This is the story of a life, not a death, though the death of its subject forms the inescapable backdrop and ending. The killing last weekend of the Minneapolis electro DJ Liara Kaylee Tsai created a shock wave in the city’s dance scene that has rippled throughout the region. The details have been reported widely elsewhere, including the local nightly news and 

, and some of what follows will inevitably echo that coverage.

But Liara—everyone who knew her calls her Liara—was a life force, and that’s how she deserves to be remembered. A trans woman who was embedded deeply in local dance and queer nightlife scenes, Liara’s passing occasioned her fellow Twin Cities DJs and producers to post a veritable torrent of screenshots of her encouraging DMs and “let’s collab!” notes. That she had only officially moved to Minneapolis on May 1 of this year—after years spent in Madison and Iowa City—came as a shock to this reporter: Liara had been such a routine fixture at Twin Cities parties for the past couple years it was easy to figure she just lived here.

But even as someone who’d only spoken with her maybe twice in passing, losing Liara feels like being robbed. She wasn’t simply a skilled DJ—though she was that, too—she was a DJ with an instantly legible personality on the decks, even when she wasn’t spinning her own music (which she did, frequently). Playing urgent, giddy, frequently psychedelic electro, Liara knew how to cast a spell and create a vibe. When she died, she was a week away from playing what would be her first New York City gig. She was going places. I was looking forward to more, and so was everyone else. In less than two months living here, she made an impact that leaves a crater in her absence. There was no one else like her, even if you barely knew her.

You’d have to have been unconscious to miss Liara Kaylee Tsai in a room. Even in a Twin Cities dance scene populated by people dressing in all sorts of eye-catching get-ups — fairy outfits, skintight neon bodysuits, or full-body combos of (shudder) Zubaz — Liara in a small denim getup was still a sight to behold. “She was hard to miss, with that bright red hair,” remembers her friend and fellow DJ Dana Kazuko. Liara exuded rock-star wattage—an outsized exterior that housed a deeply thoughtful person who was true-blue even with more casual acquaintances.

“I was surprised to go back and see how many messages from her were just small-talk check-ins,” says Amanda Casanova, an active local dancer who knew Liara. “When she talked to you, you could tell that she cared, and that’s huge.” When Liara died, Casanova noticed how widespread the mourning went: “On Facebook, all of my friends from different states—she touched their lives in different ways,” she says.

Originally from Wisconsin, Liara had been making music for nearly a decade. According to Olivia Anderson, a librarian in Iowa City who was romantic partners with Liara for two years and remained friends afterward, Liara was “constantly” making music.

 “She had lived in Madison, and then moved to Albany, New York for a period of time, and then back to the Midwest, to Iowa City—reestablishing herself as Liara in the same community that she had been a part of previously, plus new ones,” Anderson says. “She started DJing when she was living in Madison, pre-transition. From what I have known and heard from people who knew her at that time and experienced her music at that time, it was always really good. But something definitely changed when she came out as Liara. That is when I feel her soul really started to shine through in her music.”

More recently, Liara bore down hard on her own production skills. “She would send me tracks she would make, and I could see vast improvements in one year,” says Neil Fox, a Minneapolis DJ and promoter. “She got way better, just like from focusing for one year on making her own tracks. Her beginning stuff was OK, but by the last stuff she sent me, it was 

Liara made tracks by feel rather than hard logic. “She could explain certain technical terms,” Anderson says. “But a lot of times with her own music, she was like, ‘I don’t think about it like that. I’m not necessarily thinking about how to match up certain numbers and match up certain beats. I just do what feels right to me.’”

That’s also how she DJed. “Liara didn’t plan her sets or practice her sets,” Mega Sola, a Minneapolis clubber and close friend of Liara’s, says. “Every time, she would play it for the first time. She even told me that sometimes she would be hearing a track for the first time along with her audience. And I think that really speaks to her talent as a DJ, that she could literally just choose a song and know that it’s going to fit. And every time, it did.”

“She was a very deeply spiritually connected person, so she really brought that energy when she DJ’ed a set,” says Levi Lake, who first met Liara over Instagram and later connected in person at a queer Minneapolis dance party. “She just had a sense of self-assuredness, like: ‘This is who I am, and this is the gift I bring.’ And I absolutely, 100% agree with it. When I listened to her music, I can hear so much of her—there’s the deep, intense parts, and also the fun, bouncy, playful aspects. She just poured her whole self and all of the medicine she carried into her music.”

