Review: Dimash Kudaibergen - Stranger

In the growing music scene for the steppe nations, it is hard to deny that Dimash Kudaibergen is becoming a dominant voice. I mean that figuratively and literally, few artists across all-time have as incredible of a vocal range as he does.

However, this has been a mixed year for the Kazakh artist. He opened with the forgettable Golden, before following it up with the mixed Be With Me. Now, with Stranger, he finally scores his first strong piece since last year, and boy is it incredible.

At its core heart, Stranger is remarkably simple, it has two hooks, one constantly repeated, to drive the song. However, this is where producer Igor Krutoy, continuing his collaboration with Dimash. The arrangement for the song musically, is incredible.

Let us take a minute to analyze this arrangement. The song opens with only a piano (played by Krutoy himself), supporting Dimash. Afterwards, a clapping percussion arrives, soon to be surplanted by a Kobyz. Productional flourishes, such as strings and woodwinds dot the landscape, with a choir providing the central ground for Dimash to sing.

Now, for a minute, let us talk about Dimash. This production, as previously stated, is thundering. Normally, when a production is this powerful, the singer will take the supporting role. However, here, Dimash actively tackles and leads them instrumentation, while controlling it under the sway of his voice. Few singers can even dream of playing alongside such a ferocious instrumentation, fewer even can claim to be the master of such an instrumentation.

One, especially while studying Dimash's early work, gets the feeling that his producers and songwriter did not trust him to tackle a powerful instrumentation. Even Krutoy, who has been writing for Dimash for years, gave him simple arrangements. But now, Krutoy, after years of experience with Dimash, allows him to tackle such a powerful instrumentation.

Nonetheless, the basic principle from their collaboration, Your Love, from last year, remains intact. The song snowballs from a simple whisper into something magnificent. The first half of the song slowly builds. Some rhythms sound Arabic, while others are decisively from the steppe. It all flows dramatically, with Dimash providing a baritone to counter the flying instrumentation. It has an epic feel, one of building tension, ready to cap off.

When the central refrain arrives for a second time, the floating instrumentation and Dimash's performance is strongly reminicsint of the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Trailer Theme, one of the greatest pieces of modern music.

Afterwards, the instrumentatal segment sounds even more like Breath of the Wild. It is brief, but it perfectly captures that sense of adventure being sought. It is instantaneously followed by Dimash providing some incredible ad-libs, including one where he reaches a falsetto level I have previously only heard by Zhou Shen. This segment is difficult to describe, but Dimash's masterful voice is on display here.

The song then instantly slows. The refrain is sung in balladic fashion, and it is clear the song is waiting to pop back up. After a brief snare drum hit, that happens. Dimash now actively wrestles with the song, tackling each and every note with the precise energy and triumph sought.

Just before the phrase ends, Dimash stops. The choir rises in incredible fashion, with Dimash following only a second later with arguably his best high note yet, lasting nearly 20 seconds. The instrumentation arrives belatedly, providing a triumvarate of  power to close the song out on an incredible high.

Dimash is talented, something his producers this year seem to have forgotten. Thankfully, with Stranger, Dimash reignites all hopes with a perfect performance pulling together for a sense of larger-than-life bombast. This may not be my favorite Dimash song, but it certainly could become that. This is one of the greatest vocal performances I have heard in years.

PS: The reactions after the performance amuse me a bit. Dimash raises his hand to the sky, thanks the fans, thanks Krutoy, and dramatically walks around. On the other hand, Krutoy casually claps like if nothing major has happened, or if that performance was just expected. Both hand-shake some fans though, so neat.

Rating: 9.5/10

Image Source: Dimash the Singer