Mephisto Odyssey

Last updated
Mephisto Odyssey
MephistoOdyssey.jpg
Mephisto Odyssey 1999
Background information
Origin San Francisco, California, United States
Genres Progressive house, electronica, house, electro house, breakbeat, acid jazz, industrial music
Occupation(s) DJ, Producer, Remixer
Years active1993–2002, 2007–present
LabelsMephisto Records, City of Angels, Warner Bros. Records, Groove Quest
Members Mikael Johnston
Josh Camacho
Past membersMichael Ames, Orpheos Dejournette, Barrie Eves

Mephisto Odyssey is an American house music group from San Francisco, California, United States, who have been credited with helping to pioneer the San Francisco house music sound. The group went on to release a number of self-released singles until doing tenures at City of Angels and Warner Bros. Records from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s. Mephisto Odyssey are also credited with being the only group to officially remix Jane's Addiction for the maxi single "So What!". The group released many singles and remixes as well as an EP and two albums during the life of the band. This included the song "Crash" which was co-written with Wayne Static of Static-X and "Some Kinda Freak" which was featured in the horror film Hostel . [1]

Contents

Biography

Inception and debut single (1993—1996)

Mephisto Odyssey was originally formed in the fall of 1993 by musician, songwriter / producer Mikael Johnston and producer / songwriter Michael Ames. Johnston's high school friend and fellow musician Orpheos Dejournette joined the group shortly after. The group's first single, the self-released "Dream of the Black Dahlia” (1993), earned kudos from Bay Area promoters and the international underground scene including DJ Garth of Greyhound Recordings who was the first international DJ to play the track. Ames left the group permanently after the release of their first single.

City of Angels (1996—1998)

Mephisto Odyssey now fronted by Johnston and Dejournette continued to release singles on their own label Mephisto Records until 1996 when they signed to the progressive West Coast label City of Angels. At City of Angels the group shared the talent roster with Überzone, Simply Jeff, Christopher Lawrence (DJ), Sandra Collins and future break beat kings, The Crystal Method. After a handful of singles and the release of their first album Catching The Skinny the then duo caught the ear of Warner Bros. Records A & R rep Troy Wallace. Wallace offered the duo the chance to work on a remix project with Jane's Addiction for the upcoming maxi single "So What!", Mephisto Odyssey co-produced the remixes with long-time friend and Primal Record Shop owner, Barrie Eves, who officially joined the group soon after. [2] The official release featured 3 remixes by Mephisto Odyssey and went on to spend 6 weeks in the Billboard maxi singles chart which paved the way for a Warner Bros. Records recording contract (December 1998). DJ Josh Camacho also joined the group soon after the band signed to Warner Bros. as a touring member. To date Mephisto Odyssey are the only artists to officially remix Jane's Addiction. [3]

The Warner Bros. Years (1998—2002)

While at Warner Bros. Records the group expanded further into the realm of engineering, producing and remixing by working with various artists sharing the roster. Mikael Johnston co-wrote, produced and engineered the single "Crash" with Wayne Static of Static-X which also appeared on the Static-X album Beneath... Between... Beyond... [4] Mephisto Odyssey also appeared with Wayne Static and Koichi Fukuda in the song's video (directed by Len Wiseman), which aired in heavy rotation on MTVX. A Humble Brothers remix version of "Crash" was also featured on the soundtrack of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . Mephisto Odyssey did remixes for Los Amigos Invisibles "Mi Linda", Static-X's "Push It" and Soul Coughing's "Rolling" among others. An EP called The Lift which charted in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, [5] several singles and an album called The Deep Red Connection followed. A diverse array of guest vocalists appeared on the band's major label debut including Wayne Static, Hafdis Huld of Gus Gus, former 4ad artist Paula Frazer and Mad Lion. The group left Warner Bros. at the beginning of 2002 and disbanded.

