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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tei Shi’s music floats in that liminal space between the intimate and the cinematic. The Buenos Aires–born, Colombia- and Canada-raised artist— born Valerie Teicher Barbosa — has built a career on songs that fuse dream pop, R&B and electronic textures into something uniquely her own. If you’ve fallen for Mitski or Laufey, you’ll surely fall for Tei Shi — assuming you haven’t already. Stories by Peter Chakerian 10 best Cleveland restaurants for seafood: Keep voting for the Best (poll) Sweetest Day: Mouthwatering mythology that’s ‘Classic CLE’ What went down at WCSB 89.3FM: a voice from inside Cleveland State’s axed student radio station 10 best Cleveland restaurants for seafood: Who will be chosen as the best? (poll) It’s music that invites you inward, even as it expands outward into a widescreen landscape. She’ll bring that deft emotional swirl to the Beachland Ballroom on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. Wish Queen will open. For Tei Shi, that world-building is an organic process that follows no pattern in particular — only a seed. “It really depends on the song,” she told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer from her home in Los Angeles. “Sometimes it starts with chords, sometimes it’ll be a beat, sometimes it’s just a melody or a lyrical idea. I like to treat each song like its own little world. Even within an album, there’s a big range of vibes and sonics from song to song.” Her creative process, she explained, is less about imposing structure and more about letting intuition lead. “I rarely set out to say, ‘I want to make something like this.’ It’s usually the other way around,” she said. “Once the song is written, I follow my instincts — do I want it to feel introspective, or like something I can dance to? That’s what dictates the production choices.” That instinctive approach extends to her lyrics, which often toe the line between raw vulnerability and poetic ambiguity. “I don’t really filter myself too much,” she said. “But I like to leave a lot of room for interpretation. As a fan, I’ve always loved lyrics that are a little abstract—where you get to define the meaning for yourself. So I straddle that line: the songs are personal and true to me, but there’s a bit of a veil there, too.” Her latest release, “Make Believe I Make Believe,” represents a future of pop music that eschews genre boundaries and linguistic limits. The global power of song and feel defines her contemporary music culture. Tei Shi’s voice has evolved in parallel with her songwriting. Over a decade of touring and recording has made her intimately familiar with her instrument. “My control and awareness of my voice has grown so much,” Barbosa said. “I know my range, my tones, how to bring out different dynamics. It’s a relationship I’ve nurtured over time— and it’s always evolving.” That evolution is evident when she looks back on her earliest releases, including her debut EP “Saudade” (2013) and first full-length “Crawl Space” (2017). “I was very young, impressionable and naive,” she reflected. “I didn’t plan to put out that first EP—it kind of happened by accident. I was totally unprepared for the industry side of things." She learned a lot. “How to collaborate, trust my instincts, communicate my vision and understand what I want as an independent artist,” she said. “I wish I’d had that knowledge back then, but that’s retrospect.” Her multicultural background — Argentinian by birth, raised in Colombia and Canada before settling in the U.S. — is inseparable from her artistry. It leaves her open to endless possibility and inspiration. “I’ve always had eclectic tastes,” she said. “Early on, I was surrounded by Latin music in Spanish and Portuguese, but also classic rock like The Beatles and singer-songwriter folk, and the big pop divas like Whitney, Celine and Mariah. Then I got into indie rock, electronic, hip-hop, R&B. All of that created this really diverse musical palette that I draw from.” Barbosa added that she never sets out to make a certain sound or genre — it’s more that the spirit unfolds out of a song and leads the way, thanks to a “limitless palette to pull from.” That boundaryless spirit has carried over into her approach to the music industry. After experiences with major labels and going independent, Tei Shi has become a vocal advocate for artistic autonomy. She’s a strong voice in the indie community for bootstrapping ethos, creativity and resilience. “I’ve learned how important it is to advocate for yourself,” she said. “Self-releasing has brought me closer to my audience. There’s more work, but there’s more freedom, too.” That sense of connection is perhaps most palpable in her live shows — which have earned a reputation for being hypnotic and immersive. As she prepares for her first-ever headline show in Cleveland at the Beachland, she’s eager to make it special. “It’s always really fun coming to new places and seeing what the scene is like,” Barbosa said. “If you’ve ever liked my music, you should come out. There’ll be beautiful visuals, big dynamic shifts—some cry-worthy moments, some scream-worthy moments, and some dance-worthy ones. It’s going to be a ride.” For Tei Shi, music isn’t just about songs — it’s about crafting entire emotional environments. Whether in the studio, onstage, or across continents, she continues to follow that spark wherever it leads.
