ON THE RISE
AYR Majesty is a versatile, soulful musician who lays his heart on the table with every word he writes. This incredible creative draws from classic musicians of past generations to blend nostalgia with modern music. Most recently he has released an album titled Softly I Leave that features the iconic new single “Does She Know My Joy For You.”
Inspired by a series of classic, soulful musicians ranging from Elvis to Doris Day, Majesty builds on the sweet vulnerability that he fell in love with at such a young age. “I like the kind of people your grandma would know,” he said jokingly. “I respect how honest and vulnerable they are when they sing and I want to emulate that in my own music.
“Does She Know My Joy For You” is a truly beautiful song that does exactly that. Focused on the feeling of loving someone who has no idea of your feelings. “It’s okay to just feel joy for a person, whether or not they know about those feelings,” Majesty explained. “
You can find “Does She Know My Joy For You” on Majesty’s latest album Softly I Leave. As a whole, he describes the album as a “dedication of love and honesty to yourself.” He explained that the project is meant to show people that it does take courage to show others how you feel. “You have to put yourself out there in order to get the things you want sometimes.”
“I want this album to encourage people to know that they are not alone,” he said. “You aren’t the only one out there with feelings to share. We all have emotions and sometimes the best way to connect with each other is to lay those cards on the table.”
Softly I Leave is already an amazing album, but it is even more interesting when you know how the project came together. “I made the album in a week,” Majesty explained. “I wrote a new song every night and really just pushed myself to see what I was capable of.” He described how the project not only required him to put his full force of skill and creativity to the test, but also helped him to stray from a ‘perfectionist mindset’ and become more accepting of his flaws.
It is easy to see that Majesty is passionate about what he does and the music that he makes. With a versatile understanding of so many genres, there is sure to be something in his discography for everyone. Keep an eye out for his next project, you won’t be disappointed.
Be sure to stay tuned in to AYR Majesty on various platforms for new music, visuals and social posts.
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ON THE RISE
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LOS ANGELES — Damion Seraglio Bond and Hannah Leyla are turning up the heat with “Pina in Your Colada,” a playful tropical duet built around flirtation, humor and the kind of chorus that practically demands a room full of people sing along.
Featured as the opening track on Tropical Vacay, “Pina in Your Colada” drops listeners directly into vacation mode. Tiki lights are glowing, steel drums are playing, drinks are flowing and Hannah and Damion are trading lines back and forth like two people who have decided subtlety can wait until after the trip.
That exaggerated approach was intentional.
“I worried that if I hewed too closely to a serious sexual expression, today’s rather Me-Too sensitive folks might misinterpret the point of the song,” songwriter and creator Lloyd Eric Cotsen said. “By keeping it light-hearted and even cheesy over the top, it’s clearly aiming for fun.”
Cotsen envisioned the track as the kind of local favorite heard at a packed tropical bar, where vacationers already know every word and become part of the performance. That idea shaped the song’s crowd vocals and call-and-response structure, including Hannah’s equally confident answers to Damion’s advances.
Creating that chemistry, however, became one of the biggest challenges behind the track.
Cotsen used AI music platform Suno to develop the recording, but directing the male and female vocals proved considerably harder than expected. He ultimately worked through more than 160 versions while trying to get the exchanges right, eventually bringing elements from separate versions to a sound engineer to create the final result.
That persistence helped produce one of the song's defining elements: a performance that feels less like a conventional studio recording and more like stumbling into a beach bar where the entire crowd already knows the chorus.
“Recreating the vibe of a live performance in a bar with a crowd finishing the lines of a song they know and love was something I would have bet Suno couldn’t do,” Cotsen said. “It did it masterfully.”
That atmosphere also made “Pina in Your Colada” a natural opener for Tropical Vacay. Cotsen wanted the album to function almost like a vacation soundtrack, maintaining a tropical atmosphere while moving between comedy, romance and more reflective moments.
“It seemed like the most fun, captured the tropical spirit of the album best,” he said of choosing the song as its first track.
The project continues Cotsen’s genre-hopping approach to songwriting. His work has moved through folk-country, blues, soul, gospel and dance, while Tropical Vacay gives him room to explore Trop Rock and the stories that emerge when people temporarily leave their everyday lives behind.
For Hannah and Damion, that means a relationship that is flirtatious, competitive and occasionally more complicated than the beach-bar antics suggest. Cotsen describes the pair as having a “playfully combative romantic relationship,” with Hannah written as a confident character who can give Damion every bit as much as she gets.
And the fictional duo may eventually move beyond the digital world. Cotsen plans to host a concert with live singers performing selections from his catalog within the next year while continuing work on several additional albums.
For now, “Pina in Your Colada” offers a simpler invitation: turn it up, embrace the ridiculousness and pretend the nearest drink comes with a tiny umbrella.
“Pina in Your Colada” is available now on Spotify as part of Tropical Vacay.
