Curtis Jones

Early years

Before becoming a professional musician, Jones studied chemical engineering at the University of Illinois. In 1991, he left a Master's program at UC-Berkeley to move back to Chicago, releasing his first song ("Coffee Pot" on ClubHouse Records) the same year.^[4] Up until this point, music had been a hobby fueled by cobbling together tracks on his "sixty-buck keyboard, a cheap four-track and a cheap drum machine" set-up while still an undergraduate at the University of Illinois. This DIY method of production was never taken seriously, and when childhood plans to become a doctor were shelved, Jones was firmly committed to a career as a chemical engineer. His father was an occasional DJ and eventually became a budding musician. As time went on, Jones discovered what was his innate love and understanding for house music, a sound that had grown throughout the mid-1980s out of Chicago's deep-rooted house music scene. He played the saxophone at school and had a talent for trying to play with a keyboard but remained largely un-interested in what he saw as his father's passion. It was this cut-up and tacky production style of the early house sound that Jones absorbed and translated into the Underground Goodies EP, his first release as Cajmere (the CAJ derived from the artist's initials) ^[5]) put out in 1991 on his own recently started Cajual label.^[4] A year later he had his first massive hit as Cajmere with the house tune "Coffee Pot (It's Time for the Percolator)," which was also released on Cajual and distributed by NYC-based Emotive Records. He then teamed up with Chicago-based vocalist Dajae for "Brighter Days," which entered #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play,^[4] a high-impact and mellower house tune that was released on Cajual and distributed by NYC-based Emotive Records.

Green Velvet transformation

Interested in making something totally different from his Cajmere moniker and other work, Curtis created Relief as an offshoot to his Cajual records in 1993. The first Relief release was also his first Green Velvet production, 1993's "Velvet Tracks,"^[4] which came from a name given to him by a girlfriend's father, emerged as the flamboyant, neon-haired electro punk, although in interviews he denied being linked to the Punk lifestyle and fashion, as he was more inspired by the likes of David Bowie^[6] and Sly and the Family Stone,^[7] he created mid-1990s hits such as "Preacher Man," on which a Moral Majority-type of preacher spoke (the Reverend Trotter,^[8] not, contrary to popular belief, Reverend Franklin); "Answering Machine," a darkly funny house track consisting of taped messages from an answering machine, including a bad news message from a girlfriend and a noise complaint message from his landlord—all made with Jones's voice; and "Flash," which was a #1 US dance hit in 1995 and was included on many DJ-mixed compilation albums. After DJing under both of his now infamous monikers, he released his first album, Constant Chaos, with Belgian Music label Music Man in 1999,^[4] which showed Green Velvet's style of house progress into styles similar to Prince and Kraftwerk, his spoken-word monologues also took a bizarre turn. In Abduction he spoke about little green men turning up while washing dishes.

The Whatever era

By the time Constant Chaos was released, Jones had temporarily halted activity on his labels for almost a year. Still DJing as Cajmere he'd narrowed the Green Velvet persona down to live performances only, taking time out to re-group and work out what to do next. During 2000, Jones was briefly signed to Warner Bros. Records' short-lived F-111 imprint, where he released his second compilation album, the self-titled Green Velvet, which contained the double-A-sided single “Flash” backed with “Answering Machine.” During this time he gave Velvet a new hairstyle—from spiked, green foam nodules to yellow mohawk. Next, in 2001, he unleashed his second album, the dark Whatever, which was a step away from his Kraftwerk-inspired sound (although Sleepwalking had a similar style) to a darker, more political Punk-esque style. On the album he tackled such issues as racism (highlighted on the song When?), drug use (highlighted on Genedefekt and La La Land), alienation (highlighted on Sleepwalking), and being told what to wear and do by “the system” (highlighted on the heavily punk-inspired track Gat). The more punk-oriented songs on the album apparently came from hours spent listening to industrial bands such as Nitzer Ebb and Liaisons Dangereuses, and lots of "underground American industrial stuff." He released the single La La Land in 2001, originally designed as a wake-up call for clubbers to the dangers of pill-taking it became one of his most popular tunes. This was followed by Genedefekt. His live act had now became more like a rock band also, with the Curtis playing a keytar, and two other musicians (aptly named Nazuk and Spaceboy) backing him, playing heavily distorted synths. Initially Jones, as both Cajmere and Green Velvet, was receiving more attention in Europe than he did in the USA, playing a Radio One live session on the Jo Whiley show and playing a host of festivals.

