TECLA is a first-generation New York City (Hell’s kitchen) native — born of Italian and Haitian immigrants. She has gone from being a classically trained child-pianist-prodigy to versatile performer in hip-hop, reggae, punk-rock, electronic, funk bands. She has toured throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia with Chrisette Michele, Das Racist, Gordon Voidwell,Chairlift, and more. Exploring her talents on a variety of synth keyboards she discovered and developed her own modern musical sound. TECLA is known for her genre-mixing melodic compositions, danceable afro/funk/Caribbean/tropical/pop production style, and boundary-breaking songwriting and rap lyricism. She has been described as “the new freak Lauryn Hill”, “SWV on acid”, “the Rocktronica Black Cinderella” and “Ritchie Valens meets Pagliacci”. TECLA is a recent recipient of the Van Lier Fellowship which will allow her to travel to Cuba and Jamaica to study and record indigenous drum rhythms for her upcoming album, “We Are The Lucky Ones.”
On Wednesday, September 19th, Colin Harris-McTigue of We Good Wednesdays will team up with Lola NYC & Mayimba Management to transform the ex gentleman’s club, now The Westway, into a feast for the eyes and ears. Turning nightlife on its head, The Westway will morph into a Carnival complete with a freak show, fortune-teller, exotic dancers and some of New York’s most buzzed about acts. TECLA’s first headlining set of the Fall will be accompanied by a DJ set from Kool A.D. of Das Racist and undisclosed special guests.
Mayimba is very excited to have TECLA become part of their close-knit company. A family owned brand run by publishing guru Marti Cuevas and her children, Mayimba is taking a new direction with TECLA. Typically concentrating on Latin styles, Mayimba has decided the time is now for the world to experience all that TECLA has to offer. “We’ve been watching TECLA for a long time. We admire her musicianship and originality and can’t wait to see what the future holds for our girl!” says TECLA’s manager, Zoila Sylvester.
TECLA will release her single “Fake Tears” this Fall along with a tour and album release in the winter.
Mayimba Music is a family-owned, full-spectrum music company specializing in Spanish language styles. As a music publisher since 1999, Mayimba has been able to offer full-service publishing administration for 3rd party publishers and independent composers. Their seasoned staff also handles full-administrative services for record labels including artistic direction, artist management, marketing and distribution both digitally and physically.