Jeff Swiff is a DJ, producer, and party promoter with decades of experience. The joy and passion he has for the music radiates through his work. We chatted with Jeff about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

Well, I'm Jeff. I'm a lifelong house head. I’ve been DJing for 24 years now. I throw some parties and I put some music on a record label. Minneapolis is my home, and I like to bring people together. Whether that's people DJing, or people dancing, that's just something that I enjoy doing. 

It was big box CDs at Best Buy. I would bike to Best Buy and I would find house music CDs, their Ministry of Sound CDs, and I was like, “This is great.” Music just got a hold of me. I was like, “How do I get this music?” I could buy more CDs, then I figured it was records. So I had my dad take me to a record store when I was 15. He’d drive me to Let It Be Records and Vital Vinyl. That's kind of how I got started.

What is House Proud? How did that get started?

House proud was actually created by Brian Gerard and Nicole Johnson. I believe Nicole Johnson had a birthday party that Brian DJ’d back in 2011. At the time, the landscape of house music sounded different in Minneapolis. It was more poppy, and all the clubs that still existed at that time really wanted that more mainstream leaning sound. So, it was hard to get soulful cuts in a room to work out. 

[Brian and Nicole] did that at Honey, I believe. They enjoyed it so much, they were like, “Should we do it again?” So, they talked to John Provenzano at Honey and they asked, “Can we get a night?” and it started off with that night in July of 2011. I was I was working at Social House in Uptown and he was my resident DJ. So they had kind of scheme the party up there and just asked me to play the first one and then I was an enthusiast and occasional DJ and I started doing flyers for them. Then, Nicole had to exit the party because she had a child. She's wanted to change her lifestyle asked me to step in for her. That was in 2014. I've been promoting House Proud since 2014, but I've been fanboying the party since it started.

What have been some of your favorite moments during House Proud events?

When you feel the unbridled energy in the room. Everyone’s in unison. It's not anything that you're seeing, exactly, you know? The DJ and the people are interacting, selecting tunes to get them hotter, whipped up more and having them react. Watching that synergy is dope. It's unbeatable. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

I selected cuts that I listen to at home on repeat. Stuff that influenced the some of the music that I make. It kind of takes a lot of my musical history and influences and chunks them together to hopefully sound like how music feels to me, I guess. You know, swung out house beats, R&B fusion, melodies, some vocals, musicality. Not mixing by key, just going by feel. Seeing what happens, just letting the music do whatever it needs to do. Hopefully, it'll be kind of sultry, sassy, cool. Funky.

House Proud takes place every first Friday at Beast Barbecue in Minneapolis. Follow them 

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.

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


Julian Green

House music in all its glory from a Minnesota veteran.


Jeff Swiff (7-24-24)

Sassy, sultry House Mix from Jeff Swiff | Carbon Sound

Jeff Swiff (7/24/24)

For four decades now, the cinematic masterpiece 

 — starring Minnesota’s finest export, Prince — has held a unique treasured place in the pantheon of film. Hitting theaters at the peak of the initial MTV phenomenon, it successfully wove a style only seen in short-form music videos into the fiber of the silver screen. Prince, playing “The Kid,” essentially plays himself — unlike any protagonist before or since as a special effect no studio could duplicate.  

The 40th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release is Saturday, July 27. 

 is seen now to be just as beloved for its outstanding technical prowess as it is for the slices of ‘80s cheese baked into its crust. But while both perspectives today emit something of a warm fondness, those two trains of thought made for a much more polarizing reception upon the film’s release. In 

 managed to land both in the critic-voted Top 5 Best 

 Top 5 Worst movies list. It’s with this in mind that we look back at what critics said about the film upon release. 

Television’s two most trusted critics were among the most vocal champions of the film. While those close to Prince reported that  he very specifically had literal nightmares of Gene Siskel tearing the film apart leading up to the film’s release, reality landed much sweeter for The Purple One. Not content with just giving the film one glowing review, the two revisited the film multiple times throughout 1984, including a special “X-ray” feature going deep on why the film worked so well. 

, he went even further saying the film had “a freshness and maturity that most Hollywood films lack.”  

While in 1982 Prince sang “All The Critics Love U In New York,” there was one glaring exception. Somewhere in a Manhattan cineplex sat someone who really didn’t seem to get “it.” Yes, 

 movie critic Vincent Canby missed the mark quite a bit with 

. It’s one thing to not like the film. Taste is subjective and Prince isn’t necessarily for everybody. But Canby calls the film “completely without humor” and claims “the offstage stuff is utter nonsense.” Canby also makes unflattering comparisons of Prince to Liza Minelli and Kermit the Frog, both after coming out the gate by calling the film “an album cover released as a movie.” 

