Curtis Alan Jones (born April 26, 1968), better known by his stage name Green Velvet, is an American disc jockey, singer and record producer. He is also known as Cajmere, Geo Vogt, Half Pint, Curan Stone, and Gino Vittori.
Early life
Curtis Alan Jones was born on April 26, 1968, in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. He grew up listening to
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, funk, and rock. In the mid 1980s, he was introduced to
house music
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, he moved back to Chicago in 1991.
Career
In 1991, Jones started releasing his music under the Cajmere moniker. In 1992, he founded a record label, Cajual Records. In that year, he released a collaborative single with
Dajae
Karen Gordon, better known by her stage name Dajae (), is a female R&B and dance music singer born in Chicago, Illinois.
Biography
Dajae sang in various soul bands for over a decade prior to working with house music producer Cajmere, who feature ...
, titled "Brighter Days" that peaked at number 2 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Dance Music/Club Play
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart. In the same year, he released the
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"Coffee Pot (It's Time for the Percolator)" also known as "Percolator”, which was recorded at the Playroom Recording Studio by Jerome Mark Mikulich. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' included it on its "20 Best Chicago House Records" list in 2014 while ''
Mixmag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...
'' included it on its "20 Best US Rave Anthems of the '90s" list in 2019. In 1993, he founded another label, Relief Records.
In 1995, he released a single, "Flash", under the Green Velvet moniker. It reached number 1 on the ''Billboard''
Dance Club Songs
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart. ''Billboard'' included it on the "10 Essential '90s Rave Jams" list in 2019. ''Mixmag'' included it on the "20 Best US Rave Anthems of the '90s" list in 2019.
Green Velvet's debut studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, ''
Constant Chaos
''Constant Chaos'' is the debut studio album by Green Velvet. It was released on Music Man Records in 1999.
Critical reception
John Bush of AllMusic wrote, "Though none of the previous Green Velvet club favorites are reprised for his album, Cajm ...
'', was released in 1999. In 2000, he released a
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
, ''
Green Velvet
Curtis Alan Jones (born April 26, 1968), better known by his stage name Green Velvet, is an American disc jockey, singer and record producer. He is also known as Cajmere, Geo Vogt, Half Pint, Curan Stone, and Gino Vittori.
Early life
Curtis Ala ...
''. He released ''
Whatever
Whatever may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Whatever'' (Adore Delano album), 2017
* ''Whatever'' (Aimee Mann album), 1993
* ''Whatever'' (Danny Thompson album), 1987
* ''Whatever'' (The Friends of Distinction album), 1970
* ''Whatever'' (Gre ...
'' in 2001, '' Walk in Love'' in 2005, and ''Unshakable'' in 2013.
In 2014, he teamed up with
Claude VonStroke
Barclay Macbride Crenshaw (born July 7, 1971), who is known by the stage name Claude VonStroke, is an American house producer based in Los Angeles. He owned Dirtybird Records based in San Francisco. In July 2006 he released his debut album, ''Be ...
to form the side project Get Real. The duo's debut single, "Mind Yo Bizness" / "Snuffaluffagus", was released in 2016. The duo's second single, "Jolean", was released in 2019.
In 2015, he released a collaborative album with
Carl Craig
Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980 ...
, titled ''Unity''.
''
DJ Mag
''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lati ...
'' has described Green Velvet as "a stalwart figure in both
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
and
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
".
Personal life
In the mid
2000s
File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...
, Green Velvet revealed on
Myspace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
that he had become a
born-again Christian
To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
, after his drink was (allegedly) spiked with GHB.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Constant Chaos
''Constant Chaos'' is the debut studio album by Green Velvet. It was released on Music Man Records in 1999.
Critical reception
John Bush of AllMusic wrote, "Though none of the previous Green Velvet club favorites are reprised for his album, Cajm ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Whatever
Whatever may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Whatever'' (Adore Delano album), 2017
* ''Whatever'' (Aimee Mann album), 1993
* ''Whatever'' (Danny Thompson album), 1987
* ''Whatever'' (The Friends of Distinction album), 1970
* ''Whatever'' (Gre ...
'' (2001)
* '' Walk in Love'' (2005)
* ''Unshakable'' (2013)
* ''Unity'' (2015)
Green Velvet
Curtis Alan Jones (born April 26, 1968), better known by his stage name Green Velvet, is an American disc jockey, singer and record producer. He is also known as Cajmere, Geo Vogt, Half Pint, Curan Stone, and Gino Vittori.
Early life
Curtis Ala ...
'' (2000)
* ''Lost & Found'' (2009)
* ''It's Time'' (2010)
* ''Too Underground for the Main Stage'' (2013)
* "Keep Movin'" (1991)
* "Brighter Days" (1992)
* "Chit Chat" (1992)
* "Percolator" (1992)
* "Feelin' Kinda High" (1994)
* "Flash" (1995)
* "Get Up Off Me" (1995)
* "H*rny" (1995)
* "Only 4 U" (1996)
* "The Stalker" (1996)
* "Answering Machine" (1997)
* "Lookin' for a Man" (1997)
* "Feelin'" (1998)
* "Nasty" (2001)
* "
La La Land
''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...
" (2001)
* "Genedefekt" (2002)
* "Coitus" (2002)
* "Sometimes I Do" (2003)
* "Midnight" (2004)
* "I Need U" (2004)
* "Nude" (2004)
* "Come" (2004)
* "Powered" (2004)
* "House-Werk" (2004)
* "Say U Will" (2005)
* "The Bathroom" (2005)
* "Temptation" (2005)
* "No S*x" (2005)
* "Cuz of You" (2005)
* "Shake & Pop" (2006)
* "Bigger than Prince" (2013)
* "Suga" (2015)
* "Mind Yo Bizness" / "Snuffaluffagus" (2016)
* "Keep Pushin' (Harder)" (2017)
* "Jolean" (2019)
* "Fuzion" (2019)
*"Unapologetic Raver" (2020)
*"Critical" (2021)
*"My Cheri" (2021)