Stream The Super Fly New Mixtape 'OMW' From Auckland Artist Tei (+ Interview)

Emerging Auckland artist Tei has dropped a fresh new mixtape of RnB bangers titled OMW. The tunes feature deliciously velvety vocal tones a la Aaliyah and the flow of ‘OMW pt II’ is reminiscent of a more somber Missy Elliot.

“OMW is an exploration of self through the twists and turns of life. Let the universe speak the truth”, said Tei on her Bandcamp page. To find out what makes Tei tick, we asked her some questions about herself and her art so we could all get properly acquainted.  Check out her classic-in-the-making mixtape below and keep scrolling to get schooled up....

UTR: So, tell us a little about yourself

Tei: I'm a central Auckland kid born and raised. My mum is from Hong Kong and my dad is from Hawke's Bay, so I grew up in a mixed household with lots of different cultural influences. I am heavily influenced by 90s R&B and hip hop (I'm a huge fan of Ms. Lauryn Hill), and I like to incorporate a lot of international alternative/contemporary R&B ideas, however, growing up in central, I was always surrounded by music by the likes of Scribe, Savage, Homebrew etc.

How did you record OMW and what does it mean to you?

I produced, wrote, and recorded the OMW mixtape in my bedroom where I have a basic studio setup. The whole tape is really just a compilation of experiences, sub-conscious thoughts, and direct opinions. The tape to me is an expression of a past/present/future self that's somewhat subliminally hidden.

Who lent a hand with assisting you along the way?

My mate DOSWAMI who is another bedroom producer here in Auckland, found me through SoundCloud and asked me to be a part of an artist collaborative TACtile, and from there we started collaborating - we ended up with the track Situation (produced by Doswami, written by me). He also features on the final track, 'I'm A Soy Chai Latte' with drum production. Although this project has been entirely self driven, I had my "focus group" of friends who I would send tracks to for advice. I guess they were my first audience throughout this process (shoutout to Ab, Raaya, Noa, and Will).

What do you have planned for the future?

At the moment, my plans are just to keep creating. I already have a couple of projects starting up that I would like to release later this year, but the ultimate goal is to go international (if anyone is a manager out there willing to take me under their wing I'm all for it!).