A Kingston-based, AI-assisted band has released its first album.

MaryAianne & Me is an emerging independent AI-assisted music artist project created through the collaboration of songwriter Maryanne and music manager and co-songwriter John Hewlett, released through the independent label ITZAFUNI.

The project combines original songwriting, contemporary AI-assisted production and a wide-ranging musical style, moving between pop, country, rock, ballads and more experimental sounds.

Since beginning its release campaign in 2025, MaryAianne & Me has built a growing international audience, with music available across major streaming platforms.

The project has received radio exposure internationally, including airplay on UbuntuFM Jazz Radio, America, South Africa, Canada, UK, Australia, etc., while several releases have achieved No.1 positions on CHBN Radio's The Playlist chart in the UK.

The band's songs 'Checkmate', 'I'll Find The Light' and 'Ocean Motion' have all been highlighted as No. 1 charting releases on CHBN.

Maryanne is originally from Newport, Wales, but moved to Kingston to attend university in 2019 and achieved her degree in Creative Writing.

She suffered a mental breakdown due to earlier abuse and became involved with the local Kingston charity, Save The World Club (STWC), which supported her during a crisis period.

There she met John Hewlett, who encouraged her to use her lyrical gifts to write songs and to form a band.

She began to work on a project called Mad Mary and The Psychiatric Ward, writing with local guitarist Justin Mitchell.

Her mental issues were making progress difficult, so Maryanne took a break to Wittering early in 2025, and whilst there she discovered SUNO AI and began to use the app to produce tracks around her original lyrics and melodies.

John then began working with her, and that's when the project MaryAianne & Me started, initially visualising a virtual performer named MaryAianne, with the Me being Maryanne and her material/songs.

The band released its first album Blue Skies on 14 September (John's birthday), but delays have meant it will now be widely available from 14 October.

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After completing several tracks, John contacted Tim Debney, a composer, recording and mastering engineer, who agreed to come on board to work alongside them, advising and mastering their completed tracks.

In October 2025, John and Maryanne committed to writing one song per week for a year to create a catalogue from which they could then develop a live band to perform a selection of the songs whilst keeping in mind their original idea of a virtual artist.

As work progressed and being pleased with the tracks, John, Maryanne and Tim decided to release an album titled Blue Skies both digitally (available on all platforms) and as a limited edition CD by MaryAianne & Me.

The band is still developing, and a second album,titled Night & Day, is well underway. Ahead is envisaged a live performance with Maryanne fronting a live band and the hope of a separate virtual performance by artist MaryAianne.

Speaking about Blue Skies, Maryanne and John told Nub News: "We are excited to be making available 12 tracks representing our work together over this past year.

"We feel we have created a distinctive sound reflecting our mutual love of music but not paying homage to any particular genre."

The band's first album consists of 12 songs, including 'Heart of Stone', which is based on Maryanne'sexperience of a previous relationship, 'Highway', which is based on Maryanne's sister, and 'Yesterday', which is based on social media use when unable to sleep.

'Blue Skies' is about friends being together over this lovely summer (2026) and is an ode to mother figures, whereas 'Wanna go to America' is inspired by the pair sitting on the rocks looking out over the Atlantic Ocean from Newquay in Cornwall.

'Rollercoasting' was inspired by the highs and lows in Maryanne's life, 'Stardom' is based on Maryanne's experience on stage at various theatrical productions, and 'Ocean Motion' is a fun summer song inspired when at the Wittering beach.

Additionally, 'Perfect Valentine' is about a woman leading a man on, then realising she missed out when he's gone, while 'First Love' is about one-sided love or infatuation, and 'Happier Now' is about ending a painful relationship.

And finally, the 12th song on the album, 'Someone Truly Loves Me ', took inspiration from a peaceful break-up conversation.

More information about MaryAianne & me can be found via its website here.

Blue Skies can be listened to on YouTube here.

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