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Nikolo Kotzev

by Mike Debbage
Staff Writer

Sadly, Nikolo Kotzev is not a household name in the United States. Fortunately, in the Melodic Rock community the name Brazen Abbot is more renowned. Though Kotzev has always brought a group concept to the band, there is no getting around the fact that he is the mastermind and architect of the ensemble. The question is not will Brazen Abbot become a household name, but more a matter of when.

With a very strong classical background courtesy of his many years playing the violin, Bulgarian born Nikolo moved to Finland and built his own recording studio. His initial big break came in 1991, courtesy of his partnership with former Krokus singer Bjorn Lodin and the group Baltimoore. They released two albums together, and while I am not familiar with Thought For Food, I did have the opportunity to hear their freshman effort Double Density. While the lyrical content is typical of the “poodle band” era, musically, it has held up quite well. But this was only to be an appetizer of what was to come.

After two albums with Baltimoore, Nikolo was confident and brazen enough to move on and teamed up with Europe’s keyboard player Mic Michaeli and drummer Ian Haughland. Coincidently, they were also the backbone of Glenn Hughes studio and live band. And before you could say Big Daddy, Nikolo had secured the services of The Voice on three tracks of Brazen Abbot’s 1996-freshman effort Live And Learn. While the admiration was there, the marketing benefits of Glenn Hughes’ participation were as huge as his voice. In fact, being a big fan of Hughes resulted in my initial attraction to Brazen Abbot. And securing former Malmsteen vocalist Goran Edman was just the icing on the cake.

Though Glenn’s participation lasted only one album, Nikolo pulled off another amazing feat and secured the services of former Rainbow and Deep Purple vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. The result was their sophomore effort Eye Of The Storm that was released in 1996. Continuing to raid from Europe, Kotzev also added bass player John Leven. Delivering a one, two punch the very following year, they released Bad Religion. By this time, Joe and Goran had become the vocal anchors of Brazen Abbot, and they have remained within the line up to this day. The critics were not only impressed with the quality of the material, but also at the unity of the albums despite the fact that each one featured three vocalists, the other being Thomas Vikstrom.

However, Brazen Abbot was about to take a back seat to Kotzev’s very own rock opera, centered around the mysterious character Nostradamus. The project backed by the record label SPV, featured the return of Glenn Hughes along with the usual suspects Joe, Goran, and the boys from Europe. In addition, Kotzev enlisted a few good men and women in the form of Jorn Lande, Doogie White, Alannah Myles and Sass Jordan. Merging his rock roots with his classical background Nikolo integrated a 35-piece orchestra, resulting in a highly ambitious project that engulfed the creator.

For six years, Brazen Abbot was put into hibernation until 2003, when Guilty As Sin dawned on us. Equally as indulgent were the stunning performances of the newest Abbot guest Jorn. Along with new album, there was even talk of SPV re-issuing the earlier Brazen Abbot material. Unfortunately, this did not transpire, but Brazen Abbot continued on its winning ways.

Last year Nikolo secured a new recording contract with Frontier Records, and to commemorate this new business and creative partnership, both a DVD and CD entitled A Decade Of Brazen Abbot were released. Both of them prominently feature a live recording of the band in Bulgaria, and it is also the first to feature one vocalist, that being Joe Lynn Turner. Though each format has its own variance, the CD is essentially an audio documentation of the DVD. According to the CD liner notes, neither format features any overdubs. But it certainly features plenty of energy and enthusiasm of Brazen Abbot in action.

As this interview goes to press, Nikolo is hard at work with Joe Lynn Turner and Goran Edman producing what I am sure will be another fine chapter in the life of Brazen Abbot. This time around the third amigo is TNT’s Tony Harnell. Tentatively titled My Resurrection, this is the first Brazen Abbot album to feature an orchestra, and it is scheduled for release this June. Yet despite his very hectic schedule, Nikolo was kind enough to find the time to answer HRH’s questions by way of e-mail.

HRH: Nikolo, the first thing I would like to say is thank you very much for taking the time to complete this interview with me considering this is a very busy time in your career. Let’s start from your early days. Many of those that are not so familiar with you may not have known that your musical foundations began with the violin. How did that come about?
Nikolo: “I was born in a family of professional musicians. Obviously my parents’ ambition was to make me and my brother musicians, too. Our names are given after great Italian violin players. I simply had no choice. When I was five, I was sent to violin lessons.”

HRH: How difficult was it to make the transition from the violin to the guitar, and what influenced this transformation?
Nikolo: “Well, it was not a transition. I simply took on a second instrument, that’s what happened. I was very fascinated by guitarists. Somehow I knew I could do a lot with that instrument. When I was around 11, my father bought me a second-hand electric. By that time, my mom had already shown me the basics in guitar playing, so from that moment on it was just up to me. I used to plug my electric into the radio at home. In those days radios were made with tubes, so the sound was very good. I demolished a couple of them.”

