Kitt Wakeley's SYMPHONY OF SINNERS AND SAINTS Hits #1 on Billboard's Classical and Classical Crossover Charts

Multi-award-winning producer/composer Kitt Wakeley celebrates his latest album, "Symphony of Sinners and Saints," hitting #1 on Billboard's "Classical" and "Classical Crossover" charts. The album, which was released on May 21, features three singles that also hit #1 on Billboard, on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales charts. "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. For more information on Kitt Wakeley, see: www.kittwakeley.com.

In addition to the chart-topping album positions, "Symphony of Sinners and Saints" debuted on six more Billboard charts on release week, including #2 on "Heatseekers," #12 on "Hard Rock Albums," #13 on "Top Current Album Sales," #14 on "Top Album Sales," #47 on "Independent Albums," and #50 on "Top Rock Albums."

"I'm so blessed with the success of this album," said Kitt Wakeley. "There was a lot of hard work and attention to detail put into this project, along with some amazing talent to make it come alive. The results are more than I could hope for."

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.

"Playing guitar on Kitt's new album has been a fun, exhilarating experience, and a musical challenge too," said Joe Satriani. "Kitt's huge, cinematic sound makes each one of his songs a powerful sonic journey. I'm so happy I was able to contribute to this stellar album."

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. This spring, Wakeley has been 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.

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:

1. Wicked Ways
2. Sinners and Saints
3. Forgive Me (feat. Joe Satriani)
4. Hello Again
5. Conflicted (feat. Joe Satriani)
6. No Apologies
7. Requiem of the Fallen
8. You Gave Me Wings
9. Echoes of Amadeus
10. End of My Journey

For more information on Kitt Wakeley, see here.

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