70’s classic rock with a melting-pot of influences ranging from blues, hard rock, traditional R&B and more, blending the pair’s backgrounds and life experiences to result in a thoroughly contemporary sound.

The record features special guest performances by Adrian’s fellow Iron Maiden bandmate Nicko McBrain on drums for the track “Solar Fire”, and Richie’s longstanding friend and touring partner Tal Bergman on drums for “You Don’t Know Me”, “I Wanna Stay” and “‘Til Tomorrow”, with Richie picking up the sticks on the other five songs.

Adrian comments: “Richie and I started working together a couple of years ago. We’d been jamming as we’d been friends for a few years before that. We both share a love for classic rock and bluesy rock so we decided to get together and start writing some songs and it went from there. Pretty much everything on the album is handled between Richie and myself including the production. We had developed a really strong idea of how we wanted it to sound and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. There’s a lot of cool songs on there that we are really happy with.”

Richie adds: “We had a very fluid process in writing. Sometimes Adrian would send me a riff and I would immediately hear some kind of melody or a vocal idea. And sometimes it was the other way round so it was a kind of circular motion. We’d get together whenever we could and throw some ideas around and it just evolved, which was great because there was no pressure and nothing other than just a natural course and I think the record really speaks for that.”

The album will be available in these formats:

- Digipack CD
- 12” black vinyl with embossed sleeve
- Digital (streaming and download)
- Limited edition 12” red & black smoke effect colored vinyl

Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.

Tracklisting:

"Taking My Chances"
"Running"
"Scars"
"Some People"
"Glory Road"
"Solar Fire"
"You Don’t Know Me"
"I Wanna Stay"
"‘Til Tomorrow"

“Taking My Chances” video: