Over the past years, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with songwriter and producer Terry Britten, recording and co-writing together on different projects, the most recent being the Gracie project.

In 2026 Terry experimented with a fresh creative direction, blending traditional songwriting and recording with AI technology. He created new versions some of of our songs, and added a new vocal identity based on his own voice; and from this process the AI artist Gracie emerged, with her debut album, My Name Is Gracie.

“How was AI used? All the music, lyrics and instrumentation were created in a traditional way by real people and actual instruments played. The voice of Gracie re sang the written phrases following them closely, just like a synthesiser would replay a piano line if you like.”  Terry Britten

It felt important that Gracie’s visual identity should reflect her voice and come from something authentic. To create that first image, I used one of my own photographs as the starting point—not only to root Gracie in something human, but also to avoid potential AI copyright concerns.  

After many to and from prompts Gracie’s final image emerged. While she bore no resemblance to the original photograph, she retained the human connection that had inspired her visual creation.

Calling her Gracie after the affectionate nickname of my beloved ’57 Gibson high top felt entirely fitting as they share the same warm, sweet tone and emotional resonance.

Britten/Hammond-Lyricist