Image: Courtesy of Velvet Sundown

After repeatedly denying any AI involvement on their X account, a spokesperson who identifies as Andrew Frelon has now revealed the truth to Rolling Stone, describing their project as “marketing” and “trolling.”

“Personally, I’m interested in art hoaxes,” Frelon told the publication. “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.”

🚨 Absolutely crazy that so-called “journalists” keep pushing the lazy, baseless theory that The Velvet Sundown is “AI-generated” with zero evidence.

Not a single one of these “writers” has reached out, visited a show, or listened beyond the Spotify algorithm.

1/

— The Velvet Sundown (Band) – Official 🎸🎶🎧 (@Velvet_Sundown) June 29, 2025

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The deception began in June when two albums suddenly appeared across major streaming platforms. The band claimed to be “fusing Seventies psychedelic textures with cinematic alt-pop and dreamy analog soul,” but their songs like “Dust on the Wind” immediately raised suspicions for sounding like generic reproductions of 70s rock.

Further scrutiny revealed their photographs had the telltale amber-encased glow of AI-generated content, prompting questions from Reddit users and musicians including Chris Dalla Riva, who challenged their authenticity on TikTok.

When initially confronted, the “band” posted aggressively on X, claiming it was “absolutely crazy that so-called “journalists” keep pushing the lazy, baseless theory that the Velvet Sundown is “AI-generated” with zero evidence.”

During his Rolling Stone interview, Frelon first claimed AI was only used for brainstorming, then admitted to using Suno but “not in the final product,’ before finally acknowledging that at least some songs were entirely Suno-generated. He also confirmed they employed Suno’s “Persona” feature to maintain a consistent singer’s voice across tracks—the same technology Timbaland is using with his controversial AI artist TaTa.

When questioned about potential playlist manipulation to build their Spotify following, Frelon dodged direct answers, stating: “I’m not running the Spotify backend stuff, so I can’t super speak to exactly how that happened.”

Music analytics site Music Ally had previously determined that most of the Spotify playlists featuring the band came from just four Spotify accounts, raising further questions about their meteoric rise.

None of these journalists ever contacted us for a quote btw:https://t.co/K4YHjoPKGS

— The Velvet Sundown (Band) – Official 🎸🎶🎧 (@Velvet_Sundown) June 29, 2025

Glenn McDonald, a former data alchemist at Spotify, suggested the platform’s AI-driven recommendation systems may have inadvertently helped Velvet Sundown gain traction, noting that the company has “no rules against AI music” and that “fake listeners were a larger problem than fake music. It might have flipped.”

Despite the controversy, Frelon defended their approach, arguing that music fans need to accept AI tools and calling fears about them “super overwrought.”

“I respect that people have really strong emotions about this,” he said. “But I think it’s important that we allow artists to experiment with new technologies and new tools, try things out, and not freak out at people just because they’re using a program or not using a program.”