By nature, artists don’t give a damn about genres. They just care if it’s a good song and if they connect to it. As a result, it is completely normal to hear from artists that they carry disparate influences from totally different worlds. In thousands of interviews, I have heard some pretty unusual pairings. But Strangerr, an incredibly exciting New York-based up and comer whose edgy, compelling music that leans to alternative rock but is impossible to categorize, offers me a wholly unique marriage of influences I have never heard mentioned in the same book, let alone the same sentence – Luther Vandross and Mike Shinoda, of Linkin Park.
“My upbringing was very diverse, man. I’ve come across so many different songs. I really like Fort Minor, ‘Remember the Name’ was an anthem for me growing up. Then I remember even being a kid, maybe 10 years old, my mom used to play Luther Vandross in a car. ‘Dance With My Father’ used to make me cry in a car. That was definitely a song that stuck with me because I grew up in a single-family household,” he says.
Though they are sonically worlds apart, he hears both enter into his sound.
“Yeah, I hear the emotional side. I feel like I’m willing to touch on topics that other people aren’t. More so being vulnerable in my music. I think that’s maybe my sword. I hear a lot of people that make music and there’s not much they’re saying. I just feel like with me, it’s all about being able to connect on a deeper level. So, I definitely hear Luther,” he says. “I don’t hear him melodically or sonically, but I definitely hear as far as like topics, emotional availability as an artist definitely. Mike Shinoda I’ve been getting a lot of comparisons recently. They call me ‘Linkin Dark.’”
Strangerr not only shares a sound with Shinoda, he is also, like Shinoda, a visual artist in addition to making music, though Strangerr is newer to the visual side.
“I used to be very close-minded, like only music. But then I realized you still have to be a student of the game. So that’s where going back to school for art and just studying art, different mediums. I feel like that’s going to be my key to longevity. I did fine arts, computer option. I really wasn’t a fan of painting, then I kind of got forced into it, and I fell in love with it. I’m definitely more digital. But when it came to painting, we had the classes. It was just a part of our curriculum. take drawing and painting. They stick a paintbrush in your hand, and they say you have to create a color palette or work on the color wheel. That taught me everything matters.”
The list of musicians who have also painted is an insane who’s who of some of the greatest of all time – Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Chuck D, Joni Mitchell, John Mellencamp, Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Ron Wood, and more recently, Serj Tankian, Shinoda, Swiss Beatz, the list goes on and on. Clearly, there is a correlation between the two mediums. Indeed, Strangerr says visual arts have made him a better musician.
“It actually made me want to go more in tune with my roots and study different genres. It made me be okay with experimenting. I feel like a lot of people are scared to go outside the box. I just think it gave me a sense of freedom to be able to explore and not be so in a box. Not only that, just being able to survive as an artist. I’ve seen artists make a lot more money just even prospecting and selling their art in person so it just gave me a whole way that I could sell merchandise and connect with my fans on a different level,” he says.
For him, being able to tell his story across multiple mediums is wholly important to realizing his vision.
“As an artist, you realize it’s more so about the world you’re creating that really brings the audience in. There are talented musicians everywhere. But there are not many that can really captivate an audience or tell a story,” he says. “When I think about what I’m going to put together as far as an outfit, or even my cover art, it’s just looking at things a certain way. I think people take that for granted. A lot of people just want to rap or sing. Being able to deliver it, it’s almost like a tangible form where people could digest it and pick up different meanings. I think that’s where the painting and the drawing and art came into play. I just see things differently. “
