ON THE RISE
GRAMMY-nominated international band, The Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson, delivers a catalog of chart-topping hit songs with a fresh twist captivating audiences around the world. The difference between Al Anderson’s incarnation of The Original Wailers and other bands that have the similar name is that he has recorded and toured with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and also performed with Bunny Wailer. The group has toured worldwide, carrying the torch of the iconic trio: Bob, Peter, Bunny. In 2023 Al celebrated his 50th Anniversary playing The Wailers Music.
Unlike similar named imitators, The Original Wailers is comprised of talented members from around the world that represent Al Anderson of the original Bob Marley and The Wailers group.
“There are so many bands that copy Bob Marley and The Wailers,” explains Anderson. “I had the opportunity to live and perform with the iconic three original Wailers. I spent a lot of time making music with them and really cherished the thought and moments I had with them. We [The Original Wailers] don’t imitate. We improvise the legendary catalog and perform our own written compositions.”
“Music is art. You need to create your own music as an artist,” shares Anderson.
It was 1973 when Al Anderson was recommended as a substitute for Paul Kossoff to record Bob Marley’s first solo album, Natty Dread. Al got lucky when Paul gave him the opportunity to record and meet Bob Marley. This is how Al found himself performing as the lead guitarist of Bob Marley and The Wailers from December 1973 until 1976 and again from 1978 to 1981.
Al Anderson is no stranger to Multi-GRAMMY Awarded artists. Al played on Carlos Santana’s “Supernatural” and Lauryn Hill’s “Miseducation”. Anderson has taken the stage alongside industry greats for decades. Joining Bob Marley and The Wailers was the beginning of an era for Al Anderson, as well as the beginning of a lifelong journey. During this time, he went on to write some of the most memorable guitar solos in the history of reggae. Alongside Wayne Perkins, Anderson became one of the first guitarists to bring blues-rock guitar to Jamaican music—and, eventually, to the international world of reggae.
The Original Wailers is comprised of Chet Samuel from Puerto Rico on vocals and rhythm guitar, Ras Klapms from Jamaica on organ, Omar Lopez from Mexico on bass guitar, and Paapa Nyarkoh from Ghana (Africa) on drums. Each musician brings a unique set of influences and musical talents, that can be recognised.
“I would like to say I have the United Nations of Sound with me,” Al said.
In 2012, the band’s debut EP, Miracle, was nominated for “Best Reggae Album” at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards. In 2019 The Original Wailers took the stage as a headliner in Morocco to 100,000 listeners.
For eight weeks, Sugarshack Sessions will feature a compilation of eight songs, performed in an unplugged set, including songs from the early days and two original compositions written by Al Anderson and Chet Samuel “Song of the Divine” and “Empress Omega.” Two songs “Redemption Song” and “Three Little Birds” (the compilation of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”, Peter Tosh’s “Legalize It” and Bunny Wailer’s “Rootsman Skanking”) are already available on Sugarshak Music Channel (YouTube). “Song of the Divine” will be released on Lovers Valentine’s Day February 14, “Empress Omega”, - February 28. Enjoy online!
The Original Wailers are excited to share their new album, Mirror of Heaven with their fans, that’s coming soon. The Sugarshack Sessions features two tracks off the upcoming EP.
“Our goal is to get back to the people who embrace our years and our musical journey”, said Al.
Stay connected to Al Anderson and The Original Wailers on all platforms for new music, videos, 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.
