The Strokes
Despite all the media-attention and high expectations, the band that 2001 will be remembered for is The Strokes.
It was their hapless blend of urban-cool and sophisticated smoothness which may have defined their image, as epitomised in their dress: namely faded and torn denim jeans, worn-down sneakers and tight jackets. Although sounding from this like a band that had merely gone through a wrestle in the bargain-bin at the local second-hand clothes-store, The Strokes were, ironically, victorious in influencing the trendsetters-elite at fashion-shows. This was done, namely, via the introduction of such attire into models’ wardrobes, not to mention the playing of their tunes whilst the perfect people of the world paraded up and down the catwalks of Europe. Still, there’s one thing that’s already missing from this description, thus far: their music, which is something that mustn’t be forgotten.
Taking the onstage bravado and energy of any of the 70’s US punk-bands, this group possessed a vibrancy and focus on songwriting that was far more articulate than anything around at the time of their emergence. The introduction of upbeat drums, bold bass and rich song-structures may have recalled some of the talent that defined The Jam or The Smiths in their back-catalogues, but – all in all – The Strokes became successful for the simple reason that they were in the 21st Century, doing their own thing, loving it, and hoping this sharing of enthusiasm would spread to the music-audiences of today.
Before this could happen, though, there was still the matter of how each of the members managed to meet each other and form. It was during their attendance at the Dwight School in New York City in the year of 1998 that singer Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fabrizio Moretti first began playing together. Following this arose the addition of bassist Nikolai Fraiture (who went to school at Upper East Side\'s Le Cest Francais) and finally Albert Hammond Jr., who came over from Los Angeles to study at film school at NYU. Incidentally, Albert was invited by Julian to join the band – and this wasn’t the first time they had come across one another, since both had originally met at L\'Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland when they were both children.
Once assembled, the quintet worked hard on their act, rehearsing solidly and writing material within New York City\'s Music Building. After spending most of 1999 honing their craft, they finally hit the NYC stage the following year to a rapturous response, prompting the adopting of their manager, Ryan Gentles – the man that booked a couple of their shows at the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge. What happened next though was the true turning-point.
Recorded with producer Gordon Raphael – a writer on this website – The Strokes created a three-track demo, ‘The Modern Age EP’. Raw sounding, edgy, yet melodic, on receipt of this over in the UK from Geoff Travis, head of Rough Trade, it was decided that the content was strong enough to stand a release-date in Britain. It went on to sell over 30,000 copies. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, a bidding-war erupted and heated up in an effort to sign The Stroke’s produce, and – in the end – RCA won the rights to issuing their music.
Following support-slots with acts such as ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and further exciting live shows, the band hauled up in the Transporterraum Studio again with Raphael to get to work on their debut-album, whilst – amidst them, against their wishes and control – what became known as one of the biggest ‘hypes’ ever in music developed. The pressure was on for their LP to be a classic...
And it was. Combining the punchy excitement of ‘Last Nite’ with the immediacy of such songs as ‘Hard To Explain’ and ‘Someday’, along with the darker ‘Take It Or Leave It’ and title-track, ‘Is This It’ accepted huge praise, and – aside from still being an international best-seller – has sold hundreds of thousands of copies to date. The Strokes thus got to travel the whole world touring – and still are, which best suits them, since live work is what they always feel most comfortable with.
Although they’ve had the top-20 hits, performed at the biggest festivals across the globe, and proven that to succeed in a ‘scene’ that it’s not necessary to sound like everyone else, you still somehow feel that this isn’t quite it yet. The hype they received initially may have died down since they’ve excited the rock fraternity of now, but there’s still the matter of that second album. However, from the evidence so far, it seems The Strokes are merely getting stronger and stronger with every new song written and every concert sold out. What they produce next will most definitely be something to cherish – and it’s awaited eagerly.
Oxford Zodiac Live Pix - Andrew Future
THESTROKES.COM: Official, but stunning quality site. Laid out as a retro TV-set, you can browse through their history, join the mailing-list, hear music and much more...
THESTROKES.ORG: Bizarrely billed as the \'official unofficial fansite\', you soon see what they\'re getting at. Containing news, a gigography, downloads, tabs, etc., it\'s the best one online.