Viral music act The Velvet Sundown have confirmed that their music is entirely generated by artificial intelligence. In a newly updated Spotify bio, the creators describe the project as “not quite human. Not quite machine,” but instead “living somewhere in between.” They go on to call the project “an ongoing artistic provocation” designed to explore the future of authorship and identity in music.
The group first surfaced just weeks ago, rapidly gaining traction on streaming platforms. Despite having no public backstory or known members, The Velvet Sundown have already garnered more than 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify and have appeared on several popular editorial playlists.
Since their sudden debut, the act has released two full albums – ‘Floating On Echoes’ (June 5) and ‘Dust And Silence’ (June 20) – with a third, ‘Paper Sun Rebellion’, set for release on July 14. The upcoming album is described as a blend of “cinematic alt-pop and dreamy analogue soul.”
Their swift rise to popularity and dense release schedule raised early questions about the authenticity of the band. Speculation intensified after the band launched a stylised, yellow-tinted Instagram account. At the time, The Velvet Sundown denied AI involvement on X, writing: “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.”
However, suspicions were soon confirmed when streaming service Deezer flagged the project as 100% AI-generated, subsequently removing their album. Deezer stated: “In order to protect artists’ remuneration and guarantee an optimal user experience, Deezer currently excludes 100% AI tracks from its algorithmic and editorial recommendations.” On July 5, the band revised their Spotify bio to acknowledge their artificial nature: “The Velvet Sundown is a synthetic music project guided by human creative direction, and composed, voiced, and visualized with the support of artificial intelligence. This isn’t a trick – it’s a mirror. An ongoing artistic provocation designed to challenge the boundaries of authorship, identity, and the future of music itself in the age of AI.”
The Velvet Sundown is a synthetic music project guided by human creative direction, and composed, voiced, and visualized with the support of artificial intelligence. This isn’t a trick – it’s a mirror. An ongoing artistic provocation designed to challenge the boundaries of… pic.twitter.com/8qwoFFOPNx — The Velvet Sundown (@tvs_music) July 5, 2025
Former Spotify data analyst Glenn McDonald offered insight into the band’s success, suggesting that streaming algorithms are now optimised to recommend tracks based on audio traits rather than artist identity – which could favour AI-produced content.
This ‘provocation’ may not be as clever as it thinks it is. The Velvet Sundown’s emergence comes amid growing concern over the rise of AI-generated music on major platforms. Many musicians and industry figures argue it threatens fair remuneration and undermines human creativity. As debate continues, music artists have begun speaking publicly about the implications of AI in music. Read our previous coverage on Thom Yorke’s views on AI here.
