New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Producer and composer Kitt Wakeley announces the independent release of his new album, "Symphony of Sinners and Saints," set to drop Friday, May 21, 2021, while the celebration of the new release will be that evening at 7 p.m., at the Oklahoma City Civic Center.
The red carpet event will include a full stage production and show that promises to entertain, while giving the audience a chance to celebrate the new music in a socially-distanced concert environment. Tickets will range between $35 - $75.
"Symphony of Sinners and Saints" is a follow up to Wakeley's album "Midnight in Macedonia," and features legends like Joe Satriani, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dallas All Star Choir, and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. The music can be described as "orchestral rock," a hybrid of rock, classical, piano and electronica that spans across genres and could appeal to any audience. This spring, Wakeley will be inducted into the Indie
Music Hall Of Fame during the 2021 Indie
Music Channel Awards ceremony at The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, where Kitt will be attending and accepting his award in person. For more information on Kitt Wakeley, see: www.kittwakeley.com.
"I knew I wanted to do something bigger and better than the last project, I wanted the writing to be more intelligent," said Kitt Wakeley. "I'm big into call and responses between instruments and I wanted to build on that. At the same time, I wanted to add more color with the harmonies and give more depth to the string arpeggiations. And finally, I wanted more fills, ear candy and movement from various instruments so that you can hear something different, almost every time you hear the album."
With his newest album, Kitt Wakeley seeks to give his audience a spectacle. The record is one that connotes dissonance throughout - between the sainthood of a symphonic orchestra with the sin of rock and electronic music - and contains counter-melodies within each song depicting constant friction between the band, choir, brass, strings and within the sections themselves. Inspired by an encounter in the wild of nightlife when Wakeley heard the classic, "O Fortuna," by Carmina Burana remixed heavily into electronic dance music, he was moved to capture the drama, the chaos, the insanity of the combination of music's classical past and experimental future.
The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, engineered by Lewis Jones; engineered and mixed by Tre Nagella at Luminous Studios in Dallas, Texas; and produced by Kitt Wakeley and co-produced by Tre Nagella.
Players on the record include Kitt Wakeley on synths and piano,
Joe Satriani on guitar, Paul Lumis on piano, Paige Harwell on guitar,
Daniel Uribe on guitar, Ryan Miller on bass, Brent Berry on drums and Cliff Masterson conducting. Additionally, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices Choir and Dallas All Star Gospel Choir played a major role in the recording of the "Symphony of Sinners and Saints." Wakeley's counterparts on the album also utilized their private home studios to record various sections of the record. For example,
Joe Satriani recorded from his home studio in Los Angeles,
Daniel Uribe recorded from Columbia, Paige Harwell recorded at her home studio in Oklahoma City, and Wakeley has emulated his home studio setup from some of the best workstations he's seen at other studios.
"It was a thrill to record the Orchestra and Choir for Kitt on his new Saints & Sinners project," said Lewis Jones, Abbey Road Studios. "Rousing orchestral melodic lines, Phat Beats and electrifying guitars all combining to create these HUGE tunes. It's always nice to work on a project that is solely music and especially so working alongside Kitt. A true gent."
"Kitt's compositions are a fantastically energetic journey through an incredibly creative, sonic landscape," said Cliff Masterson, Conductor for the Royal Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. "The perfect blend of rock guitars, synths, choir and full symphony orchestra elevate these tracks to instant 'hairs on the back of the neck' territory. The RPO played brilliantly and I could tell they were thoroughly enjoying every minute of these sessions."
"'Sinners and Saints' blurs the lines between movie soundtrack and hard rock album, going from gorgeous orchestrations to heavy guitar riffs and thundering drums," said Tre Nagella, Luminous Studios, three-time Grammy-winning Producer/Engineer. "It's a genre of its own."
At 17, Kitt Wakeley was playing proms, dances, special events and had a song on the top radio stations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, all leading quickly to a passionate life of playing clubs, writing, recording and touring. Wakeley was soon hired to write the intro for one of Oklahoma's top radio DJ's shows, connecting him with other local work for television broadcasts, sports hype videos and eventually for advertising companies. As licensing opportunities started to become consistent, Wakeley's music morphed into a hybrid of his electronic and rock inspirations. Falling deeply in love with his newfound creation, Wakeley decided to record an album in this style under the moniker "AudioKaoz," which the producer he was working with liked so much he submitted it for Grammy consideration. This was a great move in Wakeley's establishment as an artist, allowing him to join The Recording Academy and then become a voting member of the Grammys. Eventually these connections harnessed inspiration for Wakeley's second album, and the humbling ability to work with musicians from around the globe.
Throughout the course of his career, Wakeley has amassed eight Indie Channel
Music Awards, including Producer of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, two ISSA for Album of the Year and Producer of the Year, two Josie
Music Awards for Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year and a Hollywood
Music and Media Awards (HMMA) for Best Gospel Song of the Year. And in 2021, he will be inducted into the Indie
Music Hall Of Fame.
When Wakeley isn't writing for himself, he is producing pop, rock and country music for other artists which are featured on various streaming sites and retail outlets. He finds satisfaction in seeing or hearing the appreciation and excitement of the artists when he has finished a project on their behalf. Finding himself in contact with many potential collaborators, he's been fortunate to pick the kinds of projects to produce on his terms. Working with musicians from around the world allows him to collaborate with those who provide the same magic for the biggest artists in the industry - these names include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, Eminem, Steve Vai,
Dr. Dre and many many more.
The "Symphony of Sinners and Saints" tracklist is as follows:
Wicked Ways
Sinners and Saints
Forgive Me (feat. Joe Satriani)
Hello Again
Conflicted (feat. Joe Satriani)
No Apologies
Requiem of the Fallen
You Gave Me Wings
Echoes of Amadeus
End of My Journey
