THE STROKES

THE MANY LAYERS OF JULIAN CASABLANCAS
It is hard to believe that nearly a decade has passed since The Strokes first burst out of New York City with its lo-fi garage rock that ignited a mini-resurgence of the genre. Its 2001 debut album, Is This It, was met with colossal amounts of critical acclaim and consequently sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. Lead vocalist Julian Casablancas, drummer Fabrizio Moretti, guitarist Nick Valensi and bassist Nikolai Fraiture truly lived the “rock star” lifestyles which quickly wore off until they eventually entered a much needed hibernation in 2006.
“I don’t remember those days so well. You know, too much drinking. I wish I could go back. Wait, actually I don’t,” Casablancas confesses. “It was silly. I remember the hangovers more. It was fun, but honestly I’m having more fun now.”
Suddenly, Casablancas found himself venturing into the wavering sea of solo artists and, to his astonishment, liked what he discovered- not only about his eclectic musical style, but the entire recording process. His 2009 debut solo album, Phrazes for the Young, is a huge departure from The Strokes’ sound and melodiously all over the place. There are more electronic influences and polyrhythmic sounds (think Hot Chip) that capture his obvious curiosity about the depths of his musical ability. He even did a track with N.E.R.D.’s Pharrell Williams and Santigold called “My Drive Thru.” Clearly, the rock -n- roll aficionado was the odd man out as Williams’ futuristic take on production and Santigold’s genre-jumping savvy made more sense, but the oddness worked. The track was a definitive statement that, yes, Julian Casablancas is capable of a wide range of musical styles.
“I wanted the record to be good. I’m a mix of confidence and self doubt. I have basic human feelings,“ Casablancas says. “A different part of me felt confident and that I could do something cool on my own. I was a little worried, but once I was done I thought this is cool. Even if people hated it, I was still proud of it.”
Casablancas secretly recorded a few of the tracks at the Mike Mogis/Conor Oberst-owned ARC Studios in Omaha while the rest of the album was laid down in Los Angeles. His experience in Nebraska was another pleasant surprise considering he had no idea what to expect.
“Omaha was kind of rad. I didn’t know much about it. I pictured the cover from Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska with a grey prairie and lots of barren land, but Omaha was hip,” Casablancas says. “If you grow up anywhere like in Iowa or Nebraska and you want to go to a hip city, you go to Omaha.”
On tour in support of Phrazes for theYoung, Casablancas is by no means saying goodbye to The Strokes, in fact he wrote most of his solo material thinking it would be for the next Strokes record. The boys had planned to release a fourth album in late 2009, but ‘disagreements’ over which tracks were ready has delayed the process. The postponement will inevitably just generate more anticipation.
“That momentum we had at the beginning is very arguable. We regained a lot by being away. At the time, the vibe was like ‘enough of you guys.’ I was actually sick of us,“ he confesses. “I didn’t feel like we were moving up. It felt like we were just staying there laterally. Our offers are better now than five years ago.”