We had a insightful chat with rad singer and song-writer Tei Shi about inspiration from change, the difficult steps of becoming a professional musician and comparing yourself to others.

“I changed environments often and grew up in a pretty eclectic mix of cultures, which I think translates to my personality and overall approach to things.” is a quote by you. Describe your personality and your overall approach on things…

I suppose when it comes to my life now, I think my childhood and experiences moving around and changing environments have led me to have a desire for that kind of lifestyle. To continue moving and changing my surroundings and not being to attached to anything physical around me. For me, there is a lot of motivation and inspiration to be drawn from change, from putting myself in new contexts and feeling solitary a lot of the time in doing so. So I think all of those parts of my personality have worked themselves into the way I approach making music and my career.

“For me, there is a lot of motivation and inspiration to be drawn from change, from putting myself in new contexts and feeling solitary a lot of the time in doing so. “

The story behind your artist name Tei Shi…

The name was a result of just random brainstorming, it doesn’t necessarily have a particular meaning or significance. It actually stemmed from Yai Shi—which was the original idea, and was a take on Jay Z…Yai Shi…it was more of a joke. But my last name starts with T-e-i so I adapted it to that and it just kind of fit!

What were the most difficult things for you on the way to become a professional musician?

I would say the difficulties are in navigating everything around the actual making of the music. Making music, performing it, working on it, that comes naturally and is the most enjoyable element. But no one really tells you how much else comes along with it, how you have to learn to handle the relationships around you, your interpersonal skills, your ability to be a leader and be confident and all that. It’s a continuous
learning process, but yeah I would say the hardest parts of trying to have a career as a musician is everything but the music, hah.

 “I would say the hardest parts of trying to have a career as a musician is everything but the music.”

And what has been easier on that path than you expected it?

The easiest part has been making music and connecting with people through it.

Do you look at what other artist are doing a lot as well to compare or get new ideas or you focus totally on your own stuff?

I definitely have started to observe other artists and their paths and the way they have handled their careers a lot more. At first I was pretty oblivious to what was going on around me, and I wanted to kind of isolate myself and not compare myself to anyone and whatnot. But I think it’s actually very healthy to observe people around you who you identify with, or who you admire…there is so much to be learned from learning through other peoples’ experience. I wouldn’t say that I ever draw creative or artistic ideas from what other artists are doing, but I definitely draw influence from how other artists have navigated their paths, how they approach their fans, their careers, how they handle themselves, that sort of thing. There are a lot of people doing really cool things out there.

“There is so much to be learned from learning through other peoples’ experience.”

Tell us a bit about the creative process of your song writing (inspirations, the way you approach putting it all down into a song)

It varies from song to song, but almost always starts with either a melodic or lyrical idea. I’ll usually get that down, looping or something, and just build on top of it. I write as I record a lot, so I’ll leave things going and just build on top of them until it feels like a song.

How do you feel when you still perform your very first song m&ms nowadays?

Sometimes I take a second and I get kind of nostalgic and sentimental, but for the most part I kind of zone out when I perform that song now! I’ve been playing it for the longest now….so it’s the newer songs that I get more excited about playing live.

Let me ask you about the video to your song Bassically (out of your latest EP Verde) Why did you chose to use war elements – is there a political message behind it?

I think the kind of battle/post-apocalyptic elements of the video were just kind of an extension of the force and kind of aggressive nature of the song that I wanted to get across. Not in a violent sense, but that song is all about taking control and ownership over yourself and breaking out of limitations and such. So the idea of having my girl troop and having us fight some unidentifiable thing in a way that was kind of aggressive but also kind of campy and silly…that captured the spirit of the song in a cool way for me personally.

“Not in a violent sense, but that song is all about taking control and ownership over yourself and breaking out of limitations and such.”

Do you have one city or country where you feel most at home?

There are different parts of myself that feel really at home in different places. Vancouver feels like home for me in the sense that my sisters are all there, I spent my most formative years there, it’s very calm and serene and beautiful and so comforting to come back to. Bogota is where I spent my early childhood and where my parents grew up…I have such strong memories and such fondness and nostalgia for my life there. A lot of my more intrinsic, built in identity that was formed when I was very young is really tied to there. My parents live back there now too, so when I go back I feel like I’ve gone back to my childhood in a way. New York feels pretty much like home at this point in my life now though, it’s a mix of everything.

Our summer print issue topic is about Love. How would you define love for you?

That is such a crazy question to ask! Ah…love comes in many forms. In a general sense, I guess love is anything that moves you enough to better yourself, to drive you to extremes. Anything that moves you enough to change you.

What do you love most about summer days?

The best thing by far about summer days is how long they are. The fact that it is bright out from early in the morning until 9 PM is amazing. It makes me feel like my life has expanded and there is endless time.

www.teishimusic.com
Photos by @iga_drobisz
www.facebook.com/igaphotography

“In a general sense, I guess love is anything that moves you enough to better yourself, to drive you to extremes. Anything that moves you enough to change you.”