LOCAL DISCS
LOCAL DISCS
2Born Valerie Teicher in Argen
tina, Tei Shi split her formative years between Vancouver, Colombia, and Quebec before hitting music school in Massachusetts, and then finally settling in New York. It was in Boston that she hooked up with producer Gianluca Buccellati, who has been a frequent collaborator ever since. Buccellati helped make Tei Shi’s first releases, the EPS Saudade (2013) and Verde (2015), as well as her cover of Beyoncé’s “No Angel”, which set the blogosphere ablaze in 2014.
Tei Shi is no mere singer, though, on Crawl Space. For all of Buccellati’s input, Tei Shi owns her music as a writer-producer. In fact, she tried to hide herself in her early music, blending her vocals into a layer rather than making them the focal point lest she be boxed in by misogynistic creative assumptions.
She has spent a fair amount of time hiding, in general. Fear of the dark led a young Teicher to spend time in her claustrophobic crawlspace in order to overcome it. If nothing else, Buccellati helped her come out of her shell so she could share more of herself with us, and Tei Shi has put herself way out there with Crawl Space. There is as much creativity as vulnerability on this album. Her gorgeous voice projects confidently as she explores deep yet relatable autobiographical themes, while her instrumentals deconstruct pop and R&B like a more polished Evy Jane or a less eccentric Grimes.
Her whole life has led to this album, and she has clearly grown up well.
> ALAN RANTA
TMarch 9 to 15, 2017
hrough the middle of April, Venus retrograde takes us through a critical reassessment, especially regarding finances and relationships. Right now, the most important relationship to sort out is the one you have with yourself. Are you at war or at one? Are you hearing an inner voice speaking more urgently? Aim to develop the art of listening, it is the chief asset offered to you by this cycle.
Venus retrograde in Aries calls for you to take the primary focus off the issue or the other and to put it back on yourself. Are you staying true to yourself, to your better interests? Are your actions reflecting the best of you? Are you getting what you want? When in a state of need, fear, or overcompensation, we will act through those fi lters and tend to override the inner wisdoms of instinct and intuition. This is not a call toward selfishness, although others might label the switch to “me first” as such. Rather, it is a time for a courageous personal regroup.
While Venus in Aries prompts you to break new ground and forge new responses, Mars in Taurus, starting Thursday, loans you more staying power and more consistency. Mars will get you better onto target regarding what is most lucrative or beneficial.
Sunday can be a tough or slow go thanks to the Virgo full moon. Rather than see yourself as shortchanged or done in, see it as an opportunity to make a necessary improvement—or
GEMINI May 21–June 21
Venus is now on a social pullback. As of Thursday, Mars prefers quality over quantity. Together, they suggest out of sight—or off doing your own thing—is the best use of your time through Sunday. Thursday/friday can be quite productive. Sunday’s full moon can deflate or deplete you. There
VIRGO August 23–September 23
Thursday/friday, take full advantage of time and opportunity. Saturday/sunday could be write-off days. Mercury/saturn and the full moon are building up to something, but you might not see it coming. Accept what is, work with what you have, relinquish the rest. Control or containment is difficult, at best. As of Monday/tuesday, Mercury into Aries puts you back in action.
SAGITTARIUS November 22– December 21
As of Thursday, Mars in Taurus can help you simplify and/or make better gains on what has been giving you a run for it of late. Through the weekend, the full moon can keep you guessing or stressing. Watch for a natural progression to give you better clarity or options. By Monday, Mercury is on a better cut to the chase.