Kitt Wakeley: A Teen Rocker to Breakout Composer

In this competitive music industry full of great music artists, Kitt Wakeley plays a major role in its success as a composer whose talents produce energetic vibes and absorb the audience at the moment.

Kitt Wakeley marked the beginning of his journey at age 16, when his first song received airplay on major market radio in his home state of Oklahoma. After which, he continued rising as a music star to become what he is today, a renowned musician with exceptional composing and performance skills. He is a pianist, composer, songwriter, and producer who is taking the world by storm with his pop music and orchestral rock.

His journey escalated when he started to incorporate a melding of various genres into one. His first solo album “Cinematic Chaos” was released under a pseudo-name “AudioKaoz” which preyed on the senses of those who enjoyed EDM and rock music. The credibility of the project led to his first opportunity to be on the Grammy ballot, along with the status as a voting member of that National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Better known as the Grammy’s.

As he wanted to work with large, live ensembles, Kitt diverted his focus to include full orchestras and choirs to add a bigger sound with more depth, color and credibility This led to a second album, which he elected to use his real name, The album was titled “Midnight In Macedonia”. where 5 different Grammy winners participated in the project, making his album a huge success. This resulted in a second opportunity to be included on the first ballot for the Grammys and numerous awards. The Indie Music Awards recognized his project, which garnered Kitt the Best Instrumental Album, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Producer of the Year. In fact, he would go on to win two ISSA’s awards for Album of the Year and Best Producer, This fusion of rock, piano, EDM, and orchestra has been embraced by his fans and thus far has received millions of streams on various DSPs such as iTunes and Spotify..

The Oklahoma composer released his latest album, “Symphony of Sinners and Saints” in May 2021, which has been touted as a masterpiece by critics in rock, hard rock, orchestra and other disciplines. This is another project which blends EDM, rock, orchestra, and melodic guitar riffs, which has already exceeded the sales of the previous album, “Midnight in Macedonia”.

Kitt didn’t hold back on the production of the album. Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, he included the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and London voices, who are known for the biggest blockbuster film scores of all time.

Not stopping with an iconic foundation for an album, he included legendary Joe Satriani on guitars, along with the great Andy Timmons and drummer, Kenny Aronoff. Kenny being known for playing drums on projects which equates to over 300 million albums sold. While Joe Satriani has become the all time best selling guitarist in history.

The album also includes conductor Cliff Masterson ( Little Mix, Kylie Minogue Il Divo, Oasis), Ryan Miller on bass guitar, additional drums by Brent Berry, ancillary guitars by Neal Taylor (Tears for Fears and Tina Turner) and additional guitar tracks by Paige Harwell and Daniel Uribe (Mana, Nicky Jam & Camilio). Rounding out the all-star production was Tre Nagella, a three time Grammy winning producer and mixing engineer.

The new album’s first single “Conflicted” debuted at number one on the Billboard Hard Rock Charts, as well as No. 6 on Billboard’s Rock Sales charts. The success continued as the next two singles, “Forgive Me” and “Sinners and Saints” hit number one on the Billboard Hard Rock charts. This served as momentum for the album Symphony of Sinners and Saints to hit number one on the Billboard Classical Charts and Classical Crossover Charts. In all, the album hit 11 different Billboard charts during its first week’s release.

Packing venues was becoming a trend and momentum was building to a Carnegie Hall debut in March 2020, but unfortunately COVID ended the opportunities and performances came to a devastating hault. However, shows have resumed in May 2021 as he performed in front of a sold out audience at the Oklahoma City Civic Center and his next appearance at the famed Carnegie Hall will be on October 11th, 2021.

Throughout his career, Kitt Wakeley has received several awards for his music. In 2019, the Grammy Museum held the Indie Music Awards where he won in 8 categories including, Best New Male Artist of the Year, Best Special Live Performance, Best Instrumental Producer, Artists of The Year, Best Instrumental Songwriter, and others. The awards momentum continued as he won Song of the Year at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards and two JMA (The Josies) awards in 2020 for Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the year. His award receiving list is quite long, indicating acceptance by the fans and peers, but more recently, he was inducted to the Indie Music Hall of Fame in September 2021, along with Album of The Year for Symphony of Sinners and Saints.

The journey of Wakeley is a source of inspiration for his fans. His persistent efforts in his work, his devotion towards music, an urge to create better music in the future has taken him so far, and undoubtedly he has a long way ahead. He exudes what it is to be a true artist. You can stream his songs on Youtube, and also follow him on other social media apps, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to remain updated about his new tracks.