Minneapolis electronic dance community mourns popular DJ found dead in Olmsted County

Liara Tsai created safe spaces wherever she went.

Whether through her electronic music at underground shows in Minneapolis or through intimate conversations with friends, Tsai exuded an energy that was magnetic, curious and accepting.

“It’s like you felt this attraction because she was completely authentic,” said Saoirse Weiss, a close friend of Tsai.

If someone in the Minneapolis electronic dance music scene didn’t know Tsai personally, Weiss said, they probably knew her for her long, curly orange hair. That was the first thing Weiss noticed when she first met Tsai about a year ago in north Minneapolis at a show called Cyber ​​City Disco.

“In many ways, her hair, like her music and the sound she created, was her strength. The way it blew, the way it moved, the way it interacted with the wind, the air and the people. And that was such a special quality that it’s hard to forget,” Weiss recalls.

Minneapolis’ underground electronic music community is mourning Tsai after she was found dead in the back seat of a car in southeastern Minnesota on June 22. Police have filed charges against 32-year-old Margot Lewis of Iowa on suspicion of murdering Tsai, who was 35 at the time of her death.

According to an autopsy, she died from numerous stab wounds.

Those closest to Tsai will remember her as a brilliant DJ who could take a dance floor on an “emotional journey.” She rarely prepared sets before performances and often played live music that responded to the audience in the moment.

“I’ll tell you, if you don’t listen much, you might think everything sounds the same, but it doesn’t,” said Dana Kazuko, a friend and fellow DJ. “And she was so good at saying, this is hot, this is exciting, this is happy. She’s also good at saying, this is sad or this is a little angry. And the fact that she just does that without planning the set in advance, but doing it based on what’s in front of her, just speaks to her talent.”

Tsai grew up in Mauston, Wisconsin, and lived in Iowa City before moving to Minneapolis in May. According to her family, she served in the military for about 10 years, including stints in the U.S. Air Force and in Afghanistan.

As a transgender woman, she was a passionate advocate for the trans community and formed close connections with people like Weiss who were just discovering their trans identity.

“When you can see yourself in someone else, that’s when the real magic happens and you can really reflect on yourself. And Liara always encouraged you to reflect on yourself and discover all the different processes that go on in your emotional self,” Weiss said.

According to Tsai’s SoundCloud, Tsai described her music as “hypnotic acid-electro and techno sounds” designed to help her audience “surrender” and feel empowered. Weiss said Tsai would never ask her if she enjoyed her set – she would instead ask, “How did it make you feel?”

Although she had been a DJ for many years and performed throughout the Midwest, including in Iowa City, Iowa, and Madison, Wisconsin, Tsai planned to make Minneapolis her permanent home.

For the past two years, she’s played at underground house shows around the city and at events hosted by Intellephunk, one of the biggest promoters in the local electronic dance scene. She’s even recently become a crisis counselor at Intellephunk.

Kazuko said Tsai considers Minneapolis a special place because of the community and the opportunity for her to grow as a DJ.

“Liara was this incredibly talented and established DJ who was just starting out a little bit,” Kazuko said. “But she had been trying to come to Minneapolis for a while. And a big reason was because the community was so welcoming and because she knew so many people, but there were also practical reasons. She saw the Twin Cities as a place where she could raise her profile and develop her art.”

Others, like Tsai’s partner April Lee, will miss going for walks with her, watching their favorite TV shows like the Chinese drama “Love Between Fairy and Devil” and making music together. Lee said Tsai loved talking to people and sharing healing energy.

“Many people will tell you that Liara changed their lives because she was so completely authentic, so openly spiritual, so communicative. She showed people a completely different way of being and encouraged them to be as authentic and as free as they could be. And I can safely say that Liara changed my life incredibly from the first day I met her,” Lee said.

Although she is devastated by the loss of Tsai, Lee said she is not angry at Lewis, Tsai’s former partner who is suspected of murdering Tsai.

“Margot is a kind, intelligent person who was well-liked by the people who knew her,” Lee said. In court documents, police said Lewis was uncooperative and refused to talk.

“I am not angry with her and I really hope she gets the help she needs. Liara only saw the good in other people and wanted the best for herself and to get help and find healing,” Lee said.

Since Tsai’s death, private ceremonies have been held in Madison, Iowa City and Minneapolis to honor her daughter. According to Carbon Sound, about 50 people attended a gathering organized by Kazuko in Loring Park a few days after she was found.

Kazuko and Tsai were scheduled to perform together for the first time on Friday, July 5 at the Uptown VFW in Minneapolis. Instead, Kazuko is preparing a video and set of Tsai’s original music to be played during Tsai’s original set time. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid.

If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation with their partner, there is a statewide domestic violence hotline available 24 hours a day. You can call Minnesota DayOne at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995.