Mephisto Odyssey reunite (2006—2008)

In 2006 founding member Mikael Johnston and DJ Josh Camacho reunited under the Mephisto Odyssey moniker to release several singles under their new Groove Quest label. Some of the singles released were "Superphonic" on N-mitysound Records, "Sexy Love" and "Bump." [6] In 2008 Mikael Johnston put Mephisto Odyssey in moratorium to become one half of the music production team Dresden and Johnston with long-time friend Dave Dresden. [7]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François Kevorkian</span> Musical artist

François Kevorkian, also known by the stage name François K, is a French DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent and based in the United States of America, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54. Kevorkian has produced and remixed work by a diverse range of musicians including the Smiths, Adam Ant, Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan and U2, and is considered one of the forefathers of house music.

Robert Don Hunter Dougan is an Australian composer, known for his genre-blending music. Mixing elements of orchestral music, trip hop, and bluesy vocals, his work is tangentially relatable to electronic music. He is known primarily for his breakthrough 1995 single "Clubbed to Death ", further popularised by 1999's The Matrix soundtrack. "Clubbed to Death" was re-released on his debut album Furious Angels in 2002, seven years after its initial release, as well as providing several variations of the song, most notably the Kurayamino variation; he has also provided a variation of the Moby song "Porcelain". In 1995, he teamed up with Rollo Armstrong to remix the U2 song "Numb"; the remix was titled "Numb ".

1000 Homo DJs was a side project of American industrial rock band Ministry. The project released two singles, one of which featured a cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony De Vit</span> Musical artist

Antony de Vit was an English DJ and music producer. He is considered one of the most influential of his generation. He was credited with helping to take the "hard house" and fast "hard NRG" sounds out of the London and Birmingham gay scene into mainstream clubs. His single "Burning Up" reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1995, with "To the Limit" making number 44 in September 1995. During that year, he won BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix of the Year Award, as voted by listeners of the show, and Music Week's re-mix of Year Award for Louise's "Naked". He remixed several UK top 40 hits during his career with artists such as Taylor Dayne and East 17. Between 1994 and 1998 his popularity with the clubbing public was rivaled by only Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox. In September 2010, Mixmag UK announced the nominations of 35 DJs chosen by other big names in the world of dance music as those they considered the best DJs ever. A subsequent 15-month survey, which polled hundreds of thousands of global votes, asked who was the "greatest DJ of all time" and when the result was announced in January 2011, de Vit was ranked number 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The 45 King</span> American hip hop producer and DJ (1959–2023)

Mark Howard James, professionally known as The 45 King and also known as DJ Mark the 45 King, was an American hip hop producer and DJ from The Bronx, New York. He began DJing in the mid-1980s. His pseudonym, the 45 King, came from his ability to make beats using obscure 45 RPM records.

Richard Norris is a London-based record producer, songwriter, sound engineer, musician, DJ and author. He is best known as a member of electronic dance band The Grid. Richard has also worked as a producer and engineer since the 80s with artists such as: Bryan Ferry, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Marc Almond, Joe Strummer and the Pet Shop Boys.

<i>Queer</i> (Thompson Twins album) 1991 studio album by Thompson Twins

Queer is the eighth and final studio album by the British pop group Thompson Twins, which was released in 1991 by Warner Bros.

Sleepthief is an American electronic music recording project formed by producer and composer Justin Elswick. Elswick began writing music for the album ten years prior to its release. The album was mixed, mastered, co-produced, and co-arranged by Israel Curtis. Sleepthief's first album, The Dawnseeker, was released in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel & Dresden</span> American music duo formed 2001

Gabriel & Dresden is an American electronic music duo comprising Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden, formed in San Francisco, California. They collaborated from 2001 to 2008, then again from 2011 to the present. During that time, they have created numerous hit songs and remixes, some of which are considered classics. They won the coveted Winter Music Conference IDMA award for "Best American DJ" twice, in 2007 and 2008, the latter time on the same day that the group split up. The pair reunited in early 2011 and proceeded on a reunion tour, which began at Ruby Skye in San Francisco on March 4, 2011. They produced three studio albums together: self-titled album (2006), The Only Road (2017) which was released after an 11-year hiatus period, and Remedy (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Dresden</span> Musical artist

