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Michael Oakley
Michael Oakley wearing a white print t-shirt, light-coloured pants, and dark sunglasses, standing onstage with a keyboard around his neck, speaking or singing into a microphone, with one arm held out towards the audience
Oakley performing in 2019
Background information
Birth nameMichael James Oakley
Born (1982-01-03) 3 January 1982 (age 42)
Glasgow, Scotland
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • music producer
Years active2016–present
Labels
Websitemichael-oakley.com

Michael James Oakley (born 3 January 1982) is a Scottish synthwave producer and musician.[1]

Early life

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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

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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

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In 2012, while returning from a performance at a wedding function near Glasgow, Oakley rescued two men from a burning car.[4]

Discography

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Albums

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  • California (2017)
  • Introspect (2019)
  • Odyssey (2021)

EPs

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  • Four (2022)

Singles

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  • "Turn Back Time" (2016)
  • "Rabbit in the Headlights" (2016)
  • "Afterglow" – Scandroid (Michael Oakley Remix) (2018)
  • "Control" (2018)
  • "Now I'm Alive" (feat. Dana Jean Phoenix) (2019)
  • "Euphoria" – Scandroid (Michael Oakley Remix) (2019)
  • "Queen of Hearts" (2020)
  • "Wake Up!" - feat. Ollie Wride (Wave Break: High Tide Soundtrack) (2020)
  • "Is There Anybody Out There" (2021)
  • "Glasgow Song" (feat. Dana Jean Phoenix) (2021)
  • "We Are the Dreamers" (feat. Elevate the Sky) (2022)

References

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  1. ^ "Artist Feature: Michael Oakley". Reasonstudios.com. 22 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b Gillian Loney (4 May 2018). "Glasgow musician Michael Oakley is back in his hometown and back to the future for retro 80s party gig". Glasgowlive.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Michael Oakley Interview". Electricityclub.co.uk. 30 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Wedding singer saves pair after crash". Greenock Telegraph. 7 February 2012.
  5. ^ a b Lesley Daunt (9 January 2017). "Acclaimed Scottish new wave artist Michael Oakley premieres new video". Huffpost.com.
  6. ^ "Top Ten Retrowave EP's of 2017". NewRetroWave.com. 28 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Top 10 Retrowave Albums of 2019". NewRetroWave.com. 3 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Wave Break soundtrack EP out now". NewRetroWave.com. 24 June 2020.
  9. ^ Cameron Bald (1 May 2020). "Retro Drive is a neon-soaked arcade racer with a killer synthwave soundtrack". Pocketgamer.com.
  10. ^ "Michael Oakley – Is There Anybody Out There". NewRetroWave.com. 22 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Vintage Synth Trumps With MICHAEL OAKLEY". Electricityclub.co.uk. 7 May 2021.
  12. ^ "SCOTTISH SYNTHPOP STAR MICHAEL OAKLEY DROPS ALBUM 'ODYSSEY', VIDEO FOR PATRIOTIC ANTHEM 'GLASGOW SONG'". Culturefix.co.uk. 14 May 2021.
  13. ^ Callum Crumlish (19 June 2021). "Michael Oakley on Odyssey and how leaving his country inspired a more 'reflective' album". Express.co.uk.
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