Michael Oakley

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

Early life Oakley was born in Glasgow but moved to Los Angeles in 2016, before settling in Canada in 2018. 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.

Career Having worked in Glasgow's cover band scene for some years, Oakley penned what would become his debut EP, California, in 2016.

In 2017, Oakley released California to critical acclaim from The Huffington Post and popular YouTube channel and record label NewRetroWave.

In 2019, the artist released his debut full-length album, Introspect, which was listed in NewRetroWave's Top 10 albums list of 2019.

In 2020, Oakley issued the track "Wake Up!", featuring Ollie Wride, as part of the soundtrack to the game Wave Break: High Tides, through Funktronic Labs. 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.

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.

Oakley released his second studio album, Odyssey, on 14 May 2021, through NewRetroWave Records. 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".

His third album, Prologue, was released in May 2026, and preceded by the single "World of Promises".

Oakley has designed sound packs for the Reason software

Life-saving incident In 2012, while returning from a performance at a wedding function near Glasgow, Oakley rescued two men from a burning car.

Discography Studio albums Title Details California (The Remixes) Released: 18 March 2018 Label: Independent Formats: digital download Introspect Released: 8 March 2019 Label: NewRetroWave Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, vinyl (LP) Introspect (The Instrumentals) Released: 29 March 2019 Label: NewRetroWave Formats: Digital download Odyssey Released: 14 May 2021 Label: NewRetroWave Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, MiniDisc, vinyl (LP) Introspect (The Remixes) Released: 18 March 2022 Label: Independent Formats: Digital download Prologue Released: 29 May 2026 Label: NewRetroWave Formats: Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, vinyl (LP)

EPs Title Details California Released: 6 October 2017 Label: Timeslave Recordings Formats: CD, Digital download, vinyl (LP) Four Released: 18 October 2024 Label: Independent Format: Digital download

Singles As lead artist Title Album "Rabbit in the Headlights" 2016 California "Turn Back Time" "Control" 2018 Introspect "Now I'm Alive" 2019 "Wake Up!" 2020 Wave Break: High Tides (Game Soundtrack) "Is There Anybody Out There" 2021 Odyssey "Glasgow Song" "World of Promises" 2026 Prologue "Falling Skyward"

As featured artist Title Year Album "We Are the Dreamers" 2022 We Are the Dreamers

Remixes