Dave Dresden is an American electronic dance music DJ and producer, co-founder of the collaborative acts Gabriel & Dresden with Josh Gabriel, and Dresden and Johnston with Mikael Johnston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The X-Files (composition)</span> 1996 instrumental composition by Mark Snow

"The X-Files" is an instrumental written and produced by American film and television composer Mark Snow. On its parent album, The Truth and the Light: Music from the X-Files, the track is titled "Materia Primoris". It is a remixed version of the original theme Snow composed for the science fiction television series The X-Files in 1993. The composition was released as a single in 1996 and achieved chart success, particularly in France, where it reached number one on the SNEP Singles Chart. The composition has since been covered by many artists, including DJ Dado and Triple X; DJ Dado's version was a major hit in Europe while Triple X's version reached number two in Australia.

Cereal Killaz is an American record producer and DJ outfit, now consisting solely of Alan Linhart and raised in Bowie, Maryland, United States. The music style of the act is classified as breakbeat and nu skool breaks, and has many other influences including nu metal, Florida breaks, drum and bass, industrial and indie rock. The Cereal Killaz have been listed by Annie Nightingale of BBC Radio 1 as one of the movers and shakers in the breakbeat scene.

The discography of the hip hop group Styles of Beyond.

Martijn ten Velden is a Dutch house music DJ and producer from Haarlem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikael Johnston</span> American musical artist

Mikael Johnston is a musician, producer and remixer best known for his work in electronic dance music. Johnston is a founding member of the San Francisco house music group Mephisto Odyssey which originated in the early 1990s. After a string of successful singles on his own label imprint Mephisto Records, Johnston signed with progressive west coast label City of Angels, home to future break beat kings The Crystal Method. Johnston's notoriety in the major label music industry began in the late 1990s with his collaboration with Jane's Addiction on a series of remixes for their maxi single "So What" under the name Deep Red. A recording contract with Warner Bros. Records soon followed. While at Warner Johnston worked with Nu Metal act Static-X on a remix for their single Push It. This eventually led to their collaboration on the crossover alternative song, "Crash" which later became a video directed by Len Wiseman that appeared on MTV and in the film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Johnston's other projects include, Deep Red, Seraphim and The Swerve.

Dirtyphonics is a French electronic music band from Paris, consisting of members Charly Barranger and Julien "PitchIn" Corrales. Their music style is based on dubstep, drum and bass, and drumstep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dresden & Johnston</span> American DJ

Dresden & Johnston are an American DJ and production duo composed of Dave Dresden of Gabriel & Dresden and Mikael Johnston of Mephisto Odyssey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Partysquad</span> Dutch DJ production team

The Partysquad is a Dutch DJ production team. It consists of Jerry Leembruggen, Ruben Fernhout and Lorenzo Biemans. Since the early 2000s they have had 12 singles charting on the Dutch Top 40. They produced part of British rapper M.I.A.'s fourth and fifth albums, Matangi, released in 2013, and AIM, released in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Sydenham</span> Musical artist

Jerome Sydenham is an electronic music producer, DJ and multi-record label owner known for establishing a pan-African electro direction within the house and techno genres.

Kenneth James Gibson is a musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter and a founding member of Bell Gardens, Furry Things, Eight Frozen Modules, and [a]pendics.shuffle.

References

  1. "Mephisto Odyssey | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  2. "So What! - Jane's Addiction | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. Darren, Keast. "Dealing With The Devil, How two Van Halen fans became major label electronica stars and lived to tell about it. So far". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07.
  4. "Beneath... Between... Beyond - Static-X | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Mephisto Odyssey - Billboard". Billboard.com. 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  6. Swan, Rachel. "One Twisted Odyssey". East Bay Express . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  7. "Dave Dresden Reveals New Partnership 4 February 2009". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  8. "Mikael Johnston - Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  9. "The Deep Red Connection - Mephisto Odyssey - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2019-07-29.