Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casablancas released a solo album, Phrazes for the Young, in 2009. That same year, he founded the independent record label Cult Records,[1] which has represented artists such as The Growlers, Rey Pila and Karen O.[2]
Lanschool 77 With Crack
Casablancas met future Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture when they were six years old,[13] while both were attending the bilingual French school Lycée Français de New York.[14][15] When he was 13, his father sent him to the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland, to improve his grades, where he met future Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr.[16] He later returned to New York and attended Dwight School with two other future Strokes bandmates: guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fabrizio Moretti.[16][17] He never finished high school, but took a GED and continued to take music classes at Five Towns College, which he later said was the first time he enjoyed himself in class.[18][19][20]
Upon meeting future guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fab Moretti at Dwight School in Manhattan, the three began to play music together. He reconnected with guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. when the latter moved to New York. The band was formed in 1998 when Hammond was accepted into the band,[21] with Casablancas as the lead vocalist and main songwriter and Nikolai Fraiture on bass.[22]
After the release of the two other albums and several major tours, the band took a five-year break, then returned with their fourth album Angles in 2011.[27] The five-year hiatus was said to be the result of conflicting solo projects, sobriety issues, and unspoken emotions. The Strokes' drummer Fab Moretti claimed the band struggled to process such "subconscious volcanic emotions," partly because they were still "children" at the time.[26]
Although their creative processes has been critiqued by outside observers as "a democracy under a dictator",[28] Casablancas stated in 2010 that the band was moving "more in the direction of everyone being equal."[29] Commenting on Casablancas' creative process, guitarist Nick Valensi has said, "his ear is so sharp. He's the one with the ear for detail in this band. Creatively, he is a force to be reckoned with."[28] The 2011 release, Angles, is said to reflect the beginning of the more collaborative nature of the band's creative process.[30]
The album release was followed by several headlining appearances at musical festivals, including Reading, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.[31] The band released Comedown Machine in 2013, as their last album under the contract with long-time label RCA, for which they did no promotion.[32] The band released an EP, Future Present Past, on Casablancas' own label Cult Records in 2016.[33]
Starting May 14, 2019, The Strokes teased some new songs, starting with "The Adults are Talking", live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, suggesting that the Strokes might release a new album.[36] On December 31, 2019, at Brooklyn NYE, they performed "Ode to the Mets" as an offer from Casablancas to sing live instead of singing songs from Angles as requested by fans. "I don't remember Angles. What's Angles?" Casablancas responded before suggesting that the band play the new song and later confirming the release of a new project.[37]
The band released the album The New Abnormal in April 2020, though work on the album started as early as 2016. The album won the band their first Grammy Award, receiving the award for Best Rock Album. The album received positive reviews from critics, suggesting that the band came back with more maturity and better cohesion among the bandmates.[38]
As a solo artist, Casablancas set out with an intention to say what was on his mind, both musically and lyrically.[39] Speaking on his experience as a solo artist versus releasing music with The Strokes, the singer has put it simply, "it's like touring with me or with five of me," meaning that each member has their own opinionated state of mind. While such statements raised much concern for the relations between the band members, Casablancas claims that in pursuit of a solo career, he is protecting the integrity of the [Strokes] vibe.[40] In having a musical project separate from The Strokes, he is able to "chase down any idea [he] wants", which he would refrain from doing with the band.[41]
His first solo album, Phrazes for the Young (inspired by the Oscar Wilde book "Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young"), was released on November 2 in the UK and November 3, 2009, in the United States.[42] Recorded in Omaha, Nebraska, and New York, the album was produced by Jason Lader, with additional production from Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis.[43] The album was strongly influenced by new wave and electronica, with Casablancas utilizing synthesizers for many songs. He discussed his new influences by saying "I would've gone weirder with the music, but I wanted to be smart. I didn't want people to say, 'Okay, this is his weird abstract thing,' and dismiss the album. I worked too hard on it for that to happen... I wanted to be crazy original and bridge the gap between traditional music and modern music."[44]
