The Velvet Sundown – the Trending Band that Probably Doesn’t Exist

A digital fantasy brought to life, or a new breakout hit band – the debate over AI music has just begun.

Rabat – In just one month, the psychedelic-rock band Velvet Sundown has amassed more than half a million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Its breakout success is unfounded and suspicious, especially given the sparse online footprint, leading to speculation that the band is AI-generated.

Yet when listening to their music online, platforms won’t tell you this. Velvet Sundown is a Verified Artist according to Spotify.

In just a month, Velvet Sundown released two thirteen-song albums in quick succession: “Floating on Echos” and “Dust and Silence”.

As their names suggest, the music is a mystifying combination of psychedelic rock and indie attitudes.

And the mystery doesn’t stop there. Velvet Sundown’s Spotify bio describes it as “quietly spellbinding” and hints at something fictitious, conjuring “a memory of a time that never actually happened… but somehow they make it feel real”.

The bio describes their music as “‘70s psychedelic alt-rock and folk rock” that “blends effortlessly with modern alt-pop and indie structures” and proceeds to describe the formation of the band.

Velvet Sundown is made up of singer and mellotron player Gabe Farrow, Guitarist Lennie West, keyboardist Milo Rains, and drummer Orion “Rio” Del Mar; musicians who don’t seem to exist outside the context of the band.

And then the band’s first social media account appeared on Instagram on June 27, further adding fuel to the speculations.

The pictures shared on social media are hallmark AI-generated, with hyperrealistic colouring and shading.

The creator now seems to be flexing their newfound fame, posting images of the band’s four members in poses emblematic of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and Queen II, arguably the most recognisable album covers in the world.

So it appears the cat is out of the bag, and Velvet Sundown is embracing its AI origins. Now it is up to the platforms to decide how to moderate that.

The trend of AI-generated music is increasing globally, and the music industry and streaming platforms are having to work overtime to adapt and accommodate it.