K-Hand, one of the most powerful voices in techno and house, a friend and irreplaceable community member to so many in the electronic scene, has died.
I know this has been a time of such incredible loss for many people, to the point that I’m sure it’s almost worrying to open up your phone. Kelli Hand, “first lady of techno,” “first lady of Detroit” was an inspiration to many of us musically, but also someone whose absence will be felt deeply and personally.
No cause of death is currently public but her loss has been confirmed by sources close to her.
Detroit house and techno legend K-Hand has died [Mixmag]
Influential Detroit DJ and Producer Kelli Hand has died [Ransom note]
I know some friends saw or spoke with her just in the past days, as she was active producing and playing right up to this week.
A deep catalog of music lives on from the 90s right up to the present moment, via labels like !K7 Records, Tresor, Ausfahrt, Hyerspace, трип, Distance, Maffia, Warp, and her own UK House Records – since renamed Acacia Records.
It’s hard to know what to add, as we see another artist lost too young, and an ongoing toll that has hit Detroit and Black Americans especially hard. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that the burden of loss continues to weigh heavier in these communities, in an unjust system we in music and those of us as Americans have all been part of. It’s not enough to say that, though; we have to find a way to respond. For now, though, I can only share the music and a tribute to the human behind the sounds.
Just re-released, the debut on Studiok7!:
Plus new music:
And she leaves indelible footprints.
An outpouring of support includes: