The STROKES biography

By bringing style, fun, and catchy songwriting back to rock music, the Strokes became one of the most influential bands of the early 21st century. Their direct, hooky sound -- equally inspired by classic tunesmiths like Buddy Holly and the brash attitude of fellow New Yorkers the Velvet Underground and Ramones - set trends even as it looked back on rock history.

With their acclaimed 2001 debut, Is This It, the Strokes reinvigorated a rock scene that had spent years focused on post-grunge and nu-metal. Along with the White Stripes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, they helped shape the sound and look of alternative rock in the 2000s, with Kings of Leon, the Killers, and the Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, and Arctic Monkeys reflecting their impact in the U.S. and the U.K., respectively. As the decade unfolded, the Strokes embellished on their back-to-basics style, adding new wave and synth pop elements to 2003's Room on Fire and 2006's ambitious First Impressions of Earth, a trend they continued with later releases like 2013's Comedown Machine. Though they spent much of the 2010s working on individual projects, they returned with some of their most passionate-sounding music on 2020's The New Abnormal.

The Strokes' roots go back to the late '90s. Singer/songwriter Julian Casablancas (the son of Elite Model Agency Group kingpin John Casablancas), drummer Fabrizio Moretti (who began playing drums at age five), and guitarist Nick Valensi started playing together in 1997 while they attended the Dwight School, a private prep school in Manhattan. Soon thereafter, they met bassist Nikolai Fraiture, who attended the Upper East Side's Lycée Français, and added him to their ranks. At the time, the then-unnamed band's musical influences included the Doors, Bob Marley, the Velvet Underground, and Jane's Addiction. In 1998, guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. (the son of singer/songwriter Albert Hammond, whose songs include "It Never Rains in Southern California," "When I Need You," and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before") came from Los Angeles to attend film school at NYU and was invited into the band by Casablancas; the two had met at L'Institut le Rosey in Switzerland when they were kids.

With the addition of Hammond, Jr., the band's style coalesced into a punk-, new wave-, and garage-inspired sound, and Casablancas officially christened the quintet the Strokes in 1999.

To record their three-song demo, the Strokes enlisted Gordon Raphael, starting a long-running creative partnership. Rough Trade released the group's three-song demo as The Modern Age EP in January 2001, which sparked a bidding war from which RCA emerged as the victor. Meanwhile, the Strokes' acclaim reached the U.K. and grew to massive proportions over the course of the year, with singles like "Hard to Explain" (which debuted at number 16 in the U.K. charts) winning them a rabid British following. A side-stage slot at the NME Carling Weekender was changed to a main-stage performance for fear of people trampling each other to see the band.

The debut album of Is This It and earned widespread critical acclaim and strong sales, reaching number two on the U.K. Albums Chart and number 33 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart in the U.S. Over time, it achieved platinum status in many countries including the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Canada, and Australia. The album also spawned the hit singles "Last Nite" and "Someday." The band also won a Brit Award for Best International Newcomer and were nominated for the Best International Group Award.

They toured extensively throughout 2002, and then started work on their second album. At first, they worked with renowned producer Nigel Godrich before reuniting with Raphael in May 2003. Recorded in three months, Room on Fire arrived in October 2003 with a slightly smoother sound that brought out the new wave elements of the Strokes' music. The album built on Is This It's success, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 and number two on the U.K. Album Charts. In the U.S., it achieved gold status and went platinum in the U.K. and Australia.

The Strokes toured for much of 2004 and returned to the studio for album number three in early 2005, First Impressions of Earth appeared in January 2006 and  became the band's first chart-topping album in the U.K. and made the Top Five of the album charts in Canada and the U.S.

Once the First Impressions of Earth tour was finished, the Strokes went on hiatus, with each member working on other projects.  At the beginning of 2009, Casablancas and Valensi began work on the Strokes' fourth album. Angles was a Top Five hit in the U.S. and U.K., and became the band's first album to hit number one in Australia. The record's lead single "Under Cover of Darkness" reached number 12 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

After several quite successful Album interspersed with solo projects The New Abnormal arrived in 2020 and introduced a more thoughtful and confessional level to the Strokes' sound and songwriting. Recorded in California and Hawaii, the album was a critical and commercial success, becoming a Top Ten hit in several countries including the U.S. and the U.K. In 2021, The New Abnormal won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.