Latest news with #Frelon
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Is it art or just one big hoax? This rising AI band could be both
Of this year. How is it possible that one group of musicians could be so prolific? That's easy. The Velvet Sundown isn't a band at all; it's a cryptic product of artificial intelligence that has amassed nearly 1.4 million monthly Spotify listeners. When the band's brocade-wallpaper music first materialized on streaming services little more than a month ago, many listeners were intrigued. Who were these guys? Judging by a playlist image of the group on Spotify, four air-brushed looking dudes with middle parts in their hair and mellow vibes in their genes. Where did they come from? (Clearly a mythical, middle-of-the-road California from the era of the Ford Pinto.) Advertisement After a brief online campaign insisting that this was a real band, a man calling himself Andrew Frelon appeared to come clean, claiming that the Velvet Sundown phenomenon is an 'art hoax.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We live in a world now where things that are fake have sometimes even more impact than things that are real,' Frelon, who called himself the band's spokesperson, Ironically, it turns out, we have to ask if Frelon himself was for real. After Rolling Stone interviewed the 'spokesperson,' the X account that claims to speak for the 'real' Velvet Sundown Advertisement 'Someone is attempting to hijack the identity of The Velvet Sundown by releasing unauthorized interviews, publishing unrelated photos, and creating fake profiles claiming to represent us,' the post read in part. It gets weirder. The self-professed spokesperson with the assumed name recently published a piece on Whoever is behind the band and whatever their intent, for Berklee College of Music professor Jonathan Wyner, the music is forgettable. 'My initial thought was, I don't really understand what the big deal is, because it's really not very good,' he told the Globe. A 'I generally approach this technology as a way to workshop an idea or create a demo,' Wyner said. 'I'm not so interested in representing that as the final version of something.' 'But I don't necessarily have a hard ethical or moral stance on that,' Wyner added. 'I'm not going to say that people shouldn't enjoy it.' So far it's likely the curiosity factor, more than any deep enthusiasm for the music, that has driven the kind of streaming numbers feeding the buzz about this 'band.' The project's most popular song, 'Dust on the Wind,' is typical of the plug-and-play Mad Libs quality of the lyrics: 'Smoke will clear/ Truth won't bend/ Let the song fight/ 'Til the end,' sings the band's gently drawling 'frontman,' credited as Mellotron player Gabe Farrow. Advertisement This is certainly not the first time the music industry has grappled with deception. Wyner said he was disappointed as a kid when he learned that Musician Nathan Richer is a member of the Lowell-based band Burp. and studied sound recording technology at UMass Lowell. In one class, he learned about the Like a lot of his friends, Richer listened to the Velvet Sundown's music when he first heard about it a few weeks ago. 'I feel like there's so much generic rock music already out there,' he said. 'The difference [between that and the Velvet Sundown] is pretty much nothing.' He said he has no problem with an AI user prompting a music creation platform such as There should be a disclaimer, he said: 'Hey, this is an experiment I'm doing.' In the studio, Richer sometimes uses AI-driven stem splitters to separate the components of an audio file. (That's the technology that was used to isolate the late John Lennon's vocals from a rough demo tape 'If you're using AI to influence your own creativity, then I feel there's almost zero wrong with that,' Richer said. 'But I do have a lot of worries about the sanctity of art. If you're convoluting what is truth, that's what I'm most scared about.' Advertisement The Boston-based musician and author Damon Krukowski has studiously avoided engaging with the Velvet Sundown's fast-growing catalog. But as an avowed critic of streaming services and their impact on working musicians, he sees the inevitability of computer-produced music as one more example of the mounting impediments to the creative sector's livelihood. 'AI is the least of it, in many ways — or anyway it's consistent with the anti-artist, pro-capital way that these platforms function as a whole,' Krukowski wrote in an email. 'I am very engaged with trying to establish regulation for these platforms through the Living Wage for Musicians Act, which would create a direct payment to human recording artists from streaming for the first time. It's insane that we don't have that already.' Richer said he recently listened to a podcast episode in which the hosts discussed a sitcom that was created by feeding an AI tool with thousands of hours of classic TV shows. The hosts, he said, were exasperated with the result, 'because it was good.' Previous attempts, he said, had been funny 'because they were bad. But when it has the ability to analyze millions of hours of human content, it can be so close that it's frightening.' That explains plenty about how the Velvet Sundown 'kerfuffle' (as Krukowski called it) has inspired such an outpouring of commentary. The music is not good… but it is also not altogether bad. 'The fire that Napster and then Spotify created has been building,' said Wyner, the Berklee professor. 'And AI-generated music is about to pour gas on that fire. In terms of flooding the market with quasi-listenable music, fast — from that perspective, I'm alarmed.' Advertisement
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Rock band with more than 1 million Spotify listeners reveals it's entirely AI-generated — down to the musicians themselves
A fresh new rock band that quickly shot to Spotify's top ranks announced that it's actually wholly generated by artificial intelligence, just one month after its celebrated debut album earned it one million listeners. The '60s-inspired rock-and-roll band, the Velvet Sundown, revealed on Saturday that nothing about it is real after fans of the up-and-coming artists noticed there were virtually no traces of any people associated with it online. Its debut album, 'Floating on Echoes,' was released on June 5 to mass appeal online. Advertisement The most popular song in the album, pro-peace folk rock song 'Dust on the Wind,' clinched the No. 1 spot for Spotify's daily 'Viral 50' chart in Britain, Norway and Sweden between June 29 and July 1. 3 Velvet Sundown gained over 1 million listeners on Spotify. The Velvet Sundown/Facebook All the while, the one million monthly listeners who started following the Velvet Sundown had no idea they were just listening to a mass of artificial intelligence made by fake musicians. Advertisement The photos of the band shared online and featured on the album's cover were unnaturally smooth and matte and the guitarist's hand was wonky with fused fingers gripping his instrument — a classic hallmark of AI-generated images. The band's lyrics, too, were a perfect mesh of generic anti-war sentiments and other clichés like 'Nothin' lasts forever but the earth and sky, it slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.' The faux rockstars were also pumping out new albums scarily — and inhumanly — fast, releasing two in June alone and another set for mid-July. 3 The AI band released two albums in June alone and another was set for July. Spotify Advertisement The band finally revealed its secret over the weekend. It updated its Spotify biography Saturday to reflect the AI twist, assuring that the project hadn't been trying to bamboozle its audience. '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 biography reads. Advertisement Some people who had seen through the band's ploy early tried to take advantage of its viral success before the truth came out. A Quebec-based web safety expert posed as a spokesperson for the Velvet Sundown under the pseudonym Andrew Frelon, which translates to hornet in French, and even slid false information to Rolling Stone magazine about his supposed clients. But the man behind the Frelon quickly confessed that he was just trying to troll people online. 3 The AI-generated images showed a microphone cord disappearing into a singer's arm, a guitarist's fingers fused together and the headstock of a Stratocaster being the incorrect shape. The Velvet Sundown/Facebook It's unclear if the Velvet Sundown will face any backlash from Spotify or any other platforms where it may be eligible for streaming revenue. Starting on July 15, YouTube announced that it would be cutting all monetization, including advertisements, for any content generated by AI. In late June, popular YouTuber announced a tool that would use AI to make thumbnails for videos. He quickly removed it after receiving backlash for supporting an artificial intelligence engine, which often requires massive amounts of energy that would steadily offset his years of environmental work and reforestation efforts.
