Michael Oakley
Scottish musician and producer (born 1982)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael James Oakley (born 3 January 1982) is a Scottish synthwave producer and musician.[1]
3 January 1982
- Musician
- music producer
Michael Oakley | |
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Oakley performing in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Michael James Oakley 3 January 1982 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | michael-oakley |
Early life
Oakley was born in Glasgow but moved to Los Angeles in 2016, before settling in Canada in 2018.[2] He attended Williamwood High School in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire. He is a self-taught musician, having taken piano lessons for a short period in his youth.[3]
Career
Having worked in Glasgow's cover band scene for some years,[4] Oakley penned what would become his debut album, California, in 2016.[2] Lesley Daunt of The Huffington Post wrote in 2017 of the lead single "Turn Back Time", "Oakley's captivating beats and celestial synthesizers have given a fresh approach and revival to classic pop".[5]
In 2017, Oakley released California to critical acclaim from The Huffington Post and popular YouTube channel and record label NewRetroWave.[5][6]
In 2019, the artist released his sophomore album, Introspect, which was listed in NewRetroWave's Top 10 albums list of 2019.[7]
In 2020, Oakley issued the track "Wake Up!", featuring Ollie Wride, as part of the soundtrack to the game Wave Break: High Tide, through Funktronic Labs.[8] In the same year, he contributed an instrumental remix of his 2016 single "Rabbit in the Headlights" to the soundtrack of the mobile game Retro Drive.[9]
On 16 April 2021, Oakley announced the release of a new single, "Is There Anybody Out There", co-written by fellow labelmate Ollie Wride and produced by Jon Campbell of The Time Frequency.[10]
Oakley released his third studio album, Odyssey, on 14 May 2021, through NewRetroWave Records.[11][12] Callum Crumlish of Daily Express wrote, "The glowing eight-track record oozes style and electronica while managing to steer clear of the cliched building blocks of the genre".[13]
Life-saving incident
In 2012, while returning from a performance at a wedding function near Glasgow, Oakley rescued two men from a burning car.[4]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| California (The Remixes) |
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| Introspect |
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| Introspect (The Instrumentals) |
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| Odyssey |
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| Introspect (The Remixes) |
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EPs
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| California |
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| Four |
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Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Turn Back Time" | 2016 | California |
| "Rabbit in the Headlights" | ||
| "Control" | 2018 | Introspect |
| "Now I'm Alive" (featuring Dana Jean Phoenix) |
2019 | |
| "Is There Anybody Out There" (Jon Campbell Radio Edit) |
2021 | Odyssey |
| "Glasgow Song" (featuring Dana Jean Phoenix) | ||
| "We Are the Dreamers" (featuring Elevate the Sky) |
2022 | We Are the Dreamers |
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Wake up!" (Ollie Wride featuring Michael Oakley) |
2020 | Wake Up! |
Remixes
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Scandroid | "Afterglow" |
| 2019 | Missing Words | "Break These Chains" |
| Scandroid | "Euphoria" |