Elsewhere in the Big Apple, veteran critic Pauline Kael rained down 

 to be critical of the film. Here, while she admits early on to being a fan of Prince’s music — even naming specific song titles — her main issue is that “the moviemakers aren’t skillful enough to use” Prince’s performance. She also, while praising Morris Day, chastises the film as a whole for coming off “commissioned” and even takes digs at the 

 album, which she also was surprisingly not fond of.  

“Dramatically, this film is an incredible pile of slop.” Maltin really did not like this movie, particularly citing the treatment of women “like punching bags.” While he does call the concert footage “vibrant” and “Well shot,” his take is among the most brutal. 

 David Sterritt, The Christian Science Monitor

For those unfamiliar with this particular publication’s approach to movie reviews at the time, it was as much about knowing the movie you’re getting into as it was whether it was a good movie or not. Since it’s brief, here’s the entirety — “The pop-music star Prince makes his movie debut in this bizarre drama about a rock singer with a troubled career and a miserable home life. Directed by Albert Magnoli as if he were shooting ‘Mourning Becomes Electra’ for MTV. (Rated R; contains vulgar language, violence, and a nasty attitude toward women.)” 

The hills of Hollywood embraced Prince’s film with open arms, with 

 capturing the West Coast approach to Prince at the time. Kirk calls it “a rousing contemporary addition to the classic backstage musical genre.” I will say, as someone who has seen this film dozens of times and has written thousands of words and given hours of lectures about it over the years, Kirk points out two things I’ve never otherwise seen a critic point out. First, and this is a minor thing, but when you compare Prince’s lyrics in the film to the rest of his discography up to that point, it is “Relatively tame.” Sure there’s “Darling Nikki,” but it does make one wonder what “Nikki” would have been doing in that hotel lobby had this been 

-era Prince. But the biggest revelation from reading her review is that the film contains no blood. Yes, there’s violence from the slapstick to the harrowing, but not a drop of blood is seen on-screen, even in the SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT scene where his father attempts suicide. Makes one wonder if that was a deliberate choice either in a futile attempt to land a PG-13 rating or maybe in such a hyper-stylized film, blood doesn’t exist in Prince’s world.

Finally, the West Coast warmth proves the perfect temperature for Purple Rain as 

 in a way that holds up as the best description as to why fans today like the film – “Hot, jagged, garish, ‘Purple Rain’ uses an old story, works it over with a blowtorch, and succeeds beyond even its own audacious dreams.” Behold further proof that Shelias know how to back-up Prince better than anyone. 

Purple Rain will be screened on Saturday, July 27, at Target Center as part of their Purple Rain 40th Anniversary Live Showcase. 

Visit Target Center’s website for more information.

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

Chaz Kangas

Although celebrated today, Prince’s seminal film polarized critics upon release 40 years ago. Take a look back at contemporary reviews of Prince’s film opus.


Warner Brothers Pictures

Fuqua, Ellie

Siskel & Ebert - "Purple Rain" (1984)

Revisiting How Purple Rain Hit Movie Critics 40 Years Ago

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 15, 2024.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

Natalia Toledo

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 15, 2024

Awa Mally

Check out photos from Carbon Sound x Unbothered’s event at Red Sea celebrating Juneteenth and two years of Carbon Sound.


Awa Mally for MPR

Photos: Celebrating two years of Carbon Sound

Nola Rave is a DJ, producer, and party promoter with deep roots in Minnesota. She stopped by the studio to record a mix with old favorites and funky deep cuts. We chatted with Nola about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I actually was a DJ at the radio station in Duluth, for the university when I was in college a long time ago. That's when raving was kind of big and I discovered house music. I was playing hard rock music  on the radio station, and then my friends were like, “listen to this music.” So, I started getting into Mark Farina and house music. Then I just was like, I need to play the music because nobody's playing funky enough.

What is Freak of the Week and how did it get started?

It’s our party, second Fridays of the month at Beast Barbecue. We’re from Duluth, so 12 years ago, we started throwing parties there, just small ones. But Duluth isn't really like a DJ scene, so it was very small. But then when we moved down here, like nine years ago, we just started doing different parties around town and kind of like barhopping, moving Freak of the Week around. 

When we moved here is when the “Freak of the Week” name stuck, because it was a really fun name for a party. We did it at Kitty Kat Club, Pimento, and some other places. Eventually, John from Beast BBQ called me after COVID was done and asked if I wanted to just do a show there, and the rest is history. We've been doing it for a few years there and it's a really good fit. All the staff is awesome and people know where to go now instead of having to figure out what bar we're at and stuff.

