Hands In The Ayres

Welcome back to Finetuned! Find that lounge, partake of a yummy bev (or 🚬 ), and enjoy the vibes. This week is all about Mac Ayres! This is a moment for us all to relax a bit and have a breath.

Who Is Mac Ayres

Mac Ayres is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist known for his soulful blend of R&B, jazz fusion, funk, and lo-fi elements all into one cohesive song or record. Born on December 6, 1996, in Sea Cliff, New York, Ayres started making music at a young age having been influenced by artists like D’Angelo, Stevie Wonder, and J Dilla. ​(INCREDIBLE line-up here)

He gained most of his attention with his debut EP, Drive Slow, in 2017, featuring the standout single “Easy.” This was actually the record that I first found him and was absolutely blown away. Following the EP’s release was his first full-length album, Something to Feel, in 2018, and subsequent releases like Juicebox (2019), Magic 8Ball (2021), and Comfortable Enough (2023). In 2024, Ayres released Cloudy, a compilation of tracks from his early SoundCloud days. ​(SPOILER: This is going to be our rec today)

Ayres' music is characterized by smooth vocals, introspective lyrics, and a fusion of genres that create a distinctive sound. His work resonates with fans of contemporary R&B and soul, offering a modern take on classic influences.

What To Expect Sonically

Imagine (genuinely) if D’Angelo, Stevie Wonder, and J Dilla linked up in a Brooklyn loft and started jamming late into the eve… that’s the orbit Mac Ayres floats in. His music truly moves like a gentle breeze on a spring day. It's for the after-party when the lights dim low, for slow drives through city streets, for dancing alone in your kitchen. His music captures an endless array of vibes and there is a song for every moment, every emotion.

Mac’s sound is effortlessly warm, the kind of R&B that wraps around you rather than pushing at you. Expect buttery vocals, unhurried grooves, and jazz-informed chord progressions that know how to flirt with nostalgia without leaning too heavily on it.

Sonic Breakdown

• Vocals: Silky, intimate, often double-tracked for texture. He doesn’t belt, much.

• Keys: Rhodes piano is the heartbeat. Lush, jazzy, always tasteful.

• Drums: Think J Dilla swing — behind the beat, pocket so deep it’s practically a vault.

• Basslines: Clean, melodic, and present. They carry feeling more than flash.

• Production: Lo-fi edges with hi-fi warmth. You can tell it’s recorded in bedrooms.

For Cloudy Days

Cloudy is Mac Ayres' love letter to his roots - a curated collection of tracks that originated on SoundCloud during the early, formative years of his career. Unlike the polished sheen of his previous few studio albums, Cloudy leans into a more homespun, DIY charm. The production is warm but unvarnished (soft, not rigid), with lo-fi textures, imperfect takes, and a deeply personal atmosphere that feels like flipping through an old sketchbook. It’s a record made for headphones, late nights, and fans who want to hear the scaffolding of an artist before the spotlight hit.

Sonically, Cloudy still carries the signature Mac Ayres touch: lush chords, fluttery falsetto, laid-back grooves, and that unmistakable sense of groove-first soul. But here, there’s this looseness to it, a willingness to let the songs breathe and be slightly unrefined.

Thanks for reading here, Finetuners! I do hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned. I’d appreciate any insights, admiration, or otherwise. You can reply to the newsletter directly or DM me on Twitter. (or email me here: [email protected])

Please do share Finetuned with your friends & fam & whoever else! I believe great music should be shared, cherished, and understood from all sorts of perspectives.

See you all in the next one! 🙌