Kelley Hand (September 15, 1964 – August 3, 2021), known professionally as Kelli Hand and K-HAND, was a musician and DJ from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, United States. Hand was widely credited with opening the door for Black women's participation in the previously male-dominated techno and electronic music communities during the 1990s and was known as the "First Lady of

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...

". A prolific DJ with an "impossibly deep catalogue", Hand continued to produce and perform music up until her death in 2021.

Life and career

Born on September 15, 1964, and raised in Detroit, Hand immersed herself in New York's club scene during her youth in the 1980s, especially frequenting the legendary

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

when

Larry Levan Larry Levan (; born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992) was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern da ...

was playing as well as Club Area. She purchased her own equipment and began teaching herself to produce and DJ in her bedroom, before eventually beginning to play clubs and landing a residency at Detroit's Zipper's Nightclub. In 1990, Hand founded her own label, initially named UK House Records, but quickly renamed to Acacia Records after a Detroit street she had previously lived on. Her debut release was an EP, ''Think About It''. In 1994, her single, ''Global Warning'', was released on the British label

Warp Records Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, ...

. In 1995, her debut studio album, ''On A Journey'', was released on

Studio !K7 !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...

.K-HAND
k-handmusic.com By the year 2000, seven further albums were released on the labels, !K7 Records, Distance, Tresor, and Ausfahrt. Hand's imprint Acacia Label continues to release new vinyl records as well as re-releases of Hand's back catalogue.

Musical style

Despite her Detroit background, Hand identified her musical influences as being from mostly Chicago and New York electronic music scenes, including

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

, and

Larry Heard Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960) is an American DJ, record producer, and musician who has recorded under various names, most notably Mr. Fingers. He is widely known as a pioneering figure in 1980s house music, and was leader of the influential gr ...

. Her main Detroit influences included

Jeff Mills Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. Thanks to his technical abilities as a DJ, Mills became known as ''The Wizard'' in the early to mid 1980s. In the late 1980s Mills founded ...

and the

Underground Resistance Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are an American musical collective from Detroit, Michigan. Producing primarily Detroit techno since 1990 with a grungy four-track musical aesthetic, they are also renowned for their militant p ...

as well as

Ken Collier Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * Ken (album), ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * Ken (film), ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * Ken (magazine), ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine ...

. Hand frequently incorporated the particular "jack" and "swing" sounds distinctive to

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s. History and origins Disco ...

in her music. As described by Matt Unicomb in 2016, Hand was deeply influenced by her years spent listening and dancing to the music of Larry Levan before his death in 1992: Hand was also a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

enthusiast, stating that "if it's not on vinyl, it's not final" because she valued its "warm" and "analogue" sound. Many of Hand's tracks feature a "very specific and strong sense of emotion" and Hand herself remarked that "a lot of my songs are lovey-dovey".

Awards and accolades

Hand was presented with a Spirit of Detroit Award in 2016 along with several other electronic musicians including

Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. '' Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Be ...

, Derrick May, and

Kevin Saunderson Kevin Maurice Saunderson (born September 5, 1964) is an American electronic dance music Dj and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as The Belleville Three, w ...

. In July 2017, Hand was named a First Lady of Detroit and honored by the city with a Testimonial Resolution certificate acknowledging her substantial contributions to techno and dance music.

Death

Hand died at her home in Detroit on August 3, 2021, from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease at the age of 56.

Discography

Hand released most of her music under the moniker K-HAND, but also released music under the names Etat Solide, Rhythm Formation (with Claude Young), Queen Mecca, Kelli Hand, and Kerohand. Studio albums * 1995: K-HAND – ''On A Journey'' (

) * 1997: K-HAND – ''The Art Of Music'' (Studio !K7) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Ready For The Darkness'' (Substance/Distance) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Soul'' (Ausfahrt) * 1998: K-HAND – ''Fantasy'' (Ausfahrt) * 2000: K-HAND – ''Salsafied'' (Ausfahrt) * 2001: K-HAND – ''Detroit History Part 1'' ( Tresor) Extended plays * 1990: K-HAND/Etat Solide – ''Think About It'' (UK House Records/Acacia Records) * 1992: K-HAND/Etat Solide feat. Zoey – ''No Heartbreaks'' (Acacia Records) * 1993: K-HAND – ''Ba Da Bing'' (Acacia Records) * 1993: K-HAND featuring Rhythm Formation – ''Rhythm Is Back'' (Acacia Records) * 1993: K-HAND /

Claude Young Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are an American musical collective from Detroit, Michigan. Producing primarily Detroit techno since 1990 with a grungy four-track musical aesthetic, they are also renowned for their militant p ...