What have been some of your favorite memories from hosting the Freak of the Week events?

Oh my god, there are so many. I feel like every one is just my favorite. I'm like, “this was my favorite.” And then the next one happens and it’s like, “no, this is my favorite!” Having DJ T-1000 was really special. Making friends from Detroit who come and play. It's been really special. Just making friends has been the best part, playing music with people who understand that we're not just like playing one style. We're kind of going all over the place and having fun, and it's just about having a good time. Let loose. 

All kinds of stuff. I'm gonna see how far I can get. A lot of slow, funk  builds, and then some actual funk, and then some disco. Hopefully I'll get to house and techno, but I don't know how far I can get in an hour!

You can also catch Nola Rave at The Great Beyond Festival later this month. Nola says she’s thinking of doing a drum n’ bass set. You won’t wanna miss it. Find more information about The Great Beyond 

Funk and disco from a Minnesota veteran.


Nola Rave (7/10/24)

Woman with blond bangs smiles in polaroid

Sly5thAve is a multifaceted musician from the greater Austin area of Texas. After studying jazz at the University of North Texas, he got involved with the creatives of ClubCasa House after moving to New York.

With time, the saxophonist tried his hand at beat-making, learning from his housemates. He blended that skill with his arrangement skills from high school marching band and started to find a new sound. 

But Sly hasn’t forgotten his roots. His hip-hop influences include OutKast and remixes out of Houston. His family’s traditional Nigerian spiritual practices bring a soulfulness to his sound. 

Sly has favorite classical influences, too. He has arranged an orchestral tribute to legendary hip-hop producer Dr. Dre, which opened the door to his recent album, 

. It’s his first album of original orchestral arrangements, all built out from a beat tape. 

Through his work, he's expanding the way we think about classical music. 

 is Sly’s fourth solo LP and the result of a years-long transformation from jazz saxophonist to “jack of all trades” multi-instrumentalist, producer and arranger.

The child of a Nigerian immigrant father, Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II was raised with the expectation of becoming a lawyer, doctor or engineer — the options his parents laid before him as a “good Nigerian son.”

One day, he came home with an important announcement:

Sly5thAve: Career Choice

Since then, his family has come around to his musical ambitions, and Sly has maintained his sardonic attitude. It’s a subtle yet integral element of his “take it as it comes” persona, a coolness of being that matches his voice: deep, resonant and reserved with a tinge of Afro-Texan grit. That wry attitude has helped him to make friends and be flexible as he made major transitions, moving across the country and across genres.

Sly5thAve grew up in Pflugerville — a suburb of Austin most recognizable as the filming location for the Texas TV cult classic 

. During high school, Sly was playing in the marching band and writing arrangements of pop songs:

Sly5thAve: Arranging in High Scohol

He soon enrolled in one of Texas’ great musical institutions — the University of North Texas College of Music. The saxophonist would prove himself in this grueling environment with a stint in the legendary One O’Clock Lab Band — known for such alumni as Herb Ellis, Jimmy Giuffre, Billy Harper, Bruce Fowler and Tom Malone; plus the prestige of seven Grammy awards.

After college, he found mentorship from Philipp Lassiter, a Grammy-winning horn player and string arranger with an ambitiously funky approach to mixing musical styles, including gospel, jazz and soul. Cross-genre blending crept into Sly’s career early on. From this connection, he joined Prince’s renowned New Power Generation horn section and toured with the Minneapolis-based musician for two years.

When it came time to leave Texas, Sly moved to New York. The jazz saxophonist went to the city with the expectation of pursuing a career in performance in the usual circuits — big bands, jazz clubs and so on. Instead, he would find comrades in a wonderfully chaotic creative environment. It was a clubhouse atmosphere, and it would provide him the chance to pursue a years-long dream:

Sly5thAve: Beat-making Dream

Sounding like something out of a Barbie catalog, the ClubCasa House (also known as the Clubhouse or BLKN1834) is a grand Victorian mansion based in Brooklyn and refitted as a communal living space for creatives. It turned out to be the perfect place for Sly to begin experimenting outside the bounds of saxophone performance:

Sly5thAve: Inspiration from ClubCasa House

The ClubCasa House (from which Sly developed the ClubCasa Chamber Orchestra) has clearly left its influence on him. The community gave him the space and the inspiration to be experimental while also maintaining creative discipline. It’s also the place where he would get the moniker Sly5thAve, a half-joking suggestion from a friend that happened to stick.