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
How a Canadian's AI hoax duped the media and propelled a 'band' to streaming success
A Canadian who duped journalists in an elaborate AI music hoax says he apologizes to anyone hurt by his experiment but that it's been too fascinating to turn away from. A man using the pseudonym Andrew Frelon posed as the spokesperson for a band called The Velvet Sundown — which he later said he had no involvement with — creating a media frenzy that propelled the AI-assisted band to a million monthly listeners on Spotify. He spoke with CBC News over the phone Friday on condition that his real name not be revealed. CBC News agreed not to use his real name because he fears harassment based on the hateful messages he's received online, and worries he would lose work if identified. The sticky online saga began when the band appeared on music streaming platforms several weeks ago and amassed hundreds of thousands of streams from two full-length albums. Its blend of laid-back 1970s-inspired rock and modern indie pop appeared on several popular Spotify playlists, including one featuring Vietnam War songs. AI song sparks debate in Francophone music scene (new window) But savvy listeners noticed something was off. The band's supposed members had no digital footprint, and there was no record of them ever having performed live. The album art and profile photo, featuring four shaggy-haired rockers, also carried hallmarks of generative AI. But as the controversy gained steam, an account on social media platform X (new window) purporting to represent the band emphatically denied that any of the music was created by artificial intelligence, calling the accusations lazy and baseless. CBC reached out to the X account on Wednesday and attempted to arrange an interview through a Gmail account purporting to represent the band. Then, a man calling himself Andrew Frelon told Rolling Stone (new window) , in an article that was published online later that day, that he is behind The Velvet Sundown and the X account, and that he used generative AI platform Suno to create the songs. He called the project an art hoax. WATCH | Expert speaks on AI regulation: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Why more needs to be done to regulate the use of AI New research out of Western University is shining a light on the federal government's use of artificial intelligence through a Tracking Automated Government Register. Joanna Redden, an associate professor of Information and Media Studies and co-director at Starling: Just Technologies. Just Societies. and Data Justice Lab, joined London Morning to talk about the data and concerns about AI use. But just as the mystery appeared to be solved, a different X account linked to the official Velvet Sundown Spotify page posted a statement (new window) saying Frelon has nothing to do with the band. Someone is attempting to hijack the identity of The Velvet Sundown, said the statement, which also appeared on the band's Spotify and Instagram accounts on Thursday. That same day, Frelon, who gave the Rolling Stone interview, posted a lengthy blog (new window) confirming he had nothing to do with the band and that nearly everything he told the magazine, including his name, was a lie. The actual band's identity was once again a mystery. It turned out the hoax was, in fact, part of a bigger hoax. 'It's too fascinating of a mystery' Speaking with CBC News on Friday, Frelon maintained that he has zero connection to the Velvet Sundown. Asked about his motivation for maintaining such a complicated ruse, Frelon said the way the whole thing has played out has become like artistic jet fuel. There's so many weird cultural, technical things at play here. It's too fascinating of a mystery for me to turn away from, he said. The real person behind Andrew Frelon is an expert on web platform safety and policy issues, with extensive experience using generative AI. He was born in the United States but lives in Canada. Frelon used AI to generate this image of The Velvet Sundown at a gala. (Andrew Frelon) Photo: (Andrew Frelon) Several major American publications have interviewed him about his other AI projects and safety and policy issues work. CBC News verified his identity through screen shots and a Signal video chat. Frelon sent screen shots of his correspondence with Rolling Stone to confirm he was the person who did that interview. Frelon said he attempted last year to monetize his own AI music project with a friend. Certain that The Velvet Sundown was generated by AI, and surprised by its seemingly overnight success, he decided to become the band's de-facto publicist as a social engineering experiment. To further sow confusion, Frelon shared posts made by the official Velvet Sundown X account, to intentionally make it look like it was connected to the account he runs. He also generated and posted AI photos of the band in various settings and scenarios, and said he used ChatGPT when initially responding to reporters. Part of his intention with the Velvet Sundown experiment, he said, was blurring reality and trying to see how diligently members of the media would work to verify his identity. I'm really exploiting the uncertainty, he said. And I think that's the art. His experiment also highlighted the ease of creating deceptive content and the speed with which it spreads. Frelon said he ultimately hopes to advance the conversation around generative AI, and its risks and benefits. WATCH | Performers want protection against AI: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? More than 200 performers plead for protections against unethical AI More than 200 performers, including Sheryl Crow and the estate of Bob Marley, have written a letter pleading for protection against the unethical use of artificial intelligence, such as the unauthorized reproduction of their voices and likenesses. In the process, however, he said he's received a flood of hateful messages and acknowledged that the prank has upset some people. I didn't mean to do it maliciously, although obviously some of the techniques I used were underhanded and not very cool, he said. I recognize that, and I apologize for those people affected. Frelon's hoax supercharged The Velvet Sundown's success; the band's audience has grown by about 700,000 monthly listeners on Spotify since