Blue Stahli

Lore & Background

Bret Autrey started music at a young age, learning on a beat-up piano rescued from a dump. He took three years of piano lessons by mimicking his neighbor and playing melodies by ear, and later learned guitar from a friend, playing along to Queen's Flash Gordon soundtrack. He played guitar in a band fronted by drag queens and DJed for a burlesque troupe. Self-taught, Autrey and Collin Landis entered a demo-tape titled Mainframe into Flaming Fish Music, leading to the duo (with Shawn Landis) producing under VOXiS:MACHINA and later VOXiS. Their debut album Darkeworld: Project One, aimed for summer 2001, was delayed and finally released in 2006, then re-released through FiXT in 2007.

Klayton of Celldweller discovered Autrey in 2007 through a remix contest for 'Own Little World.' Signed to FiXT, Autrey formed Blue Stahli and moved to Detroit. The name combines the painting 'untitled blue' and its painter Susanne Stahli. The first Blue Stahli single was 'Kill Me Every Time,' followed by the instrumental album Antisleep Vol. 01. His first vocal album with FiXT, Blue Stahli, came in 2011, with further instrumental Antisleep volumes in 2012 and 2013. The first song officially recorded for Blue Stahli was a cover of IAMX's 'This Will Make You Love Again,' recorded in a closet the night before Autrey left Phoenix for Detroit.

In 2013, Blue Stahli released singles 'The Fall' and 'Down In Flames' as the first chapter of the vocal album The Devil, which was released on October 2, 2015. Antisleep Vol. 04 was released in 2015. From April 2017, Autrey worked under the alias Sunset Neon, a synthwave project, releasing the album Starlight in December 2017. The album Obsidian was delayed by Autrey's departure from FiXT Music, eventually becoming part of the Dead Channel Trilogy—Quartz (2020), Copper (2020), and Obsidian (2021)—the first independent releases for Blue Stahli. In 2026, Autrey revealed he is working on a new vocal album.

Reader's Guide

Blue Stahli represents a significant presence in the electronic rock landscape, particularly through the independent label FiXT Music. The project's nine studio albums, split between vocal and instrumental works, demonstrate a sustained output that has found use in movie trailers, television shows, and video games, reflecting a niche but consistent commercial reach. Autrey's self-taught background and early experiences in diverse musical settings—from a drag-queen-fronted band to burlesque DJing—inform the project's eclectic style. The Dead Channel Trilogy, released independently after Autrey's departure from FiXT, marks a shift toward full creative and financial autonomy. While not a mainstream act, Blue Stahli's integration into multimedia and its dedicated fanbase underscore its role as a durable fixture in the electronic rock and instrumental music scenes. The project's legacy is tied to its prolific discography and the adaptability of its music across different media formats.

Did You Know?

• Autrey learned to sing by singing along to early IAMX records.
• The Dead Channel Trilogy (Quartz, Copper, Obsidian) were the first independent releases in Blue Stahli's history.