It’s hardly unheard of for electronic-music DJs to keep their SoundCloud pages tidy, but Liara’s page was noticeably well kept. Anderson suggests that this was partly self-care. “It was a way of documenting and preserving herself,” Anderson says. “Because of aspects of her PTSD, her memory could be kind of spotty. She could connect her recordings to certain dates, those dates to certain people—it was a way of staying connected with herself, with her past.” (That PTSD was, in part, a remnant of an earlier, other life that otherwise does not concern us: Liara had been a decorated soldier.)

PTSD wasn’t all that Liara dealt with. “She struggled with major depression,” April Lee, a former partner in Iowa City, says. “She had dissociative identity disorder, and sometimes struggled with feelings related to that—sometimes very badly, like being afraid that she was crazy. She was a survivor of sexual abuse. She had survived quite a lot and she lived with a lot of trauma. Even though we’re here to celebrate the life that she gave off, and how amazing of a person she was—I basically lived with her for eight or nine months. And in day-to-day experience, it was often evident that she was struggling very badly. She did not feel capable of getting out of bed sometimes. She was also autistic and struggled with her understandings of what other people might consider normal.”

Lee continues: “I can tell you honestly that the life that she gave to other people wasn’t always as evident in private moments. But the takeaway from that for me is that I was always astounded that she was a person who had so much on her shoulders, and yet always chose to get up every day and show love. Liara was completely free of—not anger, but hostility or hatred of any kind. Unlike other human beings that you’ve met, she simply did not feel hostility towards people. She felt angry when someone hurt her in some kind of way, or was doing something wrong. But she felt that every single person was valuable, and every person deserves healing and care. She continued to choose joy and beauty and love every day. And even if she had these, you know, often pretty terrible struggles, she continued to surround herself with positivity.”

Before coming to Minneapolis, Liara had put her empathy to use, working during part of 2023 for the 

 and the 988 Suicide Hotline in Iowa City. “She really thrived,” says Anderson. “It’s difficult work. And she did end up leaving just because she didn’t have the emotional capacity to continue to field calls from people who are struggling with suicidality.”

Nevertheless, Liara seemed to have found a calling. Just before re-settling in the Twin Cities, she had just joined 

—the dance-party promotion team Steven Centrific helps run—as a crisis and support coordinator. “In the time that we’ve had our event guidelines, we’ve also grown quite a bit, and so has our community,” Centrific says. “Things that were effective in 2017-18-19 have become somewhat unmanageable for me at this point. Liara came to me saying, “I want to help you,” and it really made perfect sense, given her training as a crisis and conflict counselor, to step into that point-person role. She was excited to do it and was ready to try to make a difference. It’s a tragedy and a great loss no matter how you cut it. We all miss out here.”

Liara didn’t show up for her slot at the Sunday, June 22, edition of Centrific’s party, Communion. The next day, he and Dana Kazuko had helped organize an ad hoc memorial for Liara at Loring Park

“It was extremely emotional,” says Kazuko. “Both of us had heard the news the day before. We didn’t want the community to hear it from the news, so we worked on producing a post. One thing that was important for me: Don’t just say that your friend was murdered. You say that and, ‘We have a place to go.’”

Some 50 shell-shocked local dance-scene regulars showed up—bringing water, food, and speakers, over which Liara’s music was played. “The fact that so many people came out for Liara, and she had lived here for only a short time—it really showed how much she impacted people and how much she touched people and how much she connected with people,” says Mega Sola.

“There were so many people there, just mobilized at the drop of a hat,” says Levi Lake. “A friend came up to me; we saw each other and started sobbing, and then we hugged, and they were like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ We lit candles together and poured out drinks. That was really precious, to do that with loved ones.”

There was also a gathering at Gabe’s, in Iowa City. “It was badass,” April Lee says. “The whole Iowa City trans community and tons of people who knew her danced and shared stories.” More tributes have followed. In Chicago, Kelsie Walda—a.k.a. DJ Chia Pudding—has announced she will dedicate her July 4 set at the city’s SmartBar to Liara. And closer to home, Kazuko and another Minneapolis DJ, KittenCandy, put together an hour-long set of Liara’s tracks for SoundCloud.

There will also be a tribute at Neon Noir, this Friday, July 5, at the Uptown VFW, which Liara had originally been scheduled to play. “I’m working with video producers and visual artists to create an hourlong tribute to her,” Kazuko says. “I’m mixing a set using her original music. It will be sad but also dance-y and fun because she needs to be celebrated, not just mourned.”