Sly started releasing music that he produced and arranged. It took time to be comfortable with making rough, exploratory projects. Jazz school trains for perfectionism, after all.

It was in another One O’Clock Lab Band alum, however, that Sly would find a new mentor and a new approach to music:

Sly5thAve: Blaxploitation

Bob Belden’s brash and bold approach cut through the sterile professionalism of jazz conferences and gave Sly a big, green light to pursue the inherently intoxicating world of Blaxploitation soundtracks, an oft-overlooked corner of film scoring.

Alongside this, Sly’s arranging draws inspiration from certain classical favorites.

Sly5thAve: Favorite Composers

Quincy Jones and Lili Boulanger are a match made in heaven. The Texas native has some hip-hop favorites to shout out, too, including a few H-Town heroes:

Sly5thAve: Hip-Hop Favorites

All of these influences came together to form Sly’s broad palette — a palette that has allowed him to successfully navigate the convolutions of multi-genre arranging.

While Sly had successful early arranging projects — such as his stripped-down, contemplative take on Kendrick Lamar’s “B**** Don’t Kill My Vibe,” performed by the ClubCasa Chamber Orchestra — his break in arranging came with an invitation to produce a retrospective orchestral album in honor of Dr. Dre, 2017’s 

The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute to Dr. Dre

. Check out tracks such as “Still D.R.E.” and “Let Me Ride (feat. Jimetta Rose)” for a taste of soul-bathed classical arrangements staying true to their hip-hop origins.

With all of this in the rear window, Sly decided to strike out on his own. Starting with a beat tape, he began traveling around the United States to record arrangements with friends and colleagues from over the years.

Sly5thAve: Producing Liberation

 is grand and swinging and shocking — unbelievable except for the fact that it was created by the one person who could have brought these disparate musical worlds together into a supernova of genre-defying party music. The music is simultaneously cinematic and contemplative, driving and groove-infused, while taking the time to breathe and luxuriate. There are serious jazz licks alongside nonchalant rap flows from Kyle Rapps, wayward soul vocals, an occasional lo-fi ambiance and lush orchestral elements.

In the title track, the Blaxploitation influence is pungent. 

 builds such a powerful scene that you wonder if Pam Grier might come swinging around the corner with a vengeance. There’s an intoxicating sense of driving towards something mysterious, dangerous and undeniable, whether it be a confrontation or a love affair. And you’ll have to be the hero to face it.

Partying and grooving aren’t all, though. With a title like 

, it’s obvious there are spiritual strains to Sly’s compositions. The opening four tracks form the 

, which follows the spiritual arc of baptism from “Thirst” to “Drowning,” to a brief interlude in “Sanctuary,” and finally “Renewal.” The album opens with the sound of trickling water, calling upon a motif of the liberating and transformative power of water found in Afro-American music and art, from Ashley Jackson’s 

. And don’t forget the pair of biblical tracks toward the end of the album, “Exodus” and “Proverbs”.

Sly does, in fact, draw from experience in multiple spiritual traditions. He speaks a little about his introduction to performance as a child through singing gospel:

Sly5thAve: Musical Upbringing

Alongside this, his Nigerian heritage includes a set of spiritual practices that one struggles to define in American English. Our closest surrogates are lacking, including the clumsy titles “magic” or “witchcraft.” These traditions are a part of a family background that Sly hopes to bring with him as he ventures into uncharted musical and professional waters:

Sly5thAve: Spirituality

Sly seems to be moving full-speed ahead in his idiosyncratic bridging of classical, soul, jazz, hip-hop and more. He’s even become interested in conducting after a recent stint with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra during its Deaf and Loud Symphonic Experience concert.

Sly5thAve: Conducting With Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Sly5thAve: School for Conducting

Many paths lay open to Sly5thAve. He might pursue graduate school to hone a skill or two. He might find a new interest to obsess over. And he’s only made one of three parts of the full 

 beat tape. The rest is waiting to be completed. He let’s us know with a wink that he wonders if an errant millionaire might not help him fund the expansion:

Sly5thAve: Future of 'Liberation'

Regardless, it’s clear that Sly5thAve’s path is ascendant. For those who want a quick dose of the Liberation project, check out the tracks below.

Vernon Neal

 Akshaj Turebylu

Learn more about Sly5thAve. multifaceted musician from the greater Austin area of Texas, through this feature from YourClassical MPR’s Rhapsody in Black.


