dj :: seattle.wa

0x86 has been behind the decks in one incarnation or another since 1991. His experience covers the gamut including radio, clubs, parties, and other events that incorporated underground electronic music of all kinds. It is this breadth of experience that enables him to create challenging presentations that often defy classification. Regardless of the tempo, his mixes always strive to find that balance between complexity and groove that inevitably lead both mind and body to motion.

upcoming events

July 5, 2009 - Chillography 201 (Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA)

recorded sets

idm, downtempo, dub, ambient, etc.:

breaks, electro, etc.:

the back story

The journey begins in Boulder, CO in 1991. Thomas Kiehne adopted the moniker 'Net Noise' as both a login name on a VAX/VMS cluster, and as a DJ name for the University of Colorado's student-run radio station, KUCB (now KVCU). As Net Noise, he developed an all-electronic music specialty show named 'Transmission-X' and sought to expose the traditionally alt-rock listening audience to a wide spectrum of electronic music from ambient to danceable to abrasive.

In 1993 he founded the label SDS Productions, initially as a platform for recordings of 'Transmission-X', but later as a vehicle for locally produced abstract electronic music. The creative vision for SDS centered on the idea that the differentiation and division of electronic music genres that had followed the explosion of rave culture was unnecessary and futile; that they share the same lineage and purpose and should support and not detract from one another.

It was during this time that a series of influences and factors inexorably pushed him into producing original music. Among them: a firm grounding in the DiY ethic of punk culture, the then raging underground techno-rave scene, and the ready availability of the new Pro Tools digital recording system procured by KUCB. 1994 saw a burst of recording and collaboration which distilled into two main projects: the solo project 'Aurifex' and a binary pairing with Nate Jantz (now with Obliq Recordings) as 'I:Tek'. Most of this activity was captured in the SDS catalog alongside the Transmission-X recordings.

Due to factors beyond his control, he relocated to central Texas in 1995. There Net Noise was revived as a club DJ in Austin, Aurifex continued to produce, and SDS Productions matured. Meanwhile, styles and genres came and went while the original SDS vision provided focus: Net Noise's industrial and EBM sets frequently included trance, techno, IDM, and drum & bass styles in a unified framework that openly challenged the conventions of the time.

By 1999, focus shifted away from SDS and into Last Laugh, LLC, a group that produced diverse electronic music-oriented events. The shift away from SDS mirrored the shift from 'Net Noise' to the new moniker '0x86' and an emphasis on a broad variety of intelligent and experimental electronic music. During the early 2000s, he played numerous events with Last Laugh and other organizations such as Texaliens, Artificial Music Machine, and Amoda. 0x86 was also a resident at Downtemple, a weekly downtempo night held at Elysium Nightclub in Austin, TX, where he refined his eclectic downtempo style.

Although initially focused on IDM and dark drum & bass / techstep, 0x86 has settled in to two main modes: downtempo (incoporating IDM, ambient trance, trip-hop, dub, and ambient), and breaks (incorporating nu/progressive breaks, electro, psy breaks, with various flavors of house and techno for variety).

0x86 relocated to Seattle, WA in 2005, thus starting a new phase in the story... more as it transpires.

past events

  • Oct 11, 2008 - Chillography 102 (Trancendent Church of Bass, Seattle, WA)
  • Jun 7, 2008 - Dragonfly: Chill Space by Machine-Elf (Vancouver, WA area)
  • May 19, 2007 - Siren Song: Chill Space by Machine-Elf (Rockdale, TX area)
  • Jun 2006 - Critical Massive 5: McVeg Express (Mt. Vernon, WA area)
  • May 2006 - Burning Flipside 9, Fall From Grace: Get Lost (Austin, TX area)
  • May 2005 - Burning Flipside 8, Innergalatic Circus: Get Lost (Austin, TX area)
  • Jul 2004 - Burning Flipside Decompression (The Awarehouse, Austin, TX)
  • May 20, 2004 - Amoda Digital Showcase 27 (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • Nov 7, 2003 - Cross Product 6 (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • May 2003 - Burning Flipside 6, Dreams of Chromatic Distraction: McVeg (Austin, TX area)
  • May 15, 2003 - Obliq Optik (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • Jan 2003 - Burning Flipside Town Hall Afterparty (The Awarehouse, Austin, TX)
  • Aug 9, 2002 - Cross Product 2 (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • Jul 27, 2002 - Massiv 2: Chill Space by Last Laugh & Texaliens (Ft Worth, TX area)
  • Jul 20, 2002 - Trance Daddy (Austin, TX area)
  • Jun 28, 2002 - Cross Product (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • May 2002 - Burning Flipside 5, Down the Rabbit Hole: McVeg (Austin, TX area)
  • Apr 20, 2002 - Dawn's Kiss: Downtempo Stage (San Marcos, TX area)
  • Feb 26, 2002 - Amoda Digital Showcase 12 (Texture, Austin, TX)
  • Feb 15, 2002 - Through the Looking Glass (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • Nov 30, 2001 - Cypher (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • Oct 2001 to May 2003 - Downtemple (resident) (Elysium, Austin, TX)
  • Sep 2001 - SoupStock: Texaliens (Austin, TX area)
  • Jul 2001 - Burning Flipside Decompression (Austin, TX)
  • Jul 21, 2001 - Inneraction: Downtempo Stage (Atomic Cafe, Austin, TX)
  • May 2001 - Burning Flipside 4, Home on the Strange: McVeg & Main Stage (Austin, TX area)