Mike Casey is a melody poet. The New York based story-telling songwriter, producer, and sonic alchemist is a multi-talented force whose soul stirring saxophone sound and creative use of phrasing reaches out with love and embraces your musical desires, one note at a time.

A longtime Star Wars fan since childhood, Mike originally composed “Dagobah” in 2015, equally inspired by Yoda & Star Wars as by his first training grounds, Hartford Connecticut. Written shortly after his graduation from the Jackie McLean Institute, Casey’s Star Wars referencing “Dagobah” is an open ended reflection on the rich musical landscape of the Hartford community. “…much like Yoda hiding out on the swamp planet Dagobah, off the beaten path there are some great artists & mentors who either live in the Hartford area and/or who teach at JMI that I’ve learned a great deal from,” says Casey.

After releasing his studio debut/visual album Law of Attraction (4th project in 4 years) in 2020 to critical acclaim (including inclusion in Spotify’s “Best Jazz of 2020”, JazzTimes, HuffPost, BBC & more), Mike is stepping forward as a producer in his own right, remixing his own jazz works in a variety of electronic styles, from Drum & Bass to Dubstep, Hip Hop to Acid Jazz. 

His fourth version of Dagobah for Star Wars Day 2021 re-imagines his the 2020 studio of the  swamp song from Law of Attraction in a Dubstep/Brostep feel, citing influence from his high school DJing days where he enjoyed listening to Skrillex, Rusko, Excision and others.

Q: Do you draw inspiration from other forms of art such as paintings, literature, cinema etc?

A: Absolutely, visual art especially. I love going to museums and gazing upon architecture as well. I have even gone to museums and improvised in response to the art on the walls as part of an artist residency in the past.

Q: Tell us about your latest release and how it came about

A: I first composed Dagobah in 2015 inspired by the jazz community of Hartford, CT and Star Wars. I saw a parallel between my journey and Skywalker’s journey, going to an “out of the way” place to study his craft. Dagobah is the swamp planet Yoda is in hiding on that Skywalker travels to in order to study. While Hartford is far from a major city, it has an internationally known jazz output for decades that punches way above its weight class. 

That scene has its own “Yodas” that I studied with, and it’s a tribute to them and the choice to take the path less traveled. In my view, Hartford is the “Dagobah” of the jazz universe. Since then I have released 4 versions of Dagobah – a live version on my 2017 debut The Sound of Surprise: Live at The Side Door, a hip hop remix via TN’s own b l o o p r in 2019 on Surprise! The Remixes, Pt. 2, a studio version on my visual album/studio debut album Law of Attraction in 2020 and now my own self produced dubstep remix of the Law of Attraction studio version . The last 3 versions have been released on International Star Wars Day – May 4th – May The 4th Be With You – and has even been included on Disney’s official Star Wars playlists on Spotify and Apple Music…which makes my inner Star Wars nerd very happy.

Q: What’s the future looking like for you?

A: In the near future, continuing to release Law of Attraction: The Remixes which marks my biggest step forward as a producer yet. I also hope to release some unreleased songs and videos from the Law of Attraction session later in 2021 as well.

Q: What is the accomplishment you want to achieve the most in your career?

A; Among many things, eventually I’d love to perform in every country and also eventually collaborate with an artist from every country.