Spotify’s Velvet Sundown sparks controversy as AI-generated claim unravels
The mysterious band Velvet Sundown is facing backlash after reports suggested the group is AI-generated. The stir started when TechRadar exposed inconsistencies around the band’s sudden rise and weird absence from live scenes.
A supposed PR rep took to X.com to deny all AI allegations with a fierce rant. They slammed journalists for “lazy, baseless theory” and insisted the band’s music was “real” and “human.” 
Velvet Sundown stated on Twitter:
This is not a joke.
This is our music, written in long, sweaty nights in a cramped bungalow in California with real instruments, real minds, and real soul.
Every chord, every lyric, every mistake — HUMAN.
2/
The spokesperson also said:
Just because we don’t do TikTok dances or livestream our process doesn’t mean we’re fake. The fact that some blog editors would rather pretend we’re a bunch of machines than admit an unknown band is out here grinding & made something people enjoy is insulting.
And added:
We’ve had to lock down our personal accounts due to harassment all because some writer wanted clicks & couldn’t imagine people like us existing outside their sanitized indie media echo chamber.
Shame on every outlet amplifying this narrative. We are REAL! Think next time before you erase real people.
Despite the defense, fans noted odd details like guitarists missing fingers in photos. The PR rep later claimed impersonator accounts spread fake statements and AI imagery.
Then Rolling Stone revealed the spokesman, Andrew Frelon, admitted the music was created using AI tool Suno — only for it to emerge he himself was a hoax. Velvet Sundown’s Spotify bio now reads:
“The Velvet Sundown is a synthetic music project guided by human creative direction, and composed, voiced, and visualized with the support of artificial intelligence.”
The saga appears less a clever hoax and more a messy attempt that backfired, turning fans further against AI music.
Sources: TechRadar, BBC, Rolling Stone
