Mephisto Odyssey
San Franciscos own electonica breakbeat project since 1993.
"As producers, engineers, and songwriters for the Warner Bros. act 'Mephisto Odyssey', Mikael Johnston and Orpheos Dejournette gained the reputation of being eclectics, pivotal in defining the nascent San Francisco house sound" (SF Weekly Sept. 6, 2000). After signing to Warner Bros. Records (1998-2002), Mephisto Odyssey (Which included friends, and co-conspirators, UK Transplant DJ Barrie Eves of 'Primal Records', and DJ Josh Comacho), built on this reputation by working with a diverse cross section of bands also signed to the label. They co-wrote, produced, and engineered the single "Crash" with the platinum selling metal band Static-X. Crash was made into a music video by director Len Wiseman (Underworld), for the full-length animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which also aired on MTV2 and MTVx. The band did extensive remixing while at Warner, for artists such as Los Amigos Invisibles, Static-X, and Soul Coughing. A great success during this period was their work as co-producers, engineers, and remixers for the Jane's Addiction maxi single "So What," from the album Kettle Whistle. Mephisto Odyssey did the only remixes ever sanctioned and released by Jane's Addiction. The single, which featured their work on four of five mixes, charted in the Billboard maxi singles chart for 6 weeks. Johnston got his musical start and influences from the rock and new wave scenes of the 1980s, which is how he first met long time collaborator and fellow Mephisto Odyssey founder Orpheos Dejournette. During the early 90s the two decided to put aside their guitar and rock roots to check out the as-yet-uncharted territory of electronica. It proved to be a wise career move for both of them. The duo's first single, the self-released "Dream of the Black Dahlia," earned kudos from Bay Area promoters and the international underground scene. Dejournette and Johnston continued to release singles on the Mephisto label and eventually were signed to the progressive West Coast record label City of Angels, where they shared the talent roster with Uberzone, Simply Jeff, Christopher Lawrence, and future breakbeat kings The Crystal Method. Fast forward to 2006 - Mikael and Orpheos continue to work with an eclectic and varied group of artists. They have recently worked with Epitaph recording artists The Matches, Smash Mouth, and I am the World Trade Center. They did a live mix of Rose Hill Drive, for San Francisco's 107.7 FM, and most recently, Mikael worked as an engineer for the European Grammy winning Swedish band The Sounds latest album, Dying To Say This To You. Additionally, their own music continues to appear in film and TV. In 2006, the song "Some Kinda Freak" was featured in the Quentin Tarantino production Hostel and "Crash" was licensed for the MTV show I want a Famous Face.
Yes: Next show is at the San Francisco Love Fest Sept. 23rd 2006