Green Velvet

Green Velvet, the stage name of Curtis Alan Jones, is an American DJ, singer, and record producer recognized for his influence on Chicago house music and electronic music. Jones began his journey into electronic music during his graduate studies in chemical engineering, ultimately leaving academia to pursue a career in music. His early work played a significant role in bringing attention back to Chicago and shaping a sound representative of the city.

Jones first gained recognition under the alias Cajmere, releasing the inaugural "Underground Goodies EP" on his Cajual label, which reflected the early house sound. He made a notable impact on the dance music community with "Coffee Pot (It's Time for the Percolator)" on Clubhouse Records. The track was included on Rolling Stone's "20 Best Chicago House Records" list and Mixmag's "20 Best US Rave Anthems of the '90s" list. The collaboration between Cajmere and Dajae produced the Billboard Dance Chart and international dance hit "Brighter Days," prompting Jones to establish Cajual Records. He later founded the sub-label Relief Records, which supported and introduced artists such as DJ Sneak, Boo Williams, and Mark Grant.

Relief Records also introduced the experimental persona Green Velvet, an alter ego of Jones. The Green Velvet character is known for a distinctive visual style, including goggles and a neon green mohawk. Adopting this persona for techno-oriented productions and DJ performances, Jones became associated with new wave Chicago beats throughout the 1990s. He is known for tracks such as "Preacher Man," "Flash," and "Answering Machine." The decade concluded with the release of his first album, "Constant Chaos."

The following years saw the release of a compilation album and the production album "Whatever" on Relief, a punk-inspired project exploring themes such as racism, drug use, and alienation. The track "La La Land" became the best-selling release of his career. "Walk in Love," the third Green Velvet album, followed as Jones continued to balance his aliases and increase his collaborative output.

An anthology titled "Ony 4 U: The Sound of Cajmere and Cajual Records 1992-2012" compiled the two-decade history of Cajual Records. Jones has collaborated with artists including Phil Kieran, Patrick Topping, Mark Knight, Gene Farris, Harvard Bass, Jay Lumen, and Carl Craig. Throughout his career, Jones has remained dedicated to the Chicago house sound, maintaining a significant presence in the global electronic music scene as a DJ and producer.