Mike Poe began forming his musical interests at an early age. He was fascinated by the use of electronic instruments in modern music and began listening to progressive rock groups such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Rick Wakeman in the 70's. It was his mother who introduced him to the experimental electronic tones of Brian Eno and Kraftwerk. His appreciation for these creative styles carried on through high school and followed him into college.
During his time at Ohio University, Mike began to create electronic compositions to accompany modern dance pieces and also began to develop his styles as a DJ. His style concentrated heavily on the dark industrial sounds of Front 242 and Skinny Puppy. He added many styles to his DJ repertoire and began to introduce ambient tones and atmospheres to his DJ sets. The Orb was a major influence, which gradually led him to spin more ambient dub styled tracks.
In 1993 he moved from Athens, Ohio to Columbus where he introduced his unique style and catalog of recordings to the Columbus scene. He began working with Rob Engel to create atmospheric dark ambient music that became the Midislut project with Mike spinning under the Midislut name. In 1994, he released “Ambiento”, a mix tape of selected ambient tracks, which created a buzz among the underground scene. Shortly after the release of “Ambiento,” Mike was spinning in chill out rooms at many of the now legendary ele_mental parties.
Mike followed his release of “Ambiento” with “Project Blossom” in 1995. Mike provided his own compositions at the ele_mental sponsored “Boron” in August 1996. Mike was also involved in electronic music composition in the Columbus area. Contributions include the 21/22 Corp. compilation "Fusion No.5" and "Trace Ele_ments4 EP", a collaboration with Bone Tribe Productions, and an appearance on Black Music's "Adventures in Modern Recording" CD with an industrial jungle track titled "Cycle_7.1".
During July of 1996, Mike began to work at the groundbreaking downtown club, Mekka. He immersed himself in the club tracks he heard from such DJ’s as Mike G, Kevy Kev, and Rob Engel along with many of the guest DJ’s who graced the decks. It wasn’t long before Mike teamed up with Doughboy, and spun “Twilight Sundaze,” where he played Chicago house and techno. Mike made Mekka his home for over four years, and attributes much of his appreciation and love for the music to his stay there.
Beginning in 1998, Mike made guest appearances at Red Zone and played at many of the “Clockwork Sundaze” events that have made Doughboy famous. He opened for many of the DJ world superstars, such as Josh Wink, Marco Carolla, Charles Feelgood, and Terry Lee Brown Jr. Mike also held simultaneous residencies at both FM and Clique through the Millennium.
In December of 2000, Mike traveled to Germany and played two New Years dates in Jena and Altenburg. Upon returning to the states, Mike teamed up with Kate Hazelbaker to start “Barcelona DJs@11,” which blended the eclectic tastes of a tapas restaurant with deep house and lounge style tracks.
Mike currently holds residency at Eleven Restaurant and Lounge, spinning deep and tech house. He is a member of the Quality! crew often sharing the decks with his mates Jason Lyman, Jeff Pongonis, and Steve Keck.