Mikael Johnston

Mikael Johnston is a musician, producer, re-mixer and actor best known for his work in electronic dance music and rock. 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 (starting with the 12" single Dream of The Black Dahlia), 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 what was to become Mephisto Odyssey's new name, Deep Red. The name Deep Red was a nod to Italian director Dario Argento's film Profondo Rosso and was to act as their new band name going into their relationship with Warner Bros. Records. However, after a trademarking dispute with another band from Florida, Johnston and crew decided to continue working under the name Mephisto Odyssey. A recording contract with Warner Bros. Records soon followed for Mephisto Odyssey in 1998. During his tenure at Warner Bros. Records, Johnston worked with Nu Metal / Industrial act Static-X on a remix for their single "Push It." This eventually led to Mephisto Odyssey's collaboration on the crossover alternative song, "Crash." A video for the song was shot by director Len Wiseman (Underworld) that appeared on MTV / MTVx, to promote the film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, in which the song appeared both in the film and on the soundtrack. The video featured both Wayne Static and Mikael Johnston, as well as Static-X guitarist Koichi Fukuda, and the other members of Mephisto Odyssey performing the song in the Batcave. The premise of the video was that the two bands had taken over the Batcave to throw an industrial-style rave party, which featured all kinds of interesting characters dancing and partying. Johnston's other projects include Deep Red, Seraphim (Odyssey), The Swerve and Dresden and Johnston with Dave Dresden of Gabriel & Dresden. Dresden and Johnston's remixes of Lily Allen's "The Fear" and Nadia Ali's "Love Story" both hit #1 in the Billboard Magazine Hot Dance Club Play Chart, and their single "Keep Faith," featuring Mezo Riccio, John Debo and Morgan Page, hitting #10 on the same chart. Other remixes by the duo include BT's "The Unbreakable", JD Webb's "Better Man", The Crystal Method's "Black Rainbows", Owl City's "Hello Seattle" and Enrique Iglesias's "Tonight."