HRH: You still appear to enjoy playing the violin to this very day. If you were forced to choose one instrument over another, which one would it be and why?
Nikolo: “I still play the violin today, but I can’t make a living on it. So, I must choose the guitar. Anyway, guitar is much more fun.”

HRH: Back in 1991, your first big musical breakthrough came with your collaboration with former Krokus vocalist Bjorn Lodin and his band Baltimore. How did that partnership come about?
Nikolo: “Well, he needed a guitarist /co-writer, and I needed a singer. He came for a gig with Baltimoore in my town. A mutual friend of ours thought we’d fit together. So, he arranged a meeting. Later on, we made a couple of records together.”

HRH: You recorded Double Destiny, and musically, it has held up quite wel,l though the lyrics now seem very politically incorrect. The partnership only lasted for one more album. Was the partnership a difficult one or was there never a long-term goal in the first place?
Nikolo: “We didn’t really come along well. There were principal problems between us. I just had to break out and move on.”

HRH: It appears Lodin recently released a tribute album under the banner of Baltimoore. Are you still in contact with him?
Nikolo: “Yeah, we are friendly to each other.”

HRH: The year 1995 was the evolution of Brazen Abbot and the release of Live and Learn that also featured Big Daddy Glenn Hughes. Tell me how that came about?
Nikolo: “I needed singers for the album. Some unexpected changes had to be made in the last moment. Ian Haugland gave Glenn my demo tape, and he agreed to sing three songs. I am thankful I had the chance to get Glenn on my first record – it was a very important factor for the BA. His presence on the record showed to everyone that I meant business and had no plans to joke around.”

HRH: Brazen Abbot’s debut album also included the vocal pipes of Goran Edman and many first associate him and his work with Malmsteen. My first exposure to Goran was courtesy of the Kharma album Wonderland, an overlooked gem. Edman continues to reappear on every Brazen Abbot album including your most current one. How do you compose the songs together?
Nikolo: “I always make good demos first. When it’s been decided which songs he’ll sing, I send him the tracks and give him some detailed guidance of how I would like to have the songs sung. We discuss general direction and lyric themes. He comes to the studio with a good basic of the song. When I’ve heard his ideas, I throw in mine, then we pick the best ones and use them. Often new ideas come about during the production, so we actually never know how the song will sound like before we’re ready with it.”

HRH: I was fortunate enough to locate Live and Learn here in the United States and it continues to stand the test of time. But to date, I have had no success in locating Eye Of The Storm or Bad Religion, so I am unable to ask many questions about those particular albums. That said, how do they compare to your other Brazen Abbot albums as far as style and quality?
Nikolo: “I’d like to think every new record I make is a step further in all directions – songwriting, production, concept, etc. etc. I make a considerable effort in expanding the boundaries and trying to stretch as far as I can in the search for progress on all planes. The good thing is, that every record I’ve made to date happens to be someone’s favorite. This shows that all of them have strong qualities and stand on their own. However, it’s getting more and more difficult with the years. I also get exhausted as a composer, so I must regenerate my abilities and look constantly for new influences.
Lately, I tend to settle more for my gut feeling and taste, than trying to adapt to what’s out there and what’s expected from me. Let the fans accept that the only thing that can be expected from me is the unexpected.”

HRH: The year 1996 was also your first time to collaborate with Joe Lynn Turner. While I can understand the Hughes connection via the lads from Europe, how did you and Joe manage to get on talking terms?
Nikolo: “Well, Glenn was under a contract with Zero Records, and they didn’t like him singing on a rival company’s (JVC Victor Entertainment) record. I needed a well-known singer for the next BA album, so Joe was an obvious choice – he is one of the classic singers of the style I write in. I sent his manager a demo, and we hit it off immediately. Since then Joe has been on every record I’ve made including “ostradamus.”

HRH: His performances on the concept album Nostradamus were nothing short of breathtaking. Did you ask him to do anything differently?
Nikolo: “Joe is a fantastic artist. He’s got a sense of style, good taste and is very humble and generous. These are the qualities big artists are made from. Of course we changed stuff in the studio – Nostradamus was changing shape on each single recording session. We were breaking new grounds and didn’t really know where the boundaries were. We had to test and stretch every single one of them. Recording Nostradamus was very easy, but also very difficult. However, Joe was very well prepared and that made work much easier.”

