Songwriter/composer/arranger/producer Kitt Wakeley today announced the Fri., Apr. 16 release of the second single from his upcoming album, Symphony of Sinners and Saints. Following his successful previous single, “Conflicted” featuring Joe Satriani, the new orchestral rock opus is titled “Sinners and Saints” and will be available on all major DSPs including iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and more. Wakeley’s previous release, “Conflicted,” debuted on Mar. 13th at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s “Hard Rock Digital Song Sales” chart, No. 6 on the Billboard “Rock Digital Song Sales” chart, and No. 18 on Billboard’s “Hot Hard Rock Songs” chart.
With Oklahoma City-based Wakeley on keyboards, the new song also features the talents of celebrated UK ensemble the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), bassist Ryan Miller, drummer Brent Berry, guitarist Paige Harwell, and the London Voices choir (Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti, the Hunger Games series). The song was composed, arranged, and co-produced by Wakeley and co-produced, engineered, and mixed by three-time Grammy Award-winner Tre Nagella (Lady Gaga, Blake Shelton, Snoop Dogg). To view the “Sinners and Saints” promotional video, click here.
“It’s a majorly epic song with a wall of sound. A lot of pros came through the studio while we were mixing it. I saw jaws drop and almost all wanted to sit and listen to us work on it,” Wakeley said. “I’m so proud of the way it turned out and am really excited to see the public’s reaction.”
Boasting a cinematic hybrid of orchestral music, rock, and EDM, featuring stunning compositions, heavy guitar riffs, and thundering drums, the album Symphony of Sinners and Saints will be released on May 21 by Studio Seven Media. Symphony of Sinners and Saints was recorded in October 2020 at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios. At those sessions, the RPO was conducted by Cliff Masterson (Little Mix, Kylie Minogue, Il Divo, Oasis).
In addition to Wakeley on synths and piano, Joe Satriani on guitar on two tracks, and the players listed above, the album also features the talents of guitarists Andy Timmons (Danger Danger, Pink, Olivia Newton-John) and Daniel Uribe, Grammy-nominated pianist Paul Loomis, and Dallas’ Gospel of Light Choir. The album was co-produced, engineered, and mixed by Nagella at Luminous Sound Studios in Dallas, TX.
Wakeley will perform his first live show in more than a year on Sat., May 22, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. at the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre at Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall. For that performance, Wakeley has assembled a 14-piece live band featuring the album’s Berry and Miller, along with guitarist Jay Gleason, featured electric violinist Irene Fong, featured electric cellist Marta Bagratuni, a string quartet, and a five-member brass ensemble. Tickets are available now at okcciviccenter.com.