his hoax started, hitting one million on Saturday. In yet another twist, the band's official X account admitted on Saturday to its use of AI after playing coy for weeks, saying in a social media statement (new window) it is a synthetic music project guided by human creative direction, and composed, voiced, and visualized with the support of artificial intelligence. Frelon used AI to generate this image of The Velvet Sundown at a gala. (Andrew Frelon) Photo: (Andrew Frelon) It is still not clear who is behind The Velvet Sundown, and its X account has not responded to interview requests from CBC News. Frelon said he received a message from The Velvet Sundown's X account on Saturday, insisting he rename his account and delete all references to the band being 100% human-generated. Frelon's X page is now marked as a parody account. AI 'bands' infiltrate streaming platforms AI-generated electronic music, and AI songs mimicking existing artists (new window) , have become commonplace, but AI bands are a newer phenomenon. Laszlo Tamasi, the man behind hard-rock act The Devil Inside, which has millions of Spotify streams, admitted in June he uses AI to make the music and generate the band's imagery, after fans and music writers raised questions. Other popular artists, like dark country act Aventhis and provocative soul singer Nick Hustles, have similarly been revealed to be AI creations with behind-the-scenes input from humans. Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter Ian Janes, who had his own battle with AI music (new window) after a seemingly AI-generated project popped up on Spotify using his name, said in some ways, the music industry has set the stage for an AI takeover by relying so heavily on technology-assisted techniques like quantizing and pitch-correcting. He said listeners have become so accustomed to technology-aided perfection in recorded music that when they hear an AI-generated song, it might seem indistinguishable from something made by real people. Conversely, when a human voice goes out of key, or a song speeds up or slows down, people might perceive that as an error. The conditioning of our ears to algorithmic perfection in music has set the stage for AI to be poised to just take that job from us, Janes said. The Velvet Sundown initially raised suspicions in part because its name seemed derivative of acts like the Velvet Underground and Sunset Rubdown, and its song titles and lyrics also seemed to lack originality. Its most-streamed song, Dust on the Wind , for example, recalls the 1977 Kansas hit Dust in the Wind. But Alexander Olson, a senior research associate at the University of Toronto's faculty of applied science and engineering who researches AI, said it's becoming increasingly challenging for the average person to identify AI in all mediums. WATCH | How artificial intelligence impacts creative industries: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? How is AI affecting the creative media industry? For many, artificial intelligence is a tool. For others, it represents plagiarism and theft of intellectual property. Lorelei Pepi, a professor of animation at Emily Carr University in Vancouver, joins our Dan Burritt in conversation to unpack AI's impact on the creative sector. It's made even harder in this setting, because a lot of people are relying on Spotify to choose songs for them and to make those recommendations, he said. Winnipeg-based music critic Darryl Sterdan calls the Velvet Sundown's music generic and forgettable, and said AI is not yet at the point where it can reproduce the soul and indefinable humanity behind worthwhile songs. But he predicts it won't be long before AI generates a genuine chart-topping global pop hit, ultimately forcing institutions like the Grammys and Junos to formally reward AI creations in a bid to remain relevant. Then, the deluge will truly begin, he said. Kevin Maimann (new window) · CBC News
Express Tribune
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Is Spotify's hottest new band even real?
A band named The Velvet Sundown has drawn intense scrutiny after its music gained hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify, despite virtually no public presence or verifiable identity, reports the BBC. The group, which has more than 850,000 monthly listeners and a verified Spotify page, emerged online several weeks ago. Yet none of the four named musicians have granted interviews, appear to have social media accounts, or have performed live. The absence of a human trace has led to growing suspicions that The Velvet Sundown and its music are generated by artificial intelligence (AI), a claim the band has denied via social media. The controversy deepened when Rolling Stone US reported that a spokesperson for the band had admitted its music was created using an AI tool called Suno, only for the publication to later reveal that the spokesperson himself, a man named Andrew Frelon, was a hoax. Frelon told the magazine the deception was a "deliberate plot to hoax the media." In a statement on its Spotify page, The Velvet Sundown distanced itself from Frelon, stating the band has "no affiliation with this individual, nor any evidence confirming their identity or existence." It also described an account on X (formerly Twitter), which claimed to represent the band, as fake. Professor Gina Neff, of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, said the incident reflects broader concerns around digital authenticity and AI. "Whether this is an AI band may not seem important," she told the BBC. "But increasingly, our collective grip on reality seems shaky. The Velvet Sundown story plays into the fears we have of losing control of AI and shows how important protecting online information is." The band's moody indie ballads feature guitar and male vocals, with lyrics such as "eyes like film in faded light, dreams walk barefoot into the night" and "ash and velvet, smoke and flame, calling out in freedom's name" - vague and poetic enough to plausibly originate from either humans or AI. Rival music streaming platform Deezer said its AI detection tool flagged the music as 100 per cent AI-generated. Spotify has not yet offered a comment. Its CEO Daniel Ek previously said in an interview that Spotify has no plans to ban AI-generated music, though he opposes the use of AI to mimic real artists.
