The First Lady of Detroit - K-HAND - is heading to New Zealand for the first time performing at Auckland’s Galatos on Friday June 1st.

K-Hand (aka Kelli Hand) is an internationally recognised veteran of Detroit’s music scene. She has released hundreds of club bombs since the early 90s, tunes which meld both her love of the Motor City Sound, and her initial musical schooling at New York’s Paradise Garage. Her early releases paved the way for women in the house & techno scene, she was the first Detroit artist to release on legendary UK imprint Warp Records, and her very own Acacia Records becoming a launch pad for some of today’s techno heroes, including Claude Young, The Wamdue Kids, & Sean Deason.

And interest in Hand’s music has grown in recent years, with the likes of Ben Klock, Ben UFO & Ryan Elliot all tapping her older productions for compilations, and techno superstar Nina Kraviz releasing brand new K-HAND music via her трип label in 2016. But don’t call it a resurgence - K-Hand has been steadily working the whole time, releasing record after record, and keeping up a relentless touring schedule, delivering meticulous, uncompromising sets wherever she goes. With three decades of operating in a techno boys club, today Hand embraces her role as a female pioneer who challenges the status quo, a feat which the city of Detroit recognised in 2017 when they officially named her ‘The First Lady of Detroit’.

“For me, it’s all about the music, not about how someone looks with or without any business, producing or djing skills. But, being “true” to yourself, and having the ability to express yourself creatively through your own self confidence that is within you”.

K-HAND

Friday 1st June: Galatos, Auckland

Tickets available 9am Thursday May 3rd from www.friendlypotential.com/tickets