But mourning is inevitable. “There was so much more there,” Kazuko says. “She was a fairly prolific music producer. There was just so much more music there, so much more art.”

Liara’s greatest legacy may have been her fearless example.

“Liara did not live her life in at all a normal way,” Olivia Anderson says. “She did not want to participate in capitalism as best as she could. She had an unbelievable ability to think on her feet and pivot from difficult situations and recover from things that would normally really incapacitate a person. And it speaks a lot to certain coping mechanisms that we do develop when we experience trauma. But I do think that it also speaks to creativity, because I think that creativity is just another word for problem-solving. She always managed to keep moving forward, with a sense of joy and compassion for other people—even the people who harmed her, who didn’t have her best interests at heart. She really lived the Christian value of loving your enemies and treating everybody as fairly as we should. Because we are all just human beings, and we’re all flawed.”

April Lee concurs. “I’ve met so many people in the past week who have told me that Liara changed their lives,” she says. “Some of those people had only known her for a day; some of those people had known her for a month. But that’s something that I had independently [felt]—suddenly, after we’d only been together for three or four weeks, I already felt like she had changed my life, because of how fearless, how authentic and expressive she was, and how much she emanated real beauty, from the inside out.

“She surrounded herself with positivity all the time,” Lee concludes. “And she gave it back to people. She was constantly connecting with people. What you’re seeing now is that those connections really matter.” 

Neon Noir, featuring Dana Kazuko, SYM1, DJ Eve, and a tribute to Liara

 takes place at the Uptown VFW on Friday, July 5, at 10 p.m. More info 

{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

Michaelangelo Matos

“This is who I am, and this is the gift I bring.” Colleagues and loved ones will celebrate Tsai on Friday, July 5.


Liara- a B2B using Liara's original music. By Dana Kazuko and KittenCandy by Dana Kazuko

Provided

Remembering the electrifying Minneapolis DJ Liara Kaylee Tsai

Every 1st of the month, we’re creating an all-encompassing roundup of tracks, projects, and music videos that were released by Minnesota artists from that previous month. 

If we missed something Minnesota made that dropped in June, DM us on 

Keep our favorite tracks in one place with “Carbon Sound’s 1st of the Month” Spotify playlist. Expect an updated 1st of the Month Playlist on……every 1st of the Month.  Mark your calendars accordingly.

GARBAGE CO., Riotgrrrldarko - the GRRRLSCOUT REMIXES

Muja Messiah, Dub Sonata - Break The Stereo

Between the valiant horns and Qmoe's signature confident delivery, ‘What We Doin?’ sounds like a victory lap. It's the kind of song that needs to be played in the car at a volume that rattles the metal. - Julian Green

Allie McIntosh, JeMarcus Bridges, Bosco Soundtrack - 

Minneapolis artist sahn’s newest single ‘4411’ sticks out with its ethereal guitar work and shining vocals throughout the track. Sahn is baring his emotions in this song. It’s deep and captivating. The breakcore drums are my favorite, as they add a texture that was unexpected, but suited the airy and light texture of the song. - Nikhil Kumaran

Member of Ozone Creations, Bakarii’s new single ‘Suffocate’ (produced by Obi Original and STIX) is a sophisticated Afrobeat tune perfect for the summertime. The high-quality production and layered vocal arrangement is a reminder of the great talent that we have right here in the Twin Cities. - Natalia Toledo

Tailor Briann, Essjay The AfrocentricRatchet - 

Tracks like these are why I get so excited about Minnesota music — 2 local superstars taking their own approach to a classic Ludacris song, dropped right in the middle of the summer, AND has visuals on the way. What more could you ask for?? I remember the first time I ever saw these two perform together at YODY Again at The Cabooze in 2022, and the energy back then was just as infectious as it is on this track. It’s always so amazing to see incredibly talented and creative Minnesota artists team up like this, and I hope this is just the beginning. Keep a heads up for the ‘What’s Your Fantasy’ music video dropping this Friday (7/5). - John Kueppers

R.I.P Captain Save-a-Heaux (Official Music Video)

BLOOD SMOKE BODY x SHERMAN - "Language Sex Violence" (Official Video)

Author

John Kueppers

Natalia Toledo

Nikhil Kumaran

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

Highlighting Minnesota made tracks, projects, and music videos released over the month of June, 2024.