HRH: Your concept album Nostradamus must have been a huge undertaking. Tell me a little bit about its conception and what possessed you to take on this enormous task?
Nikolo: “Having in mind my classical background, I’ve always wanted to write a rock opera, as this is a symbol of the ultimate achievement for a serious rock musician. I was only waiting for the right moment. We were just ready with Joe’s recording for the Bad Religion and had a drink in the studio. I shared with him the question some of the other singers had asked me before – why don’t I write a BA song in which two singers are involved. I thought it was a good idea, but within the BA format, it wouldn’t make any sense yet. The time was right – I was looking for the next challenge, and after three albums with the BA, it felt natural to seek the thrill of the big challenge and go for my dream. Nostradamus had always fascinated me with his mystery and all that. It was all decided very fast. The next day, I started my research about Nostradamus.”

HRH: Nostradamus possessed the ability to see the future. What are you thoughts on those things that we cannot see, touch or feel?
Nikolo: “I believe there is a higher power that we don’t understand. Obviously it is important that we don’t understand it, so I never bothered trying to figure it all out. Life is full of proof that there is a higher power."

HRH: Once again you worked your magic and brought in many terrific vocalists, which also included my introduction to Jorn Lande. The scheduling of these artists must have been a nightmare. How did you manage that assignment?
Nikolo: “Yeah, it was tough. People out there think that I wrote music for more than two years. I was negotiating for a year and a half. The writing took seven to eight months, recording and mixing took four to five months. Most of the time went in waiting for the artists and getting the money to pay them. It was a lot of work.”

HRH: Not to take away from the casts of characters that are present on this concept album, but were there any other characters that you had in mind that did not pan out?
Nikolo: “No, all the characters were planned meticulously and have their purpose. I was very careful about all that. Planning was very important for me.”

HRH: Even as a fan, “ostradamus is not the most accessible album. Though after several spins, it is one of the better concept albums that I have been exposed to. And considering that I am not a big fan of concept albums, that is a compliment. That said, how hard was it to sell to the label?
Nikolo: “Well this story is pretty unbelievable, but it’s true. I was with a German label called USG. I told the director (he later became my manager) about my plan to write a rock opera. He liked the idea and started paying the bills, without us even having a contract. The funny thing is that when the opera was all finished and paid for, the label went bankrupt, so there I was with a ready product and no one had the legal right to claim it. However, I had a great respect and loyalty for the director, and we settled for a solution everyone was happy with. Finding a new record company was easier now, when I had the ready product (and not just an idea) in my hand. Even then, the record company didn’t see the real potential in it, and I still feel they could have done a better job promoting it. Well, “Nostradamus” has a life of it’s own now – it already is doing fine out there without promotion.”

HRH: Your second effort with SPV resulted in the Brazen Abbot CD Guilty As Sin that I reviewed when I was with the website The Northern Light. I would like to thank you for personally sending me a copy to review. After the very classically influenced “Nostradamus,” was it difficult to shift gears back to the Brazen Abbot rock and roll vehicle?
Nikolo: “Yeah it was. I knew that whatever I wrote from now on, it will be compared with Nostradamus. That’s one of the reasons I called it “Nikolo Kotzev’s Nostradamus” and kept it out of the Brazen Abbot trademark. GAS was difficult to write for a bunch of other reasons, too. Looking back now, I am very pleased with the way it came out.”

HRH: Jorn Lande continued his working relationship with you and was one of the many highlights of Guilty As Sin. Despite the presence of three dynamic voices once more, the album still avoided the trappings of sounding disjointed. How did you decide who would sing which songs?
Nikolo: “It is a process of knowing the singers well and giving them songs which are best suited for their way of singing. It is quite easy for me, ‘cause I know the guys very well. I always give them a tip for the right songs and let them think about it.”

HRH: There was talk of SPV reissuing the Brazen Abbot albums, but unfortunately it never panned out as you are now with Frontier Records. Has this been discussed with your new label? And if so is there any bonus material that would be considered?
Nikolo: “No, no plans or bonus tracks. I hope to re-release one day. I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

HRH: With your new label at your side, you brought to the public the live album A Decade Of Brazen Abbot. The majority of the album focused on your last studio effort Guilty As Sin, but this time it featured only Joe Lynn Turner. I am a huge JLT fan and I am sure logistics was a factor, but after always featuring multiple vocalists why now only one? And for that matter, why Joe?
Nikolo: “The main idea with this release is the documentary DVD. The separate release of the CD was the record company’s idea, which I don’t like very much. Originally, the CD was supposed to be in the same package, so those who wanted to listen to the music only could play it in their CD players. The CD contains the music of the DVD, but is not meant to be a “Live” record. When I want to make such, it will be completely different. Obviously, touring with three singers would be an expensive affair, so I had to settle for one only. Joe is one of the finest singers in the world, and he is very well known in my home country, so the choice was easy.”

HRH: With Europe in the process of reuniting, both the DVD and CD A Decade Of Brazen Abbot did not include Ian Haughland, Mic Michaeli and John Leven and features new band members. Can you tell me a little about this particular band line up?
Nikolo: “I’d known these guys for quite some time. Good players – I enjoyed working with them. Wayne Banks is now a member of Brazen Abbot. The line up was created specially for the tour.”