– ''Everybody / You Give Me'' (Acacia Records) * 1993: K-HAND – ''Not Giving Up'' (Acacia Records) * 1993: K-HAND – ''From The "I Fucked All Week" Guy'' (Acacia Records) * 1993: K-HAND – ''Rodeo / The Tunnel'' (Global Cuts) * 1993: K-HAND feat. Zoey – ''I Do'' (Acacia Records) * 1994: K-HAND – ''The Saints Go Marching On'' (Global Cuts) * 1994: K-HAND – ''Global Warning'' (

) * 1994: K-HAND – ''Everybody'' (EC Records) * 1995: K-HAND/Etat Solide – ''Living For Another'' (UK House Records) * 1995: K-HAND – ''Project #1'' (Acacia Records) * 1995: K-HAND – ''Project #2'' (Acacia Records) * 1995: K-HAND – ''Project #3'' (Acacia Records) * 1995: K-HAND – ''Project #4'' (Acacia Records) * 1995: K-HAND – ''Acid Nation'' (Loriz Sounds) * 1995: K-HAND – ''Groove E.P.'' (Radikal Fear) * 1996: K-HAND – ''On A Mission'' (Studio !K7) * 1996: K-HAND – ''The Project EP'' (D:Tour) * 1996: K-HAND – ''The Next Project EP'' (D:Tour) * 1996: K-HAND – ''Unreleased Project'' (Acacia Records) * 1997: K-HAND/KMH – ''Right Now EP'' (M.C. Projects) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Mayday EP'' (Acacia Records) * 1997: K-HAND / Graffiti – ''Roots / Graffiti's Theme'' (Sublime Records) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Project 5 EP Untitled'' (Acacia Records) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Horizon'' (Substance) * 1997: K-HAND – ''All Over The World'' (Acacia Records) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Spice EP'' (Acacia Records) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Flashback EP'' (Acacia Records) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Sounds'' (Hyperspace) * 1997: K-HAND – ''Project 69 EP'' (Acacia Records) * 1998: K-HAND – ''Sweet Love'' (Fourone1 Records) * 1998: K-HAND/By Kely – ''The Bomb'' (Re-load Records) * 1999: K-HAND – ''Do It'' (Distance) * 1999: K-HAND – ''Pimps & Freaks'' (Remote Recordings) * 1999: K-HAND – ''Good Love'' (Maffia Music) * 1999: K-HAND – ''Baby All I Want'' (School Records) * 1999: K-HAND – ''Supernatural'' (Pandamonium) * 2000: K-HAND/Kely – ''Active X EP'' (Future Frontier) * 2000: K-HAND – ''Traxx For Daze Vol.1'' (Push & Pull) * 2000: K-HAND – ''Clap Yo Hands'' (Loveslap! Recordings) * 2000: K-HAND – ''Better Believe'' (Maffia Music) * 2001: K-HAND – ''Sex On The Dancefloor EP'' (Loveslap! Recordings) * 2002: K-HAND – ''Tools Vol.1'' (Acacia Records) * 2003: K-HAND/Kelli Hand – ''Afterhour'' (Sino) * 2003: K-HAND – ''Get Down'' (Loveslap! Recordings) * 2004: K-HAND/Kelli Hand – ''Moody Life EP'' (Third Ear Recordings) * 2007: Messenger aka K-HAND – ''Wanderer'' (Underground Liberation) * 2008: K-HAND – ''These Sounds Lead The Way EP'' (Gorsch) * 2008: K-HAND – ''Feel'' (Acacia Records) * 2009: K-HAND & Kero – ''Dat Roit EP'' (Kerohand) * 2009: K-HAND – ''Red Dog EP'' (Gorsch) * 2009: K-HAND/Kelli Hand – ''Silent Answer EP'' (Acacia Records) * 2010: K-HAND & Kero – ''Content EP'' (Kerohand) * 2013: K-HAND – ''Funky Tonight'' (Third Ear Recordings) * 2015: K-HAND – ''Do it Again'' (DocKside Records) * 2015: K-HAND – ''Intuition EP'' (Acacia Records) * 2017: K-HAND – ''Project 6 EP'' (Acacia Records) Compilations * 2012: fabric 66– 'K-HAND ''Starz'' (Fabric Records) * 2013: fabric 67 – K-HAND ''Project 5 Untitled B1'' (Fabric Records) * 2015: Various - Ivan, Come On! Unlock The Box! – K-HAND ''The Box'' трип (Trip Records) * 2016: Various - I Have A Question – K-HAND ''Sound 6'' трип (Trip Records) * 2017 - Special Edition - K-HAND "007" трип (Trip Records) * 2020 -Hot Steel - K-HAND ''Aquatics'' (Trip records)

References

External links

Acacia Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Kelli 1965 births 2021 deaths American dance musicians American DJs American electronic musicians American techno musicians American women in electronic music Club DJs Electronic dance music DJs Musicians from Detroit African-American women musicians American women DJs 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians