Green Velvet

Curtis Alan Jones[2] (born April 26, 1968),[3] better known by his stage name Green Velvet, is an American singer, record producer and DJ. He is also known as Cajmere, Geo Vogt, Half Pint, Curan Stone, and Gino Vittori.[4]

Green Velvet
Green Velvet performing at the 2012 Spring Awakening Music Festival
Green Velvet performing at the 2012 Spring Awakening Music Festival
Background information
Birth nameCurtis Alan Jones
Also known as
  • Cajmere
  • Geo Vogt
  • Half Pint
  • Curan Stone
  • Gino Vittori
Born (1968-04-26) April 26, 1968
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • record producer
  • DJ
Years active1991–present
Labels
Websitegreen-velvet.com

Early life

Curtis Alan Jones was born [2] on April 26, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois.[3] He grew up listening to blues, jazz, funk, and rock.[5] In the mid 1980s, he was introduced to house music via the radio.[5] He started making music with a "sixty-buck keyboard, a cheap four-track and a cheap drum machine".[6]

Jones graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign with a degree in chemical engineering.[3] After attending the University of California, Berkeley, he moved back to Chicago in 1991.[7]

Career

In 1991, Jones started releasing his music under the Cajmere moniker.[8] In 1992, he founded a record label, Cajual Records.[8] In that year, he released a collaborative single with Dajae, titled "Brighter Days"[9] that peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[1] In the same year, he released the single "Coffee Pot (It's Time for the Percolator)" also known as "Percolator".[2] Rolling Stone included it on its "20 Best Chicago House Records" list in 2014[10] while Mixmag included it on its "20 Best US Rave Anthems of the '90s" list in 2019.[11] In 1993, he founded another label, Relief Records.[8]

In 1995, he released a single, "Flash", under the Green Velvet moniker.[12] It reached number 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.[13] Billboard included it on the "10 Essential '90s Rave Jams" list in 2019.[12] Mixmag included it on the "20 Best US Rave Anthems of the '90s" list in 2019.[11]

Green Velvet's debut studio album, Constant Chaos, was released in 1999.[14] In 2000, he released a compilation album, Green Velvet.[15] He released Whatever in 2001, Walk in Love in 2005,[16] and Unshakable in 2013.[17][18]

In 2014, he teamed up with Claude VonStroke to form the side project Get Real.[19] The duo's debut single, "Mind Yo Bizness" / "Snuffaluffagus", was released in 2016.[20] The duo's second single, "Jolean", was released in 2019.[21]

In 2015, he released a collaborative album with Carl Craig, titled Unity.[22]

DJ Mag has described Green Velvet as "a stalwart figure in both house and techno".[1]

Personal life

In the mid 2000s, Green Velvet revealed on Myspace that he had become a born-again Christian,[23] after a serious overdose of a mixture of magic mushrooms, marijuana, and (allegedly) GHB.[24]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

DJ mixes
  • The Future Sound of Chicago: Cajual Relief (1995) (as Cajmere, with DJ Sneak)
  • Wheels of Steel Vol. 1 (1997) (as Cajmere)
  • Techno Funk (2000) (as Cajmere)
  • Sessions (2006) (as Cajmere vs Green Velvet)

Extended plays
  • Underground Goodies Vol. I (1991) (as Cajmere)
  • Underground Goodies Vol. II (1992) (as Cajmere)
  • Underground Goodies Vol. III (1992) (as Cajmere)
  • Underground Goodies Vol. IV (1992) (as Cajmere)
  • Dreaming (1992) (as Cajmere, with Derrick Carter)
  • Underground Goodies (1993) (as Cajmere)
  • Let Me Be (1993) (as Underground Goodies)
  • Velvet Tracks (1993) (as Green Velvet)
  • Underground Goodies Vol V (1994) (as Cajmere)
  • Underground Goodies Vol. VI (1994) (as Cajmere)
  • Destination Unknown (1997) (as Green Velvet)
  • Chicago (2010) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • New Gotham (2010) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • The Chicago Jazz (2011) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Elevated Tracks (2011) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Go Dancing (2011) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Chicago Style (2011) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Playground (2011) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • White Label (2012) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Black Label (2012) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Taste of Chi-Town (2012) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • Jungle Love (2014) (as Cajmere, with Gene Farris)
  • It's All About Me (2014) (as Green Velvet, with Jay Lumen)