Recent projects

After appearing under a host of different names for his various remixing and side projects, Green Velvet released his third album, Walk In Love, in 2005. This album had a more house music-oriented style to it, but the odd Prince- and Punk-sounding tracks still remained, as Curtis actually got a live guitarist to play on "Come Back" and the closing track "Pin-Up Girl" had a similarity to New York-based Electroclash group Fischerspooner. After Walk In Love, Green Velvet produced and remixed releases for fellow Relief Records artists and himself, and played a host of DJ session live shows in 2006.

After staying quiet in the music scene, Green Velvet revealed in 2006 he had become a born-again Christian after a serious overdose of a mixture of Magic Mushrooms, Marijuana and (allegedly) GHB,^[7] and promised to turn his life around after this incident. His latest release, the single "Shake and Pop", is a departure from the recent darker electronica style, as he claims he has found a brighter future since converting. In 2007, he released the online-only track "Love Peace, Not War", a short ditty in response to the United States' war in Iraq.^[9]

In 2014, Green Velvet joined forces with Claude VonStroke, another veteran artist who grew up in the Mid-West, to form a side project known as Get Real. With both having a noticeable impact on both the house and techno scenes, many wondered why this duo didn't happen sooner. In reality, the project was by accident. However, it couldn't have turned out better. Their first release came out as an EP on Claude's label, Dirtybird, with the appearance of “Mind Yo Bizness” and “Snuffaluffagus". Claude has stated, “Nobody is trying to steal the spotlight or take over the project which isn’t always the case in a duo. We each represent our style but we make a new style by working together.”^[10]

Compilations

• The Nineties (1993 A.D. Through 1999 A.D)

Album releases as Green Velvet

• Constant Chaos (1999)
• Green Velvet (2000)
• Whatever (2001)
• Walk in Love (2005)
• Ministry of Sound Sessions (2007)
• Lost and Found (2009)
• Unshakable (2013)^[11]

As Cajmere

• Too Underground For The Main Stage (2013)
• The Many Shades of Cajual
• Techno Funk
• House Music All Night Long

12-inch singles and EPs

Release title / Record label / year

• Underground Goodies Vol. I (Clubhouse Records, 1991) *2 versions
• Cajmere Featuring Nané - Keep Movin' 12" (Clubhouse Records, 1991)
• Under Ground Goodies Vol. II 12" (Clubhouse Records, 1992)
• Chit Chat (The Remixes) / Coffee Pot (Cajual Records, 1992) *2 versions
• Cajmere Featuring Dajae* - Brighter Days (Cajual Records, 1992) *15 versions
• Underground Goodies Vol. 4 (Cajual Records, 1992) *6 versions
• Cajmere Featuring Derrick Carter - Dreaming EP (Clubhouse Records, 1992) *3 versions
• Underground Goodies Vol. 3 12" (Out, 1992)
• Let Me Be 12" (Af-Ryth-Mix Sounds, Clubhouse Records, Clubhouse Entertainment, 1993)
• Underground Goodies EP (Cajual Records, 1994)
• Feelin' Kinda High (Cajual Records, 1994) *2 versions
• Underground Goodies Vol. VI Cajual Records 1994 *2 versions
• Underground Goodies Vol V 12" Cajual Records 1995
• Horny (Remixes) Cajual Records 1995 *3 versions
• Get Up Off Me (12") Cajual Records 1996
• Only 4 U Rhythm Republic 1996 *3 versions
• Only 4 U / It's Time For The (Percolator) (CD, Maxi-single, Live, 1997)
• Lookin' For A Man (12") (Live, 1998)
• Feelin' (12") (Live, 2001)
• Nasty (12") (Cajual Records, 2002)
• Cajmere Presents Walter Phillips - Sometimes I Do 12" (Cajual Records, 2004)
• Cajmere Featuring Dajae* - I Need U 12" (GEM, 2004)
• Nude 12" (GEM, 2004)
• Powered 12" (GEM, 2004)
• House-Werk 12" (Relief Records, 2004)
• Cajmere featuring Walter Phillips - Midnight (Remixes) 12" (Cajual Records, 2004)
• Come 12" (Cajual Records, 2004)
• Say U Will (Cajual Records, 2005) *9 versions
• I Need U (Remixes) 12" (Cajual Records, 2005)
• Percolator - Special Edition (Dirtybird/Cajual, 2010) *2 versions
• Cajmere & Gene Farris - New Gotham EP - digital EP (Cajual Records, 2010)
• Green Velvet & Jay Lumen - It's All About Me - digital EP (Relief Records, 2014)