ON THE RISE
Thought-provoking, alternative/pop singer songwriter, ECHASL delivers an impactful story through her latest single, “I Know U Know.”
ECHASL—an acronym for “Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining”—turns to her diverse background to create a sound uniquely her own. Born and raised in China, she was later educated in the United States. Blending Eastern and Western cultures, ECHASL digs deep for her music, often uncovering topics and emotions with raw, authentic strength. Her music often evokes the frustration and anger provoked by how women are unfairly treated in society, from gender inequality to sexual abuse to daily injustices.
Growing up, ECHASL played the oboe and piano; more recently, she also took up playing the drums. Empowered with the mastery of these instruments, ECHASL is able to approach her songwriting from a technical standpoint that often evades artists who focus solely on vocal art.
“Singing came naturally to me,” shares the artist. “I would hum while playing the piano, thinking about a specific melody I wanted to sing, and it just popped out. Now, I start songs with the piano and then use DAW to help shape the song.”
Fresh, unique, and powerful, “I Know U Know” is a protest song. “It’s against all kinds of discrimination—racism, sexism, etc.—but it’s actually based off a real historical story about a girl called Moi Afong,” explains ECHASL. “She was the first Chinese person to land in the U.S. on record. She was tricked and sold to a circus where people would pay 10 cents for a ticket to see her. She was like the other animals sitting there, just being herself. No freedom—and no one knows what happened to her in the end.”
Inspired by the chilling tale of Moi Afong, ECHASL gave her a voice generations later through her single, “I Know U Know.” While the title implies that we should all know we’re equal on a basic level, the song tells the lesser-known story of the hardships faced by those who weren’t given the respect they deserved.
To write the song, ECHASL first focused on the melody. “My producer was with me at the time, and he was like, ‘I want this’ when he heard the melody and verse.” Powered by collaboration, the song was quickly finished.
“I Know U Know” is one of the eleven tracks on ECHASL’s first album that she worked on with her producer. Compared to the other tracks (all electronic base), this single leans toward world music and relies on the intricate use of three instruments: the double bass, drum, and a traditional Chinese string instrument.
“This song is the trigger that makes me feel this is what I want to do,” shares ECHASL, after connecting with the musical style of her latest single. “As I’m planning my second album, it’ll be closer to this style.”
Listeners can look forward to ECHASL releasing more Chinese songs this year as she works toward her next English album. “Writing music is more like confessing,” she adds unapologetically. “My music is a confession as a human being. We’ve been creating all these harms to each other and to nature. My songs are a bit like protest songs. I don’t write love songs. They’re not happy—they’re pretty heavy. This is what I think is most important. A lot of people may not feel comfortable listening to this type of music, but it’s me.”
Make sure to stay connected to ECHASL on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
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.
