Music
Kelli Hand
1964–2021 · DJ, producer, label owner
“First Lady of Detroit techno”, who opened doors for Black women in electronic music and ran her own Acacia label for three decades.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 56- Birth name
- Kelley Hand
- Also known as
- K-Hand · First Lady of Detroit techno
- Detroit years
- 1964–2021
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Kelley Hand was born and raised in Detroit and spent her youth absorbing New York's club culture, especially Larry Levan's sets at the Paradise Garage. Back home she bought her own equipment and taught herself to DJ and produce in her bedroom, then landed a residency at Detroit's Zipper's nightclub. In 1990 she founded UK House Records, soon renamed Acacia Records after a Detroit street she had lived on, and released her debut EP Think About It. Her swinging, sample-driven tracks drew on Chicago house as much as on Detroit influences such as Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance and Ken Collier. Warp released her single “Global Warning” in 1994, and her album On a Journey followed on Studio !K7 in 1995. In an overwhelmingly male scene she became a model for women DJs. Detroit gave her a Spirit of Detroit Award in 2016 and named her a “First Lady of Detroit” in 2017. She died at home in 2021.
Highlights
- Founded Acacia Records in 1990, named after a Detroit street.
- “Global Warning” was released on Warp Records in 1994.
- Debut album On a Journey (Studio !K7, 1995); seven more albums by 2000.
- Spirit of Detroit Award (2016) and City Council “First Lady of Detroit” resolution (2017).
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · late 1980s
Zipper's Nightclub
Status being checked
The Detroit club where she held her first residency; location not documented.