Qendresa

20th March 2022

North London native Qendresa, took the stage at The White Hotel for Love Rain Manchester. Her ability to write, sing and produce is incredibly impressive when you acknowledge the attention to detail she pays when it comes to her craft. The beats feel transcendent and textured, the lyrics reflect pain and passion. She’s defining what it means to be multifaceted in all aspects.

The stage is coloured red as the band begins to play Karma, getting the ball rolling before Qendresa walks on stage in a cropped jacket, denim top, denim hot pants with a fur trim and knee high snake print boots. She gives everyone a little wave before screaming “Manny, what’s good!” She performs Karma full of emotion, reciting every word with conviction. She’s joined by backing singers Zalika and Charlene. She then performs an unreleased song that’s flirtatious and passionate, the instruments gets her moving her hips. She plays another unreleased song called Warzone, she pours her heart out through angelic vocals and raw emotion.

She asks if we’re familiar with Midnight Request Line, and then walks over to the DJ booth while her backing singers harmonise to soundtrack her walk over to decks. She plays Love or Lust to introduce us to the project, this experience feels truly authentic to the project. She’s also having fun harmonising with her backing singers from the other side of the room. Real Luv is up next, the beat feels like a 90s R&B flip. The vocals feel Mariah Carey-esque, soft and sweet. Lastly she plays Be Mine, which contains heavenly vocalisations that feel addicting to listen to. Qendresa and her backing singers have great chemistry where she’s able to feed off their soulful sonics and improvise.

She returns to the stage for another unreleased record, all of which I believe she’s produced herself. It feels like classic Qendresa, chilled out, a little bit of jazz, profound lyrics and textured instrumental. She then says she was “very inspired by the Kanye doc” referencing Jeen-Yus, and wanted to pay homage. Her backing vocalists get a larger opportunity to shine here as they perform Through The Fire by Chaka Khan, the sample from Kanye’s Through The Wire. They smashed it, belting out every note.

She returns to Midnight Request Line with Don’t Stop. The feel good tune is met with Qendresa’s soliloquy and her backing singers lining the track with that “don’t stop ever loving me” line that transports you back to the 90s. She introduces her entire band and they each get a solo, at this point I feel like her backing singers definitely deserve to be lead vocalists one day, Qendresa selected two powerhouses to join her on stage. Everyone is introduced while the band is still playing Don’t Stop, and then they resume for a last chorus. Quite fitting with the name of the song, as they never stopped playing. She walks off stage but the crowd is begging for an encore, so she returns to the DJ booth for one last song. It’s called Would It Be Alright, sultry and seductive, the red lights really bring the mood together.

Qendresa’s performance felt intimate and special, though short-lived. Not only am I very excited for the release of all of these unreleased tracks she performed tonight, but I’m also excited to see her on her own tour one day. I feel like Love Rain Manchester was more of a taster of what’s to come, but it’s truly a blessing to have witnessed it because the experience was so unique. She really utilised the venue and the crowd adored her. An artist on the rise who’s journey you won’t want to miss, With lyrics equipped with true grit and ethereal vocals, Qendresa is an artist on the rise who’s journey you won’t want to miss.