Mike Starr
A purveyor of the underground, championing the unsung via overlooked or slept on gems, British born-Berlin based Mike Starr has applied his musical sensibilities to his sets and productions for the past two decades whilst retaining the true foundations of house & techno. Mike Starr has frequently guested at many of the best of Berlin underground clubs + parties including Berghain/Panorama Bar, Tresor, Watergate, RSO, Heideglühen, Kit Kat Club, Wilde Renate, Sisyphos, Kater Blau and Paloma Bar. Mike has actively injected his unique blend of charisma and soul into underground house. Djing with musicality, groove and a sense of purpose by emotionally telling a story within his sets, mixes and productions. The sound although firmly grounded in house, incorporates groove based nuances from electro, garage, disco to the sound of Detroit, Chicago, Berlin house & techno.
The mid ‘90s saw Starr living in New York City where he was exposed to the house scene pioneers of Frankie Knuckles, Body & Soul, Danny Tenaglia on a weekly basis amongst the city’s vibrant nightlife. In the mid 2000s he garnered a four year residency in London at The End (owned by The Shamen’s Mr C in conjunction with Layo & Bushwacka) at Discotec alongside another then resident, Luke Howard – a founding member of Horse Meat Disco.
From 2006-2008 saw Mike also grace a semi residency at Fabric’s then Sunday regular event DTPM within Room 3 showcasing the broad palette of the electro genre.
After frequent guest DJ spots in Berlin, Mike moved to the German electronic mecca in late 2009. Production dues finally started to take fruition with the Douglas Greed remix of his debut release ‘Love Away’ on Berlin imprint Casual Lab caught the attention of Noir. This was further thrust into the spotlight on Defected’s popular ‘In the House’ series. The follow up EP ‘Layback’ was well received and thus becoming one of the more popular releases for the label.
Mike has provided remixes for BPitch Control for Argy & Mama (alongside Rampa & Alan Fitzpatrick), Sound Black Recordings for Lady Blacktronika, Joseph Ashworth for Hannah Holland’s Native City Records, Lok Recordings for Dennis Ihm, and others. Mike embarked on a tour in 2015 with the Isle 9 Collective to Hawaii with 20 prominent german artists including Rampue, Monolink, Soukie & Windish, Wide Awake to showcase the rising downtempo & sound of underground Berlin. In 2022, Mike made his debut at both Garbicz & Krake festivals.
In 2017, Mike released his most stellar “Breakout” EP (inc Thomas Steiler Remix) on Biotop Label; home to many established producers such as Eduardo De La Calle, Pablo Bolivar, Noah Pred, JEPE, and label head Patrick Zigon.
Pre pandemic in 2018 – 2020 Mike hosted two bi monthly INDUSTRIE & NITE LINE parties which debuted at Paloma Bar with Ash Lauryn (Deep South ATL, Detroit) to resounding success in showcasing Detroit centric house music; and NITE LINE, bringing upfront electro to the forefront alongside co-host Noah Pred.
Currently Mike is a resident for GEGEN representing the house alternative “against” the techno soundscape and also has a close working relationship with Berlin’s RAIDERS crew.