TEEKS Essentials

Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi can’t help but sound wise beyond his years, thanks to a deep, supple voice. As TEEKS, the Māori soul singer echoes the era-defining vocalists who came before him in his sensual torch songs. The guitar-licked “First Time” evokes the delicate warmth of late-career Solomon Burke, while the snappy, reverbed backing on “These Hands” rivals The Dap-Kings’ work with Amy Winehouse. After debuting with 2017’s The Grapefruit Skies EP in his mid-twenties, Gardiner-Toi went deeper still on the 2021 album Something to Feel, bringing gospel-worthy reverence to stunning slow burns like the piano ballad “Without You.” On 2024’s “Red Light,” meanwhile, he pitches down his voice for a hook that signals hip-hop swagger.