Tei Shi

The indie electronic endeavor Tei Shi belongs to versatile musician Valerie Teicher, whose sound merges sultry alt-R&B textures with downtempo electro-pop atmospheres. Layered vocal loops figure prominently in her work, which reached full-length form with the 2017 release Crawl Space. Greater emphasis on R&B emerged through partnerships with Blood Orange, who contributed to her sophomore album La Linda in 2019.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Teicher divided her upbringing between North and South America, living for stretches in Bogotá, Colombia; Vancouver, Canada; and Boston, Massachusetts, where she enrolled at Berklee College of Music. She later moved to New York City to focus on music. The first Tei Shi single, "M&Ms," reached file-sharing platforms in mid-2013, sparking online attention and a growing listenership. That track appeared among the six cuts on the independently issued Saudade EP later the same year. During this period she also lent her voice to material by Glass Animals and Shy Girls (Dan Vidmar). Verde, a follow-up EP, surfaced in 2015 through Mom + Pop's Mermaid Avenue imprint. Its opening cut, the atmospheric dance number "Bassically," achieved seven-figure streaming totals within weeks and registered on social-media rankings. Downtown Records subsequently became her label home, issuing the debut album Crawl Space in March 2017.

Tei Shi joined Diddy as a featured artist on the Blood Orange song "Hope" in 2018, a track she co-wrote. Blood Orange reciprocated by appearing on "Even If It Hurts" from her second album, La Linda, which Downtown Records released in November 2019.