Jacques Greene

Biography

Jacques Greene, born Philippe Aubin-Dionne, is a Montreal-based electronic music producer and DJ who emerged in the late 2000s, initially releasing tracks under the alias Hovatron before adopting his current moniker around 2010. Growing up in Montreal, he was immersed in a vibrant local scene blending indie rock and electronic music, drawing early inspiration from hip-hop producers like Timbaland, the Neptunes, Dr. Dre, and Pharrell Williams, whose prominent roles in music videos encouraged him to envision himself as a front-facing producer. As a teenager, he co-founded the influential Turbo Crunk club night with DJs like Lunice, Rob Squire, and Ango, helping shape a mutated, syrupy hip-hop sound that resonated globally.

Greene's career took off with singles on labels like Night Slugs and LuckyMe, including the 2011 hit 'Another Girl,' which sampled Ciara and became a defining indie dance track, bridging UK garage, R&B, and house for a post-millennial audience alongside artists like Disclosure and Kingdom. His style fuses weighty 4/4 and 2-step rhythms with breathy synths, R&B vocals, hip-hop elements, acid, and synth-pop, as heard in debut album Feel Infinite (2017), Dawn Chorus (2019), and ANTH01 (2021). He has remixed Radiohead, Katy B, and Jimmy Edgar, appeared in Azealia Banks' '212' video, and maintained a steady output via his own VASE label while touring festivals like III Points.

Now based partly in Toronto, Greene reflects on a decade-plus career marked by versatility—from warm house to frosty techno—while embracing collaboration after years of solo work. His legacy lies in cross-pollinating Montreal's indie-electronic ecosystem with global dance trends, remaining too pop for underground scenes and too experimental for mainstream, carving a unique lane.

Fun Facts

• Greene's first hardware synth was borrowed from the keyboard player of indie rock band Wolf Parade, reflecting Montreal's cross-genre scene.
• He appeared in Azealia Banks' iconic '212' video and has praised Justin Bieber's Journals as an 'amazing record' while admiring Skrillex's live impact.
• Initially started as Hovatron before switching to Jacques Greene; his early sound used bootlegged Neptunes drum kits and R&B samples.
• In 2017, at age 28, he described himself as 'too pop for the underground guys, too underground for the pop guys,' curving his own lane.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Timbaland - Key stylistic influence from hip-hop production era (Early bootlegs and R&B samples in tracks) [late 2000s high school years]
• The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo) - Inspirational for producer visibility and drum kits (Bootlegged Neptune drum kits in initial productions) [late 2000s-early 2010s]
• Burial - Influence on atmospheric rhythms and ambient elements ('Dundas Collapse' on Feel Infinite) [2010s]

Key Collaborators

• Lunice - Co-founder of Turbo Crunk club night shaping local sound (Turbo Crunk events) [late 2000s]
• Rob Squire - Co-DJ in early Montreal club nights (Turbo Crunk) [late 2000s]
• Ango - Co-DJ in fledgling DJ collective (Turbo Crunk nights) [late 2000s]

External Links

• Spotify