Two years after releasing her debut album, Tei Shi is finally poised to leave her cramped Crawl Space. Born Valerie Teicher, the Berklee-educated singer-songwriter has kept us ensnared in her woozy neo-soul since her single “Bassically,” and this year she’s gearing up for a sophomore sensation, title and release date TBA. Following her new track “A Kiss Goodbye,” she’s also shared “Red Light” this July, prepping the sultry, self-reliant swing of her forthcoming record.
“‘Red Light’ is about a few different relationships in my past — some romantic, some in the work space — that made me feel helpless and powerless,” Teicher says. “I spent a lot of time in dynamics with close people in my life who didn’t encourage or empower me but thrived in making me feel small. The song is about learning from these dynamics, earning more respect for myself and knowing better in the future. It’s kind of a diss track, but also on my end it’s about letting go of that frame of mind.”
Take part in the process below.