Julian Casablancas made his live solo debut for a private party for fashion brand Opening Ceremony in Tokyo, Japan.[45] To celebrate the release of the EP, Casablancas performed a series of shows in October 2009 at The Downtown Palace Theatre in Los Angeles with his live show band, The Sick Six. Members of The Sick Six include Jeff Kite (keyboard), Nelson London (synthesizer), JP Bowersock (guitar), Danielle Haim (percussion) and Alex Carapetis (drums).[46] Casablancas then toured with The Sick Six in Europe, United States, Australia and Japan from November 2009 until July 2010.[47][48][49]
The Voidz, formerly known as Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, was formed in 2013. Along with Casablancas as lead vocalist, the band consists of Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter and Amir Yaghmai on guitar, Jacob "Jake" Bercovici on bass (as well as synthesizer), Alex Carapetis on drums and percussion, and Jeff Kite on keyboard.[citation needed] Wanting to earn a greater sense of respect as a band, rather than be perceived as a "side-project" of Julian's, the band officially changed their name from "Julian Casablancas + The Voidz" to simply "The Voidz" during an 'initiation' video on the band's YouTube page on December 8, 2017.[52][53] Julian performed with Carapetis and Kite throughout the tour for his solo album, Phrazes for the Young. Through Carapetis, Casablancas met Gritter and Bercovici. Bercovici, having played music with Yaghmai for several of years, then connected him to Casablancas, forming what is now known as The Voidz.[54]
Though the band's sound has not always been well received, The Voidz aim to "bridge the gap" between music that is both aggressive and complex.[39] They share the goal of "representing things unseen" and "exploring [music] from the margins", as Jake [Bercovici] has said.[55] Inspired by the complex nature of Middle Eastern music scales, Casablancas claims to be more interested in "the in between notes" than the traditional seven note scale of Western music.[56] The band is bound by a mutual love for powerful music that does not gain much attention in mainstream media, which is embodied in Julian's record company, Cult Records, as well.[55] Julian claims that his work with The Voidz is simply an "evolution of the same mission" [as with The Strokes],[57] but The Voidz are more aligned with the type of music with which he would like to experiment, moving forward.[58] Though the Voidz remain a more active musical entity, both bands are still currently represented under Cult Records.
In June 2014, Casablancas announced he would be releasing the debut album Tyranny. The album was released on his own label Cult Records[59] and coincided with his move to Upstate New York.[8] On September 23, 2014, the album was released, followed by a tour in the United States and United Kingdom.[60] The album features the 11-minute single "Human Sadness", a song whose demo was originally composed for the soundtrack of The Unseen Beauty, a short documentary film which profiled Casablancas' stepfather, artist Sam Adoquei.[61] The group revealed dates for a South American tour in August 2017.[62]
On March 30, 2018, The Voidz released their second album, titled Virtue.[63] The album takes on a more political stance, dissecting universal concepts such as the paradox between what is perceived as "truth" and "lies", when taking multiple perceptual view points into consideration.[64] The album features track, "Pyramid of Bones", which was featured on Adult Swim in April 2018, along with their single "Coul as a Ghoul" on the Adult Swim's Singles Program.[65][66]
Casablancas, along with the Strokes, provided vocals on a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" with Joshua Homme on drums and Eddie Vedder on backup vocals. The cover was released in 2006 as the B-side to "You Only Live Once". Casablancas also provided bass guitar and backing vocals on Albert Hammond, Jr.'s "Scared" on his solo album Yours to Keep. He subsequently played a Casio guitar and provided backing vocals on "Sick, Sick, Sick" by Queens of the Stone Age.[67]
In 2008, he recorded a song with Santigold (then known as Santogold) and Pharrell of N*E*R*D titled "My Drive Thru" for a Converse advertising campaign.[68] During his solo phase, he recorded "Boombox" with Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island for their 2009 debut album Incredibad, and was featured in an SNL Digital Short for the same song.[69] In addition, he also recorded "I Wish It Was Christmas Today", a festive song based on a Saturday Night Live skit made popular by Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan. Casablancas performed the song live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on December 21, 2009, together with The Roots, Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon. He also appeared in the 100th Digital Short, which aired on May 12, 2012. 2ff7e9595c
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