When fledgling singer DonnaMaria had a chance meeting with veteran musician Boris Gardiner last year, she approached him, hoping he would listen to sketches of songs she planned to record. Gardiner liked what he heard and ended up recording Paradise With You, her duet with fellow singer Ray.
Written by Ray, the song was released in late 2018 and marked his debut as an artist. It was DonnaMaria’s third outing, having cut two songs in 2016.
The duo, who are cousins from east Kingston in Jamaica, are preparing to release Light The Way, the follow-up to Paradise With You. It is also produced by Gardiner.
DonnaMaria, who lives in New York, met Gardiner while vacationing in Ocho Rios. He was performing at the hotel where she was staying and struck up a conversation with him.
Three months later, she and Ray were at his home studio in Kingston cutting Paradise With You.
“It was so surreal, I grew up listening to his music and here I was working with him. It was an absolute pleasure,” said DonnaMaria.
Ray, who lives in Virginia, had similar sentiments. He loved singing as a youth but those hopes were put on hold after he moved to the US, began working and raised a family.
“This is something I always wanted to do. To me, that in itself is quite an accomplishment,” he said.
Paradise With You was actually written for DonnaMaria who is a teacher by profession. It morphed into a duet when she met Ray at Gardiner’s studio.
Gardiner, known for hit songs like I Wanna Wake up With You and Don’t Take Away, was so impressed with their writing and singing that he produced a second song and agreed to direct DonnaMaria and Ray on an EP, tentatively scheduled for release in early 2020.
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