Graphic for Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month Playlist

Old Skeletons (Mixtape)

From Jae, 2 You

the GRRRLSCOUT REMIXES

Kiaanators: Turn Me Up Kiaa

sad luv

SHERM$MOKE

MPLS Finest, Vol. 1

Break The Stereo

a laboratory moment

MOBSTAR ANGEL

A Lil Sum (lost files)

FOOD 4 THOUGHT

We'll Be Home Soon

Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month

TOOMUCHVNECK

ZORA - hush (Official Video)

Mati - appetite (Official Video)

papa mbye - ULTRAVIOLET (Official Video)

Lauryn Banks - Like Me

4411 - sahn

Coming Hard Always

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from June 2024

Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

Tune in to hear our host Sanni B. live on The Message from 10 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday!

Keep all these tracks in one place with the 

 Spotify playlist. This playlist is updated weekly with all the new adds. When that playlist is cycled with new tracks, the tracks live forever on the 

 playlist. That playlist contains all of the music that we've added since the week of July 11, 2022 in chronological order of when it was added. All of the tracks available on Spotify, at least.

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of July 1, 2024.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 1, 2024

Gigi Berry (DJ Omgigi) sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked about creating Gigi’s Flair Emporium, how her dance parties like Disconcé, Material Gworl, and now “Yeehawoncé: A Cowboy Carter Dance Party” came to be, and more.


Gigi Berry (DJ Omgigi) sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked about creating Gigi's Flair Emporium, how her dance parties like Disconcé, Material Gworl, and now “Yeehawoncé: A Cowboy Carter Dance Party” came to be, and more.

The Message - Gigi Berry (DJ Omgigi)

Tastemaker Tunes: Pride Essentials 🌈

🪩DISCONCÉ🪩 

💖💅🏽 MATERIAL GWORL  💅🏽💖

Faith Hill - "This Kiss" (Official Video)

Beyoncé - Diva

Interview: Gigi Berry on The Message

After her set for Carbon Sound and Unbothered's Juneteenth party, Detroit's Blackmoonchild stopped by the studio to lay down a set of driving techno and electro straight from the source. We chatted with Blackmoonchild about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I'm Blackmoonchild, my real name is Janisa Nelson. I’m a DJ and producer from Detroit.

I actually started making beats first. I was producing in high school, and then one of my homegirls asked me to curate a playlist for her art show. I just went on ahead and bought a mixer and  kind of winged it the first time, but people really liked it. From there, people just started asking me to DJ their events.

When I learned that electronic music is not just techno and house and that there can also be  Latin American rhythms involved, I really wanted to make music. I started producing and then I realized I have to learn how to mix in order to play live, so I became a DJ.

I feel like DJing and producing kind of have a symbiotic relationship. Do you feel like one helps you with the other?

Definitely, I feel like they work in tandem. I feel like I'm always making music. I’ll hear a song and I'm like, “I want to be able to play this at an electronic party or like a techno event.” So, I always try to make edits. I love “Percolator,” for instance, but I don't always want to play the original version of it. So, I like to make different versions of songs all the time. I think being a producer aids me being a DJ, for sure.

Last night you played at the Carbon Sound and Unbothered Juneteenth event. What do you think of what you saw of the Minneapolis scene there?

It was really fun! I think everyone was having a good time. I had a really good time. The energy was high. I felt really well received. I felt welcome.

I'm just gonna be vibing, just playing some tunes. Maybe a little downtempo. I feel like I went kind of hard last night. 

 in Detroit. We do it about every other month, but don't quote me on that. But that's where you can catch me playing regularly.

Stay tuned for new mixes on Carbon Sound every other Wednesday. If you’re a DJ and want to be considered for the series, email a mix of yours to jgreen@mpr.org.

Driving techno and electro straight from the source.


After her set for Carbon Sound and Unbothered's Juneteenth party, Detroit's Blackmoonchild stopped by the studio to lay down a set of driving techno and electro straight from the source.

Blackmoonchild (6/26/24)

The Carbon Sound team got together ahead of their 2nd anniversary event with Unbothered at Red Sea and reflected on what it took to get to this point, as well as what they’re looking to build on in the future.


The Message - Carbon Sound Team Interview

Carbon Sound's 1st Birthday

Introducing Carbon Sound

Listen to Looch: "Inventing David Geffen" is the story of the self-made entertainment mogul

Interview: Carbon Sound Team on The Message

Since the 2010s, electronic dance music (EDM) has become one of the largest and most popular sectors of the music industry, with festivals and record sales netting billions of dollars each year. EDM might make you think of raves, long nights, and ecstasy. But its roots go farther and deeper – back to a genre born out of a need for Black, queer community and refuge: house music.