Provided

Sly5thAve - Liberation (Official Video)

Water Suite (Thirst)

Monoxide (feat. MonoNeon, MacKenzie, Canoed_sun)

Sly5thAve brings together classical, hip-hop, jazz and more in his innovative arrangements

Walking into Samambo feels like stepping into a family reunion. Everywhere you look, there are see beautiful, welcoming faces; some familiar, some are distant relatives.  At Samambo, everyone enjoys the night as a collective. No one is cordoned off in VIP sections; all are one big, happy family.

At Samambo, there’s no hierarchy; everyone’s welcome everywhere, even on stage. It’s this genuine sense of community that creates moments of everyone singing along to familiar tracks or enjoying the thrill of discovering new tunes. You can end up in dance circles with people you'd never met, yet feel like they'd been your friends for years.

Founded in Minneapolis by DJ and producer Kwey, Samambo is an event series designed to celebrate and connect the African diaspora through music. According to Kwey, the essential ingredient for a successful party is the music. However, achieving the perfect musical atmosphere requires a unique touch. The now sought-after DJ began his journey as a young music enthusiast, deeply influenced by the diverse sounds played by his mother at home. "She listened to a lot of stuff," Kwey recounted, ranging from American icons like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg to various Afrobeats artists. As he developed his own musical preferences, artists and producers like Pharrell and Timbaland emerged as significant influences on his style.

Eventually, Kwey took music into his own hands, “playing mostly drums but I was always picking up random instruments.” It was at the age of 14 that he was immersed in the world of music production, living with a producer at the time who taught him the ins and outs of creating beats and melodies. “I was just a kid going to school and I had all this free time to learn and collaborate with friends.” This passion for music and desire to learn shaped much of his childhood and eventually became a career. Despite a brief stint studying biology, Kwey left college, drawn back to Minneapolis to forge a path in music—a decision that set the stage for the creation of Samambo.

Samambo was sparked after Kwey noticed a gap in the local music scene. “There were few spaces that celebrated the full spectrum of Black music or catered specifically to the Black community.” So, he organized his own event, focusing on creating a welcoming and exhilarating environment. Key elements of a successful Samambo include visual ambiance, an energetic host, respectful and engaging staff, a focus on safety, and great music. These factors create an environment that feels safe enough for guests to fully immerse themselves in the event.

The Aakan’s slang term, Samambo, suggested by Kwey's mother, signifies a communal gathering — “Back in the day, in Ghana, police officers used to go on runs and chant songs. Locals would follow and chant along with them. People took that on and brought it into other things. A celebration of unity and joy.” It reflects the ethos of the parties: a place where people from all walks of life can come together, dance, and feel a part of something larger than themselves. 

This spirit of community and celebration has resonated deeply with attendees, many of whom have shared their own experiences. Mayah Varnado, a 25-year-old Minneapolis resident and socialite and frequent Samambo goer shared, “Samambo is for the culture, if you’re looking for a space to dance, sing, and immerse yourself in the richness of the culture, Samambo is the place to be.”

That sentiment is echoed by Angel Akurienne, a 26-year-old Minneapolis resident and multi-disciplinary artist who has attended multiple Samambos stated, “I love Samambo because they’ve crafted a secure space for the diaspora in Minneapolis.The DJs get it, the community gets it. We’re not losing recipes, we’re creating new ones!” 

As you walk in, you’re met with an eclectic mix of music, a diverse crowd, and an energy that compels everyone to dance. The events are carefully curated to balance familiar tunes and new, unexpected sounds. Local DJs, like McShellen, ENL, Yhante, Sasha Bangz, and others are selected to curate a meticulous blend of crowd favorites and lesser-known tracks, aiming to introduce his audience to new music while keeping the energy high. While the DJ line-up is crucial, Kwey also carefully selects the host for each party - Jiggy, Yoni Light, Blue Bone, Obi Original, and T Buzz are just a few notable, local names who have been on the lineup. They all represent “someone who can connect with the guests and add to the energy. They know how to balance the energy in the room and pass it around through the crowd.” All of the choices that go into Samambo from visual elements to DJs, themes, and hosts play a role in fostering a space where connections are made, and memories are born.

As Samambo grows, Kwey envisions it becoming a sustainable cultural movement, one that will continue to thrive long after he steps away from the decks. He dreams of expanding Samambo beyond Minneapolis, bringing its unique vibe to a global audience and collaborating with DJs across the globe. He's keen on building a solid team to help bring this vision to life, extending an open invitation to those who resonate with the mission of Samambo to join in its evolution.

Taycier Elhindi

Minneapolis DJ and producer Kwey celebrates and connects the African diaspora through his event series.


Luis Borja

Samambo event series connects the African diaspora through dance

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 

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

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)

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


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Remembering the electrifying Minneapolis DJ Liara Kaylee Tsai

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