Singles
  • "Keep Movin'" (1991) (as Cajmere, with Nané)
  • "Brighter Days" (1992) (as Cajmere, with Dajae)
  • "Chit Chat" (1992) (as Cajmere)
  • "Percolator" (1992) (as Cajmere)
  • "Feelin' Kinda High" (1994) (as Cajmere)
  • "Flash" (1995) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Get Up Off Me" (1995) (as Cajmere, with Dajae)
  • "H*rny" (1995) (as Cajmere)
  • "Only 4 U" (1996) (as Cajmere)
  • "The Stalker" (1996) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Answering Machine" (1997) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Lookin' for a Man" (1997) (as Cajmere)
  • "Feelin'" (1998) (as Cajmere)
  • "Nasty" (2001) (as Cajmere)
  • "La La Land" (2001) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Genedefekt" (2002) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Coitus" (2002) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Sometimes I Do" (2003) (as Cajmere, with Walter Phillips)
  • "Midnight" (2004) (as Cajmere, with Walter Phillips)
  • "I Need U" (2004) (as Cajmere, with Dajae)
  • "Nude" (2004) (as Cajmere)
  • "Come" (2004) (as Cajmere)
  • "Powered" (2004) (as Cajmere)
  • "House-Werk" (2004) (as Cajmere)
  • "Say U Will" (2005) (as Cajmere, with Dajae)
  • "The Bathroom" (2005) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Temptation" (2005) (as Green Velvet)
  • "No S*x" (2005) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Cuz of You" (2005) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Shake & Pop" (2006) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Bigger than Prince" (2013) (as Green Velvet)
  • "Suga" (2015) (as Green Velvet, with Technasia)
  • "Mind Yo Bizness" / "Snuffaluffagus" (2016) (as Green Velvet, with Claude VonStroke)
  • "Keep Pushin' (Harder)" (2017) (as Green Velvet, with Riva Starr)
  • "Jolean" (2019) (as Green Velvet, with Claude VonStroke)
  • "Fuzion" (2019) (as Green Velvet, with Layton Giordani)[25]
  • "Unapologetic Raver" (2020) (as Green Velvet, with Eli Brown)
  • "Critical" (2021) (as Green Velvet, with CamelPhat)[26]
  • "My Cheri" (2021) (as Green Velvet, with Mihalis Safras)[27]

References
  1. Deahl, Dani (June 28, 2017). "Best DJ: Green Velvet". DJ Mag. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. Richards, Chris (July 30, 2015). "Green Velvet's sound is still percolating". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  3. Bush, John. "Green Velvet - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  4. Black, Jason (November 4, 2013). "Chicago's "ageless, unapologetic raver" Green Velvet remains defiant and Unshakable". Beatport. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015.
  5. Matos, Michaelangelo (August 3, 2012). "Q&A: Cajmere On His Roots, The Differences Between House And Rave Audiences, And Tweaking "Percolator"". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  6. Barokh, Amanda (September 26, 2012). "Listen: Cajmere - 'Chit Chat'". The Quietus. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  7. Bush, John. "Cajmere - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  8. Bradshaw, Melissa (November 7, 2012). "Caffeine Funk: An Interview With Cajmere". The Quietus. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  9. Arnold, Jacob; Cupcake, Lorena; Garvey, Meaghan; Matos, Michaelangelo; Mizek, Steve (August 2018). "House Music: A Condensed History of Chicago House". Chicago. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  10. Castillo, Arielle; Dayal, Geeta; Harris, Keith (April 2, 2014). "20 Best Chicago House Records: Cajmere – "Coffee Pot (It's Time For the Percolator)" (1992)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  11. Holbrook, Cameron (July 29, 2019). "The 20 best US rave anthems of the '90s". Mixmag. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  12. Ohanesian, Liz (July 11, 2019). "Camera's Ready, Prepare to Flash: 10 Essential '90s Rave Jams". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  13. "Dance Club Songs: The week of June 24, 2000". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  14. Reynolds, Simon (April 25, 2000). "Hardcore Jollies". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  15. Heaton, Dave (April 24, 2000). "Green Velvet: self-titled". PopMatters. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  16. Torrens, Nick (June 8, 2005). "Xbox teams up with Green Velvet". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  17. Medved, Matt (November 6, 2013). "Green Velvet – Unshakable [Album Review]". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  18. Feigel, Kamryn (December 31, 2013). "Review: Green Velvet - Unshakable". SLUG Magazine. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  19. Renck, Lizzie (December 2, 2014). "Claude VonStroke and Green Velvet form new side project, 'Get Real'". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  20. Sundius, Michael (January 27, 2016). "Claude VonStroke and Green Velvet release their first music as Get Real". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  21. Yi, Benjamin (November 22, 2019). "Claude VonStroke, Green Velvet duo, Get Real dole out second release ever, 'Jolean'". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  22. Ryce, Andrew (March 25, 2015). "Carl Craig and Green Velvet release surprise collaborative LP". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  23. Dugan, Stacey (February 6, 2007). "Green Velvet: The Percolator". XLR8R. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  24. Sime, Chris (November 8, 2006). "Green Velvet: Mission from God". Junkee. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  25. "Fuzion - Single by Green Velvet & Layton Giordani". iTunes. January 25, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  26. Sweeney, Farrell (January 8, 2021). "Green Velvet and CamelPhat notch first collaboration, 'Critical'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  27. "My Cheri - Single by Green Velvet & Mihalis Safras on Apple Music". Apple Music. October 22, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
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