About Mike Michael Ayles is a Montreal-based musician specializing in the traditional music of Ireland and Quebec. He also holds a Master's degree in medical physics from McGill University and could give you a convincing explanation of the conservation of momentum (linear or angular) if pressed. As a multi-instrumentalist, he is at home on the guitar, tenor banjo and wooden flute. He has played with nearly every traditional musician in the Montreal area (and a few other areas, as well), a testament to his versatility and willingness to adapt to whatever the situation calls for. Michael has played concerts, festivals, dances, workshops, weddings and parades with his own groups and has filled in for missing musicians in a host of others. He was also one of the organizers of the 6th Avenue House Concert series from 2003-2006, and for two years shared the hosting of an Irish session every Monday at the Café l'Utopik in Montreal.

Originally drawn to the folk world by an interest in Irish music, Michael first came to hear Quebecois music at the sessions in Montreal where he played regularly. Since then, he has devoted himself to absorbing as much of the two different repertoires as possible, learning countless dance tunes and songs in both idioms. He has also been known to dabble with folk music from America, Brittany, Scotland, Sweden and Eastern Europe, though less extensively.

Michael's formative experiences came from his first groups, the pub band 139 South and the contradance group Garton's Crimson Avengers. Since then, he has played with numerous groups for concerts, festivals and dances all over North America. Michael has shared the stage with groups like Genticorum, Airdance and the McDades, and with artists such as Laura Risk and Lissa Schneckenburger.

From 2003-2008, Michael was a member of Quebecois traditional group La Part du Quêteux. During this period, the group released two CDs, C'a l'air d'aller (2004) and Paye la Traite (2007), the second of which won the honour of Best Traditional Album at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2007. Around this time he also released a solo CD entitled Over the Bridge (2006). Michael now plays with the David Gossage Ensemble, whose first CD was released in March 2009. Details on all of these recordings can be found on the music page.

In September 2006, Michael returned to his scientific roots and began a Master's degree in Medical Physics at McGill University. He completed the degree in 2008 and is now employed as a medical physicist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital in Montreal.