Tei Shi (pronounced “tay-shee”) is the moniker of singer/songwriter and producer Valerie Teicher. Growing up between Bogotá, Colombia and Vancouver, Canada, Tei Shi is heavily influenced by her ever-changing environment and cross-cultural identity.
Since her first two EPs, Saudade (2013) and Verde (2015) “introduced her to the world as a skilled and fluid vocalist... [Tei Shi] has fully stepped into her own, brewing up confections centered on trusting your own intuition.” (Pitchfork). Her groundbreaking song Bassically garnered over 17 million streams on Spotify alone and set the scene for her critically acclaimed debut album Crawl Space (2017), which was highly revered by the likes of NPR, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, The Fader and The Guardian, and projected her as one of today’s most influential multidisciplinary acts.
On the heels of the Crawl Space release, Tei Shi embarked on world tours and made headway in the art and fashion world, partnering with culturally iconic brands like MoMA, Helmut Lang, Northface, Glossier, ACNE, and Collina Strada, as well as collaborated with Blood Orange on his album Negro Swan. In addition to joining him onstage at 2019’s Coachella Music Festival, Tei Shi also starred in Blood Orange’s video for Hope alongside Diddy, A$AP Rocky, and Tyler the Creator.
In November of 2019, Tei Shi released La Linda, her much-anticipated second full-length album. Emotionally evocative and sonically daring, “the 11-track project sees Tei Shi more self-assured and fully formed than ever” (i-D). On this album, Tei Shi embraces her Latin roots and multi- cultural identity, seamlessly shifting between the languages and musical genres that make her such a unique songwriter and noteworthy artist.
After breaking out of a toxic label dynamic, Tei Shi embarked on a North American tour supporting Blood Orange in March 2020, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after, during the height of the lockdown, she finished her EP Die 4 Ur Love, which came out in July 2020 as the first release with a new upstart label. This partnership quickly turned sour and the ensuing turmoil kept Tei Shi in label purgatory for the following two years, unable to release any new music.
Her new single, GRIP, marks the beginning of a new chapter for Tei Shi as a truly independent artist, fully in control of her sound, creative direction, and business. The song discusses the disappointment and anger brought about by some of her experiences in the music industry, and paves the way for a breadth of new material set to be released throughout 2022.
