Qendresa Explores Roots, Relationships, and Retrofuturistic Soul with Latest EP, ‘Londra’
Alberto Aliaga // Feb 24, 2025
In the burgeoning UK Neo-Soul scene, Northwest London songwriter and vocalist, Qendresa drops off her latest EP, Londra. Transporting listeners on a reminiscent journey to the early 90’s, she masterfully disassembles elements of electronic, pop, and R&B to reconstruct something all her own. While Londra thematically traverses lofty emotional subjects spanning distance, covetousness, and self-realization, it’s musically underlined by minimalistic beats. The project’s soundscape illuminates the partnership between Lo-fi and Modern Soul music, allowing Qendresa’s ethereal vocals to float effortlessly across the emotionally provocative instrumentals.
Somewhere in that blend of musical elements, Qendresa’s amalgam roots drawing a string from her roots spanning Albania to London, illuminating her natural leanings towards an existence as a mosaic. Titularly briding the breadth of her influence - Londra itself means London in Albanian – the project is an exploration of her dynamism both as an individual and as an artist.
In the opening track, 2 Much, Qendresa undertakes the complexities of relationships, pushing boundaries, tension, and self-sabotage. ‘Cause boy, your love is like a drug, and I drink too much and I smoke too much,’ croons the soulstress in the chorus, effortlessly blending 90’s R&B nuance into a more understated tale of falling in and out of love and lust.
The Bounce offers a bold, more upbeat instrumental evolution, and offers, too, human progression. Musing on releasing oneself from the toxic relationship outlined in the track prior, Qendresa’s mosaic builds forward. ‘If that private number calling, it's cause I locked that dumb prick off.’ Qendresa’s delivery here is exuberant yet empowering, encouraging listeners to leave the bullshit behind in a way that only the best R&B artists can tap into tender emotions while at the same time emboldening a listener to stand on their more rigid emotional edge.
Whenever You’re Ready speaks to the revelation of acknowledgement that a prospective partner is ready to open up and reciprocate feelings, seamlessly tying the EP together from a thematic point of view, while adding another musical change of pace to Qendresa’s bag of tricks. Though still instrumentally reminiscent of a jazz club, she slows it down a bit and finds a repetitive, addicting rhythm with her vocals.
Londra depicts a story of yearning for intimacy and the never-ending tribulations that come with the territory. Intertwining themes of self-exploration while musically exploring Soul and R&B’s past and present by way of captivating instrumentals and a wide vocal range, Qendresa curates a sense of familiarity for not only every fan of Neo-Soul, but for every human that has been at odds with their own relationship with relationships. An introspective and adventurous project that offers a fresh taste of an ever-changing series of genres and sub-genres, Londra shines Qendresa in a light as an artist redefining her musical grey areas by pulling in nuances from the 90’s to a UK-centric Neo-Soul modernity; from Albania to London.