Red River EntertainmentFounding Kinks guitarist Dave Davies is releasing a new studio album that he recorded with his son Russ called Open Road on March 31. The collaborative collection features nine tracks that combine Dave’s knack for crafting melodic and introspective rock and pop songs with his son’s talents as a modern electronic-music artist.
Russ tells ABC Radio that although he predominately works with alternative-music genres, his and his dad’s goal with Open Road was to make a “traditional songwriter’s album.”
“I’ve always really liked Dave’s more sensitive style of writing over the years…maybe even more so than the stuff he’s famous for, which is the big guitar riffs and everything,” Russ explains. “And so, [I] really wanted to kind of bring that side of him more to the table for this album.”
That being said, Russ points out that with his background in working with “atmospheric and experimental” music, he was responsible for adding “a subtle kind of sheen over the album” that gives it a “modern touch.”
Russ says he and his father collaborated closely on and contributed equally to Open Road, which he describes as “quite an emotional album.”
“Every song is a journey in its own right,” he says. “Dave and I…brought our own stories to every song…Every song bouncing melodies and lyrics and ideas together and kind of fusing both of our collective history and experiences.”
Russ also notes that although he and his father butted heads while making the record, because of their family connection they were perhaps “a bit more respectful of each other’s ideas.”
Russ adds working with him took his dad out of his comfort zone, and “him letting go into my working process a bit I think actually really brought the best out of him.”
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