Green Velvet

Born: 26 April 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Green Velvet, initially created by house don Cajmere (AKA Curtis Alan Jones) as an outlet for his non-vocal productions and frequent DJ-ing gigs, grew to become even more popular than the man himself, thanks to club singles like "Preacher Man", "Answering Machine", and "The Stalker".

Jones, who had nurtured the Chicago house renaissance of the 1990s with his Cajual Records, gained success in 1993 with the Cajmere single "Brighter Days" (with Dajaé on vocals). Later that year, he formed the sublabel Cajual Records, mostly for instrumental tracks by himself and others.

Besides releases from DJ Sneak, Gemini, and Paul Johnson, Green Velvet figured on many of the early Relief singles, including its first, "Preacher Man" as well as "Flash" (also released on the British label Cajual Records), "The Stalker", and "Answering Machine" (1997).

He began to supplement his Green Velvet DJ-ing schedule with quasi-live gigs as well, and released his first album in 1999. His self-titled release on label Cajual Records a year later compiled a dozen of his earlier club hits, and the proper sophomore production album "Whatever" (2001) appeared on his own Relief label.