Velvet Sundown are the most talked about Ai band of the summer

Who is really behind the most mysterious (and controversial) band of the moment? The Eagles-like sound and Pink Floyd-esque choruses aroused a desire to know who was behind the microphone, whether people or prompts.

The most talked-about AI band of summer 2025 was born as a surprise in June this year. In just a few weeks, VelvetSundown went viral: from 350,000 to over a million listens on Spotify, without touring, without interviews, without any background. Their lead track, Dust on the Wind, has exceeded 2.2 million streams, an astonishing achievement for a group that was completely unknown until yesterday. In just a few weeks, the group has released three albums, all with the same sound and a distinct reference to 70s rock and blues: acoustic and electric guitar, drums, bass and a reverberating lead vocal, alternating with choruses with a nostalgic atmosphere.

The vintage 70s sound immediately intrigued, but it was their aesthetics that raised suspicions. The social profiles of the four alleged members are populated with images that are clearly generated with artificial intelligence: hyper-realistic colours, unnatural shadows, non-human features and the classic 'hand error' that testifies to the origin of the photos.

Suspicion turned into public debate when Rolling Stone interviewed a certain Andrew Frelon, who presented himself as the band's spokesman and fifth member, confirming that he used Suno, AI software for music creation.

However, VelvetSundown via a post on Instagram promptly refuted his words, stating that Frelon was not part of the project. It was later discovered that behind this identity was Tim Boucher, a cybersecurity expert, who allegedly took advantage of the chaos to insert himself into the debate, further fuelling the mystery.