Photo Credit: Vogue Giambri
“the indie pop auteur sounds more than ready for her new era.” - BILLBOARD CANADA
“between her words and urgent delivery, we can feel the tension through our headphones” - REMEZCLA
“[Valerie] will see her come into her own” - HYPEBEAST
“sounds like the music really chic luxury brand commercials would’ve played at the cusp of the 2000s – and that’s a compliment” - NYLON
“Tei Shi is undeniably establishing herself…so get on her wave now” - CONSEQUENCE
“a delicately crafted cross-section of neo-soul, turn-of-the-millennium electro-pop, and MPB.” - THE FADER
Today, Canadian-Colombian singer-songwriter Tei Shi returns with her highly-anticipated eponymous new album Valerie out now via The Orchard. The independent release arrives alongside her deeply personal and poignant new single and visual “Falling From Grace” produced by Tei Shi, Nick Hakim, Noah Beresin and Zooey Celeste. The new album includes previously released singles “No Falta” and “QQ" (Quédate Queriéndome).
Valerie arrives ahead of her North American The Valerie Tour Part One, which kicks off in Boston on May 1st, and spans across nine cities, including Toronto, New York, Vancouver, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It will wrap in Seattle on May 12th and will include support from Sean Nicholas Savage, Amira Jazeera, ZADA, Salt Cathedral, and Kaleah Lee on select dates. More information and tickets available at https://teishi.world (full dates below).
Diligently tuning her craft as a singer-songwriter and producer, Valerie signals Tei Shi’s evolution throughout the years and brings her creativity to light – infusing a sonic palette of pop, R&B, bachata, tropicalia, and indie shoegaze with vulnerable storytelling and captivating bilingual lyricism. Tei Shi embraces her Latine heritage with a worldly edge. Her latest single, “Falling From Grace,” encapsulates all as she delves into her most personal and untold story yet.
Speaking on the single, Tei Shi shares, “Falling From Grace is probably my most personal song yet. It was inspired by a near-death experience I had in 2020 with an unexpected pregnancy which led to emergency surgery to save my life. The experience stayed with me and took me a long time to process, but it wasn't until I sat down with Nick Hakim and Zooey Celeste a year later in Nick's studio that I was able to put any words to it. The song came together like a sudden apparition once Nick and Zooey allowed me to share my experience and emotions with them and encouraged me to channel them into a song.
To me, this is a classic song about confronting one's mortality at the same time as one's ability to create, and ultimately it deals with the confusion and loss that often comes from that. I feel like it channels some of the duality of being in a woman's body -- the complexity and fragility our bodies often present to our own lives at the same time as their capacity to create life. Falling From Grace was produced by myself, Nick Hakim, Noah Beresin and Zooey Celeste, and sonically the song leans more into a shoegaze, indie rock sound, which I have always loved and incorporated into my albums throughout the years.”
With masterfully crafted production by Tei Shi alongside frequent collaborators Noah Breakfast, Mikey Freedom Hart, Nick Hakim, Rodrigo Amarante, Knox Fortune, Dave Sitek, Ash Workman, and Zooey Celeste –Valerie embodies the challenges of being an independent artist, overcoming health issues, navigating the complexities of womanhood, and reflecting on the tumultuous journey that shaped the LP and Tei Shi's true essence. It’s of the moment and touches on the harsh reality of today’s political climate of policing women’s bodies while continuing to push forth and overcome any obstacles life throws one’s way, a powerful persevering message that has allowed Tei Shi to thrive, and that lies at the core of Valerie.
Touching on the new album, Tei Shi shares, “BAD PREMONITION was my cathartic return to being a fully independent artist – my new album, Valerie, extends the EP’s six tracks to thirteen and is almost the precursor to BAD PREMONITION.” She adds, “It’s a lot of the early songs I wrote during the first phases of the pandemic…through being duped by my label and management at the time, through surviving a life-threatening experience, through losing touch with myself personally and creatively. On Valerie, I’m peeling back the initial layer and exposing my most personal and intimate musings through one of the most confusing periods of my life.”
Tei Shi is a multi-hyphenate artist and overall creative that continues to evolve while foregoing societal confines, genre, and borders. Baring it all while pushing forth her music and making headway toward becoming the pop star she was born to be. Valerie is set to leave an indelible mark on the musical landscape, further pushing the envelope on her artistry as Tei Shi comes into her own.
WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “FALLING FROM GRACE” https://teishi.ffm.to/fallingfromgracelive
STREAM / PURCHASE VALERIE https://teishi.ffm.to/valerie | 
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