Hailing from the lush and bucolic landscape of Romania, now living in the concrete and creative bustle of London city; artist, teacher, TV star, and Incubator Programme artist TÉODORA shares her story with UD…
“It’s nice, I’m starting to live and earn from something I love”, shares TÉODORA, reflecting on the past four or so years living, working and studying in the UK. “I’m not only singing and making music, but I’m also sharing and teaching”. With an existing (and devout) fanbase in her home country of Romania, TÉODORA found herself in London pursuing a new dream and genre, exploring the realm of dark pop and R&B in the good company of UD Music. Now settling into a steady stream of well-received releases and live performances, TÉODORA’s pending London headline show is set to be actualised this autumn, described in her own words as less a concert, and more “a whole world”.
Fresh from releasing a three-track EP exploring the ache of long-distance love, TÉODORA introduces herself as a singer, songwriter, and producer, the coveted triple threat of musicianship accelerated by the support of UD. “It’s been amazing”, she shares, “it’s finally the time where I showcased my whole creative side”. Her latest single Craving employs her signature siren vocals with smoky Balkan influences, but TÉODORA promises even more, with her upcoming release eliciting a wholly different approach to her sound and instrumentation. Watch this space.
For someone who hasn’t heard your music yet, how would you describe your sound?
I feel like it’s hard to describe my sound. I always say a mix of dark pop with some R&B, sometimes with Balkan influences.
Your music draws on Balkan roots while also leaning into dark pop. How do those influences come together in your songs?
When I moved to London, which was around four years ago, I was suddenly surrounded by so many different cultures, and I was like damn, I have a culture that I never cared about when I was home (laughs). I never cared about Romanian or Balkan culture in general, but when I moved here, I don’t know how but I just became so passionate about it. I started to study it and actually dig into this culture, and I’m so proud to have that. I love it. I remember how my grandpa would tell me all these crazy stories, and now I value them on a completely different level. I promised myself I’d bring a little bit of Balkan flavour into all my live sets.
Do you play any instruments?
In my live sets we have my originals, and then with my band we perform a reinterpretation of a traditional song in my own way, and I play flute for that. It’s a break from my actual set, and I love to get feedback, because I feel like people really don’t know much about Balkan culture, so I try to raise awareness to show how beautiful it is, how deep it is. I even have a tattoo of a word that is untranslatable, it means a very very deep sense of longing for your roots, not necessarily for a person, but for where you really come from.
Has your sound changed from singing during your early life in Romania to now living in London?
I feel like the sound I developed is quite unique, it’s not experimental or anything, but I feel like during my singing career, without realising I just got influenced by so many different artists. In Romania I started a music career and have a fanbase there, but I’m known for something else than what I’m trying to get known for here. I went on two TV shows back home when I was 11. I went on this show called Next Star, which is sort of like Kids Got Talent sort of thing. It was pretty big, it was the first season they made, I got viral in the Philippines and my video on YouTube is crazy viral (laughs), I feel like it has like a million views. And then when I was 16, I went on the X Factor in Romania, but again I feel like I built this kind of brand of the girl who sings like crazy songs. Some people in an article called me the Beyoncé of Romania which is cool, but I switched from that a lot.
What do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
I love this question! So I’m pretty religious, I’m Orthodox Christian, and during my childhood I learned that healing is a big thing. I used to sing in church a lot, and I still do. I actually found a little Romanian church around me in London, and I’m in the choir. It’s really relevant to my personal life. So my purpose with music is really to heal as well. My main goal is not to be crazy famous, but as long as my music gets to a lot of people and they feel good, that’s good. Even with all the music that’s unreleased now and sitting on my laptop, I feel like my main goal is to give this sense of peace.
How have UD Music supported you?
UD came into the picture as a big support for me. I’m very much independent, like no manager, no nothing. I’m literally alone and I cannot say that I manage all the areas very well. I know how to make the music and how to sing, but the other areas are quite a struggle for me. UD really came up with a lot of support. We have Danny Desai giving us a lot of tips with marketing, like promotional release processes, which is so huge. I feel like that was the most helpful thing for me, because I suck at promoting myself. Just having his words and his advice and his professionalism in this area, it opened my eyes to some other ideas. Just having advice from these people helped me so much, I feel like I need to talk to somebody, and then I get more motivated and I know where to go, because I tend to get so lost in what I have to do. I know I have to be productive, but I don’t know exactly what to do. These people really helped me a lot.
You’re based in London now – how has the city shaped you as an artist?
I have a really weird relationship with London now. The thing that keeps me here is music. That’s the reason I’m here, that’s my biggest dream. That’s why I came here, and I came here so delusional and with no plan. My parents were so concerned, like I’m just gonna go along to a different country?! I’m proud that I did that, because I come from a very tiny city in Romania, like 80,000 people, so it made me strong. I remember when I was going to events and I was just standing in a corner, even though I’m not introverted, I just couldn’t approach people, but now I can do that. I’m just going up to strangers and talking to them. It definitely helped me, definitely developed me. But the big city is still crazy, I’m still getting used to it, I still crave home, sometimes I’m very homesick, I still crave nature. But on the other side, the opportunities London has… It’s incomparable, and I’m so grateful. One of them is UD Music, they came up on my Instagram and I applied (for the Incubator). I didn’t expect to get any answer, but when I did I was like what? That’s insane.
What are the next steps for you – what can we look forward to?
I can’t give any specific details yet, but I am going to be involved in two TV productions this year! On top of that, I released another song three weeks ago called Craving, and I’m getting ready for another exciting release, which is something I’ve never done before… It’s still within my sound and my style, but a very different approach. It’s very vulnerable and unique in sound, and I’m very grateful to UD because they offered the live studio, and we needed live instruments for this one. It’s a bit different to what I’m used to doing. I’m also slowly building up my first headline show for September or October, the date isn’t set yet, but we’re working on it. It’s going to be a whole world built around my story.
Words: Elsa Monteith
