Recreation

Oakley Grenell

Expat musician/producer Oakley Grenell is a member of the talented Grenell family, with a successful career in some well-known Canterbury bands.

While he was still at school, his band Bunyip placed third in the regional finals of Rockquest. He later graduated with a scholarship from the Christchurch School of Jazz. Since then he has performed, written and recorded music of many different types with a variety of lineups including Departure Lounge and Otautahi Allstars, and The Eskimo squad. His music tends to be roots and jazz influenced, but he writes and performs in a wide variety of styles. He has performed all over the world opening for bands such at Ben Harper, Che Fu, Salmonella Dub and the Nomad.

Since 2000 he has performed solo as O.G. He created his own record label Central Records in the same year, and co-organised of the I-Nation festival held at Whitecliffs. He has also worked in Australia creating music at schools, but has more recently based himself in the U.K.

Following his Jaded EP (2002) he released O.G.’s debut album Uncharted, then Moving on in 2008 (which Rolling Stone Australia gave 4 out of 5 stars). He also produced his sister’s award winning album Three Feathers.

The year 2012 marked the 10 year anniversary of Central Records and Grenell put together a digital compilation of his finest selections spanning the years 2002 — 2012 Oakley Grenell — Finest Selections: The First 10 Years. The album features collaborations with many of New Zealand’s leading artists. In 2012 he also represented us in the New Zealand Showcase at the Australian Worldwide Music Expo.

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