Is this really the ninth in the series? Why, it seems like only yesterday. Whether they’re names you’ve heard of, or whether they’re not, the Ministry series continues to subject me, you and the world to does after dose of thumping, twisted beats and quirky, swinging vocals, this time from the two sides of Curtis Jones – the Chicago born electronic and house singer, songwriter, producer and all round groovy religious ass shaker.
Launched during the Chicago house renaissance of the 1990’s with his own label Cajual Records and gaining enormous success in 1993 with the Cajmere single “Brighter Days” (vocals by Dajae) his ‘Green Velvet’ moniker was said to be born out of an anxious attempt to produce something that turned the knobs 360 degrees on Cajmere moniker. In 1993 Curtis created Relief as an offshoot to his Cajual Records which gave birth to his first Green Velvet production ‘Velvet Tracks’. Green Velvet (a name given to him by a friend’s dad) emerged as the flamboyant, neon-haired ‘Electro who frequently compared to Prince, Kraftwerk and Gary Numan.
This mix sees both sides of the man go head-to-head with a Cajmere mix on Disc 1 and a Green Velvet mix on Disc 2. Although both CDs heavily feature his own productions, remixes and edits there is additional fare from André Kraml Feat. Schad Privat on ‘Safari’ (James Holden Remix) and Sneaker Pimps’s ‘Spin Spin Sugar’ (Armand Van Helden Mix).