The Velvet Sundown An 'Art Hoax' Created With AI Software, Spokesperson Confirms
"It's marketing; it's trolling," pseudonymous “adjunct” Velvet Sundown member Andrew Frelon admitted in a new interview.
The Velvet Sundown (Source: Spotify)
If you thought the attention on psych rock collective The Velvet Sundown would die down quickly, it’s time to be proven wrong.
Over the last week, the group have come under fire for allegedly releasing music, photos and artwork with AI—a claim backed by the Deezer disclaimer beside their latest album, Dust On Silence, which reads: “Some tracks on this album may have been created using artificial intelligence.”
Despite only existing online, including on streaming platforms, for a few weeks, The Velvet Sundown have amassed over 750,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone, and their most popular song, Dust On The Wind, has over 675,000 streams on Spotify after appearing on playlists with “tons of followers.”
On social media, The Velvet Sundown have now apparently addressed the AI allegations, captioning a new post, “They said we’re not real. Maybe you aren’t either.” However, it has now been confirmed that the group is, in fact, an “art hoax,” according to a spokesperson speaking to Rolling Stone.
Pseudonymous “adjunct” Velvet Sundown member Andrew Frelon told the publication that the band’s music was created with the AI music generator, Suno, which is notable as it’s the same platform Timbaland used to make (and sign) the AI artist, TaTa.
“It’s marketing,” Frelon admitted to Rolling Stone. “It’s trolling. People before, they didn’t care about what we did, and now suddenly, we’re talking to Rolling Stone, so it’s like, ‘Is that wrong?’”
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
After adding that AI was initially used to brainstorm ideas around the project, Frelon shared that some songs were generated with Suno (“I don’t want to say which ones,” he said.)
Frelon continued, “Personally, I’m interested in art hoaxes. The Leeds 13, a group of art students in the UK, made, like, fake photos of themselves spending scholarship money at a beach or something like that, and it became a huge scandal.
“We live in a world now where things that are fake have sometimes even more impact than things that are real. And that’s messed up, but that’s the reality that we face now. So, it’s like, ‘Should we ignore that reality? Should we ignore these things that kind of exist on a continuum of real versus fake, or kind of a blend between the two? Or should we dive into it and just let it be the emerging native language of the internet?’”
The group reportedly comprises vocalist Gabe Farrow, guitarist Lennie West, keyboardist Milo Rains, and drummer Orion “Rio” Del Mar.
Their music has been described as a blend of “’70s psychedelic alt-rock and folk rock” with flourishes of “modern alt-pop and indie structures.”
The Velvet Sundown’s next album, Paper Sun Rebellion, is set for release later this month.
More From Our Network