HRH: The DVD also has some very insightful documented video of your various vocalists. Being some of the biggest names in rock, I am sure there was a certain degree of adoration. If so, how difficult was it to admire yet still consider yourself an equal?
Nikolo: “We are all professionals and have respect for each-other. Everyone knows what the rules are, and everyone keeps them. Most of the time, I’m just amazed of what they can do. Feeling equal is not a problem for me – I have the same musical roots and know very well what my abilities and limitations are. That’s the most important thing for a producer. Actually, most of the time, I feel proud of the fact that these guys are working on my records.”

HRH: Your website is reporting that your latest studio effort is coming along well, which will once again feature Joe Lynn Turner and Goran Edman with four tracks each. Your latest addition is TNT’s Tony Harnell. How did that transpire?
Nikolo: “It was not planned. The record company has a good relation with him and the idea just emerged during the talks. I like him a lot, saw a good chance and grabbed it. He is a great singer.”

HRH: With Europe still on tour, were the lads from Europe able to make the current production? If not, tell me about the current band line up?
Nikolo: “No, the Europe guys are not involved. Wayne Banks plays bass, Mattias Knutas (a Swedish guy) plays drums and Nelko Kolarov (I’ve known him since the ‘80s, he also conducted the recording of Nostradamus) plays keyboards. Mattias is the only guy I didn’t know for a longer time. I saw him play a few times in a club and liked him a lot. So, he got the job. It’s a very strong line up. All very good players and it shows on the record.”

HRH: I have also heard that your latest endeavor will include a greater emphasis on string arrangements. Is this for dramatic effect or can we expect a more mellow affair from Brazen Abbot?
Nikolo: “The new one is quite heavy. It’s black and riff-based and heavier than the previous ones. The strings are for getting that huge sound. It’s been really cool – I scored the arrangements for few days only, and the recording was done really fast with a very professional crew in Bulgaria’s best recording studio. Nelko Kolarov conducted the orchestra, while I was making sure the recording was made properly.”

HRH: What is the working title of your new album and what is the expected release date?
Nikolo: “The title is My Resurrection. It was mixed by the end of January 2005. Release date is end of the spring.”

HRH: The name of the band Brazen Abbot is a peculiar one. Where did it come from?
Nikolo: “I like the controversy in the meanings of the word “brazen.” Combined with “abbot,” it gives you the chance to interpret it the way you want: Nobel, of high valor, or shameless and nasty.”

HRH: Your music has always fused all the better qualities of melodic rock, hard rock and neo-classical rock and yet it is still uniquely your own. Who would you say heavily influences both your writing and playing style?
Nikolo: “I am influenced mostly by the bands of the ‘70s. I grew up then and formed my musical taste while listening to the great bands of that time. The classical background plays an important role, too. There is a lot I would still like to explore in combining all my influences, so the best is still to come. Writing music that sounds “modern” almost automatically demands a musical sacrifice. Unfortunately, today’s leading bands are not as good players as it used to be, and they create music more and more simple.”

HRH: Using three vocalists has been very successful for you, and Joe and Goran seem to be the long-term residents of Brazen Abbot. But have you ever considered showcasing one vocalist on your studio efforts?
Nikolo: “No. I think the flexibility of having three singers gives me the freedom of musical variety. I think I was actually the first one to start using three singers, and I still like it a lot. On the new album, I even use four singers. Erik Mårtensson sings one tune and is featured on two others in duets with Joe and Göran.”

HRH: Life is very short and unpredictable. If you had 24 hours to pick your next vocalist for a future Brazen Abbot project, who would be on your short list?
Nikolo: “Joe Lynn Turner.”

HRH: I realize that economics play a huge factor and the U.S. is a long way from your home country of Bulgaria, but is there even a slim chance of playing a few live dates Stateside?
Nikolo: “I actually have lived in Finland since 1989. That’s a bit closer. If I get invited, I’ll come and play. I’d love to. However, I don’t know the right people, so I can’t do much about it.”

HRH: As a producer in your own right, are there any other side that you are currently dabbling with?
Nikolo: “Not at the moment. I use to engineer and produce for others. I like it a lot, ‘cause I learn from the way other people make records. It is very educational. Exchanging experience with others is very important. I hope my producing career will take off, and I’ll get the chance to meet and work with many more people and bands in the future.”

HRH: Thank you very much for your valuable time. And as a final note, would you like to give HRH any late breaking updates or news?
Nikolo: “Phew, that was a long one…;-)…Well, you got all the news within my answers, so all I would like to do is to address the fans: Fight the illegal downloads – it kills artists !!!!!”