It’s time for church. What do you think you know about house music? Take the Throughline quiz to find out.

Nic Neves

Anya Steinberg

Alyson Hurt

Electronic dance music is one of the largest and most popular sectors of the music industry. But do you know where it came from? Test yourself with Throughline’s quiz.


Claire Greenway/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe

Who built house music? Test your knowledge with the Throughline quiz.

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of June 3, 2024.


New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of June 17, 2024

On June 19, 1865, about 2,000 Union troops arrived at Galveston Bay, Texas, announcing that the Civil War was over and the 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were now free after more than 200 years of enslavement. This was more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the war. After 158 years, Juneteenth has evolved into a celebration of culture, family, and Black joy, as well as an honoring of the legacy of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth Freedom and Fellowship Violence Prevention Event (FREE)

This Juneteenth Celebration features performances from 

The Minnesota Orchestra presents its second annual concert in celebration and commemoration of Juneteenth. 

 will lead a program featuring both upbeat and contemplative music from 20th-century and contemporary African American composers. 

Jimmie Herrod, Wordsmith and Ashley DuBose

 will also take the stage, combining their powerful voices with the symphonic strength of the Orchestra. 

Carbon Sound X Unbothered Present: Blackmoonchild, Yasmeenah, and echo at Red Sea (FREE)

 are joining forces to celebrate Juneteenth weekend and Carbon Sound's 2nd Anniversary with a night exploring the Black roots of techno at Red Sea in Minneapolis on Friday, June 14.

Brooklyn Center Juneteenth Celebration (FREE)

We Are the Noise: The Echoes of Our Ancestors (FREE)

The University of Minnesota will host its third annual Juneteenth Celebration block party and commemorative march in North Minneapolis. Performances include 

Juneteenth – Celebrating Freedom Day (FREE)

Brooklyn Park Juneteenth Celebration (FREE)

Carnage The Executioner, Known MPLS, Maya Marchelle

Soul of the Southside Juneteenth Festival (FREE)

Soul of the Southside (SOTS) is an annual Juneteenth celebration curated by the local hip-hop duo 

, who also own and operate The Legacy Building—one of the few Black-led creative spaces in the state. This free-entry festival commemorates Black Liberation and honors the legacy of Juneteenth. Held on June 19th in south Minneapolis, MN, SOTS centers Blackness, kinship, and community at The Hook and Ladder Theater, Moon Palace Books, Arbeiter Brewing, and The Historic Coliseum Building from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM. 

A Juneteenth Celebration featuring Tish Jones, Queen Drea, and PaviElle French (FREE)

Juneteenth Celebration: Darnell Davis & The Remnant w/ DJ Willie Adams Presented by Hygge House Productions

Live music by Darnell Davis & The Remnant, Twin Cities premier Gospel Choir in celebration of Juneteenth in Minneapolis. 100% of the proceeds go toward the Purple Playground, a non-profit dedicated to honoring the legacy and music of Prince - and ensuring young people have access to music education, live performance and production.

Juneteenth 2024- A Family Celebration (FREE)

Live performances, music, food, kids pavilion, wealth-building pavilion, health & wellness resources and more!

Plan ahead for a busy week of celebrations, concerts, block parties, and more.


BUMP OPERA

Darin Kamnetz for MPR

People leans forward into mic while looking at laptop

How to celebrate Juneteenth in the Twin Cities this year

Entrañas stopped by the studio during his time in the Twin Cities. Hailing from Ecuador, he laid down a boundary pushing set of experimental Latin Club. We chatted with Entrañas about his background and intentions for his mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

My name is Entrañas. I'm a producer and DJ from Ecuador.

I’m on tour in North America. I started touring on May 1st in Mexico and now I'm in the United States until the 27th.

What are some of your favorite events that you've played lately?

The party at Mexico City. All the people there really knew the music and were stoked. It was a full party and it was amazing.

What are we going to hear from you today?

I’ll start around 92 BPM and get up to maybe 110 or 120 BPM with some dancehall and dembow tracks I have.

Experimental Latin club straight out of Ecuador.


Entrañas is a DJ and producer from Ecuador. During his time in Minneapolis, he stopped by the studio to lay down a set filled with experimental Latin club.

Entrañas (6/12/24)

Man with glasses smiles brightly in Polaroid

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