Mephisto Odyssey is an American

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

group from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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 Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

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 Wayne Richard Wells (November 4, 1965 – November 1, 2014), known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, and primary lyricist for the industrial metal band St ...

Static-X Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his d ...

and "Some Kinda Freak" which was featured in the horror film ''

Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

''.

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 The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

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 Timothy Wiles, known by the stage name Überzone, is an electronic musician originally from Anaheim, California. He has also been known as Q, named after the popular character in the ''James Bond'' series. Wiles is well known for concocting int ...

, Simply Jeff,

Christopher Lawrence (DJ) Christopher Lawrence is an American DJ and producer, specializing in progressive trance music. He has released 10 mix CDs since 1997. Awards *Voted the 110th DJ in the world by DJ Magazine Top 100 poll for 2008. *Voted the #4 DJ in the world ...

Sandra Collins Sandra Collins is an American Disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and remixer. Biography Collins got her start on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. in Phoenix, Arizona and then moved into residencies in Los Angeles, and eventually moved t ...

and future break beat kings,

The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, v ...

. 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 Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

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. 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

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.

The Warner Bros. Years (1998—2002)

While at

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

which also appeared on the Static-X album '' Beneath... Between... Beyond...'' Mephisto Odyssey also appeared with Wayne Static and

Koichi Fukuda Koichi Fukuda (born July 1, 1975) is a Japanese musician, best known as the lead guitarist, programmer, keyboardist, and co-founder of the American industrial metal band Static-X; he has been a member of the band three times, initially from 1994 ...

in the song's video (directed by

Len Wiseman Len Ryan Wiseman (born March 4, 1973) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his work on the ''Underworld (film series), Underworld'' series (2003–2016), ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (2007), and the Total ...

), which aired in heavy rotation on

MTVX MTVX was an American hard rock music music video, video channel operated by Viacom (1952–2005), Viacom's MTV Networks division. A sister channel of MTV, MTVX was available exclusively on digital cable providers, being the first network to be mad ...

. 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 Los Amigos Invisibles ( Spanish for "The Invisible Friends") is a Venezuelan band which plays a blend of disco, acid jazz and funk mixed with Latin rhythms. In addition to releasing eleven critically acclaimed albums, the band have been lauded ...

"Mi Linda",

's "Push It" and

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing is an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. They developed a devout fa ...

's "Rolling" among others. An EP called ''The Lift'' which charted in the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Chart, 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 GusGus is an electronic music band from Reykjavík, Iceland. Although initially a film and acting collective, the group is mostly known for its electronic music. The group's discography consists of twelve studio albums. History GusGus was in ...

, former

4ad 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

artist

Paula Frazer Paula A. Frazer (born April 24, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. She grew up in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and Arkansas and moved to San Francisco in 1981. Her music is frequently described as melancholic alternative country, but with ...

and

Mad Lion Oswald Priest, better known as Mad Lion, is a dancehall, ragga musician and rapper.Larkin, Colin (1998) "Mad Lion", in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 178 He frequently collaborates with fellow hip hop artist KRS-One. ...

. 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." In 2008 Mikael Johnston put Mephisto Odyssey in moratorium to become one half of the music production team

Dresden and Johnston Dresden & Johnston are an American DJ and production duo composed of Dave Dresden of Gabriel & Dresden and Mikael Johnston of Mephisto Odyssey. History Dave Dresden is the co-founder of the dance music acts Gabriel & Dresden and Motorcycle, ...

with long-time friend

Dave Dresden 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. History 1988–2000: Early years Dresden's zeal for ...

Discography

* Dream of the Black Dahlia (EP) 12" - Orpheos Productions 1994 * Dream of the Black Dahlia Remixes 12" - Mephisto Records through Hi-Bias 1994 * Dream of the Black Dahlia on Twitch Vol. 10 12" - Twitch Records 1994 * Catching the Skinny EP 12" - Mephisto Records through Hi-Bias 1994 * The Motive EP 12" - Mephisto Records 1995 * Transhumance feat. John Kozak - San Francisco Sound Spectrum (under the name Odyssey Arcane) 12" Twitch Records 1995 * The Tyburn Swing on RAW OXYGEN 5: Cool Neurotica 12" - Oxygen Music Works 1996 * Freak Lip Stomp, Dream of the Black Dahlia on Mephisto - The Subterranean Sounds of San Francisco 12" SSR/Crammed 1996 * Get Down (single) 12" - City of Angels Records - 1996 * Midntropolis (Single) 12" - City of Angels Records 1997 * Feterous Tripstride on The Sound of Young America 12" - City of Angels - 1997 * Catching the Skinny Album - City of Angels 1997 * Jane's Addiction - So What EP Mephisto Odyssey remixes 12" - Warner Bros. Records 1997 * Los Amigos Invisibles - Mi Linda Mephisto Odyssey Remixes 12" - Luaka Bop / WBR 1998 * Flow single (under the name Deep Red) 12" - Primal Trax / Warner Bros. Records 1999 * The Lift Remixes (EP) 12" Dbl Pack Primal Trax / Warner Bros. Records 2000 * The Deep Red Connection - Warner Bros. Records 2000 * Sexy Dancer (single) Hipp-E & Halo remix 12" - Primal Trax / Warner Bros. Records 2000 * Reach (single) feat Hafdis Huld 12" - Primal Trax / Warner Bros. Records 2000 * Killah (single) feat Jamalski 12" - Primal Trax / Warner Bros. Records 2001 * Some Kinda Freak (single) feat. Ultra Violet Catastrophe remix 12" - Primal Trax / Warner Bros. Records 2001 * Crash Video (Featuring Static-X, directed by Len Wiseman) - Warner Bros. Records 2001 * Rites of Passage (single) 12" - The Joint / Waako records 2004

References

External links

MEPHISTO ODYSSEY
* {{Authority control Electronic music groups from California American club DJs DJs from San Francisco Record producers from California American trance musicians American remixers American electronic dance music DJs