How Richard Gradner Turned 30-Year-Old Lyrics into AI Songs

Circa 1994, I started writing poetry that soon morphed into song lyrics, most of them centred around love. I was 23 years old, which meant I was at that dangerous stage of life where I believed true love was just around the corner and that I was probably only one great song away from fame.

My mate Greg and I used to meet at my bachelor flat in Sea Point before heading out on the jol. The ritual was fairly sophisticated: a couple of drinks, some weed, and the latest Paul Oakenfold CD on full blast. Somewhere between youthful delusion and chemical inspiration, I pulled out my poetry one night and we started singing together.

THE DREAM

Naturally, in our highly qualified state, we decided we were not just two oke’s having a laugh, but clearly the early beginnings of an international music sensation. We dreamed of forming a band, recording the songs, and becoming wildly famous. For a few months, we gave it a proper go. Then, as with many great artistic movements fuelled by enthusiasm and questionable decision-making, it slowly fizzled out.

I kept writing though, and eventually ended up with 12 songs, which were carefully filed away in a cupboard for safekeeping – otherwise known as being almost completely forgotten for the next 30 years.

A FEW DECADES LATER…

Fast forward more than three decades, and I stumbled across a guy on Instagram using AI to remix famous singers into different genres. I was equal parts fascinated, amazed, and slightly offended that a machine seemed to have more production talent than we did back in 1994. Still, it sparked an idea: what if I took my old lyrics and fed them into AI?

So I started experimenting with a few AI music apps and eventually found one I liked on my iPhone. I plugged in the lyrics and… boom. Instant goosebumps. Also a mild existential crisis. Suddenly, songs that had been gathering emotional and literal dust in a cupboard came roaring into life.

I was completely blown away. What Greg and I once dreamed about in a hazy Sea Point flat all those years ago had somehow become reality – minus the band, the recording studio, and probably several bad fashion choices. AI had taken the thoughts, feelings, and romantic longings of my 23-year-old self and transformed them into something I could actually listen to without cringing too much.

THE MAGIC

And that, to me, is the real magic of it. These lyrics are a snapshot of who I was in my twenties – hopeful, dramatic, slightly lovestruck, and clearly very available – but now they’ve been reimagined through a whole new kind of artistry in the present day.

“RICKY LEWIS”

So rather than let the moment pass, I decided to keep the momentum going. I’ve now released the songs on Spotify and Apple Music under “Ricky Lewis” the pseudonym I created in my 20s (Lewis is my second name), and created promo videos for each one featuring the chorus.

Proof, perhaps, that it’s never too late to dust off an old dream, give it to AI, and finally become the rock star you were absolutely certain you’d be after three drinks and half a joint.

Watch the song chorus video for my first release, Reach Out HERE. And then go find the full version on my artist page on Spotify or Apple Music where I’d appreciate a follow or like: