Julian Casablancas | |
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 Casablancas in 2022 | |
| Born | Julian Fernando Casablancas (1978-08-23)August 23, 1978 (age 47) New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
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| Children | 2 |
| Father | John Casablancas |
| Musical career | |
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| Instrument | Vocals |
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| Website | juliancasablancas |
Musical artist | |
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Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of therock bandthe Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casablancas released a solo studio album,Phrazes for the Young, in 2009, and has released three albums with the experimental rock bandthe Voidz.
A nativeNew Yorker, he was born to businessmanJohn Casablancas. His mother, Jeanette Christiansen, married a man who introduced him to the music of the bandthe Doors, introducing him to rock music. He met bassistNikolai Fraiture at the age of six, and attended the exclusiveLe Rosey school, where he met guitaristAlbert Hammond Jr. He did not complete high school, but received a GED.
After meeting guitaristNick Valensi and drummerFab Moretti atDwight School inManhattan, New York the group began experimenting with music together. After adding Hammond Jr., the Strokes were formed. Their debut albumIs This It was critically acclaimed, and launched Casablancas and the band to rock stardom. Casablancas was the primary songwriter and creative voice behind the band's early albums, including 2003'sRoom on Fire and 2005'sFirst Impressions of Earth. After a six-year hiatus, the Strokes releasedAngles in 2011 andComedown Machine in 2013 with the band taking a more collaborative approach to these projects. Casablancas would not record another record with the band until 2020'sGrammy-winningThe New Abnormal, the first such nomination or win for the band.
During a five-year hiatus for the band, Casablancas released his debut solo album,Phrazes for the Young. In the same year he founded theindependent record labelCult Records,[1] which has represented artiststhe Growlers,Rey Pila andKaren O.[2]
Since 2013, he has been the frontman of experimental rock bandthe Voidz. The band has released three studio albums,Tyranny (2014),Virtue (2018) andLike All Before You (2024). The band represents an ambition of Casablancas to make less commercial music and explore new themes.
Julian Fernando Casablancas was born inNew York City on August 23, 1978,[3] the son of American-Spanish businessmanJohn Casablancas, the founder ofElite Model Management, and Jeanette Christiansen (née Christjansen), a Danish model and the 1965Miss Denmark who later became an artist.[4][5][6] When Julian was eight, his parents divorced. He said that he wanted to be closer to his father, which "translated into teenage rebelliousness".[7] His mother later marriedGhanaian painter Sam Adoquei,[8][9] who helped shape Julian musically by exposing him to music likethe Doors, which was markedly different from the mostlyPhil Collins-influenced music he listened to as a child.[10] Prior to becoming a musician, he aspired to play professional basketball.[11]
Julian Casabancas has several half-siblings, including an elder from his father's first marriage and three younger half-siblings from his father's fourth marriage.[12] Julian met future Strokes bassistNikolai Fraiture when they were six years old,[13] while they both attended the bilingual French schoolLycée Français de New York.[14] When he was 13, his father sent him to theInstitut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland, to improve his grades. Julian later returned to New York City and attended Dwight School with two other future Strokes bandmates: guitaristNick Valensi and drummerFabrizio Moretti.[15][16] Julian never finished high school, but took theGED and enrolled in music classes atFive Towns College, which he later said was the first time that he enjoyed himself in class.[17][18][19] He later attendedAdelphi University class of 2001,[20] studying with Pulitzer prize winning composerPaul Moravec.[21]
After meeting future guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fab Moretti at Dwight School in Manhattan, Julian Casablancas began to play music with them. 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,[22] with Casablancas as the lead vocalist and main songwriter and Nikolai Fraiture on bass.[23]
The band began rehearsing a fourteen-song set which included "Alone, Together", "Barely Legal", "Last Nite", "The Modern Age", "New York City Cops", "Soma", "Someday", "Take It or Leave It" and "This Life" (an early version of "Trying Your Luck"). Most of these songs now feature different lyrics. A demo sent to the newly reformedRough Trade Records in the UK sparked interest there, leading to their first release via the website of the UK magazineNME, who gave away a free mp3 download of "Last Nite" a week prior to the physical release as part ofThe Modern Age EP in 2001. The EP sparked a bidding war among record labels, the largest for a rock and roll band in years. Shortly after, the Strokes' critically acclaimed debut albumIs This It was released.
The band has received the highest of praise forIs This It, setting the stage for what people expected would "save rock" in the new millennium.[24] Though some would argue that such statements left unreasonably sized shoes to fill, the Strokes are still highly recognized as one of the most influential garage rock bands of the early 2000s, paving the way for many alternative bands to come.[25]
However, the group found it difficult to replicate their early critical success.[26] In an excerpt from Lizzie Goodman'sMeet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City, 2001–2011 – named after the Strokes' track – Strokes guitarist, Albert Hammond Jr., comments, "WithRoom on Fire [2003], people were giving us sh_ because they said we were sounding too much the same. With the third album [First Impressions of Earth], we were getting sh_ that we don't sound likeRoom on Fire. We got __ by the same thing twice!"[27]
After the release of the two other albums and several major tours, the band took a five-year break, returning with their fourth albumAngles in 2011.[28] The five-year hiatus was said to be the result of conflicting solo projects, sobriety issues, and unspoken emotions. The Strokes' drummer Fab Moretti said the band struggled to process such "subconscious volcanic emotions", partly because they were still "children" at the time.[27]
Although their creative processes have been critiqued by outside observers as "a democracy under a dictator",[29] Casablancas said in 2010 that the band was moving "more in the direction of everyone being equal."[30] 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."[29] The 2011 release,Angles, is said to reflect the beginning of the more collaborative nature of the band's creative process.[31]
The album release was followed by several headlining appearances at musical festivals, includingReading,Coachella,Lollapalooza andAustin City Limits.[32] The band releasedComedown Machine in 2013, as their last album under the contract with long-time labelRCA, for which they did no promotion.[33] The band released an EP,Future Present Past, on Casablancas' own label Cult Records in 2016.[34]
In December 2018, it was announced that the band would headline atBilbao BBK Live in 2019, kicking off their global comeback.[35] Numerous dates for festivals and shows were subsequently announced, including a show at theGovernors Ball Music Festival, marking the band's return to New York City.[36]
Starting May 14, 2019, the Strokes teased some new songs, starting with "The Adults are Talking", live atThe Wiltern in Los Angeles, suggesting that the Strokes might release a new album.[37] 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 fromAngles as requested by fans. "I don't rememberAngles. What'sAngles?" Casablancas responded before suggesting that the band play the new song and later confirming the release of a new project.[38]
The band released the albumThe New Abnormal in April 2020, though writing sessions for songs on the album started as early as 2016. The following year, there was rumors that they were working withRick Rubin for a new album, however Albert Hammond Jr. said they were only presenting ideas to him.[39] However, he would eventually end up producing the album. It was their first full-length album sinceComedown Machine. 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.[40]
In 2009, Casablancas foundedCult Records, the creative imprint for his solo albumPhrazes for the Young. The label signed a partnership agreement withKobalt Label Services in 2014, which includes representation and product management, physical distribution across multiple territories, digital distribution throughAWAL, marketing and sync licensing services.[41] Cult currently[when?] representsthe Growlers,Har Mar Superstar,Songhoy Blues,Rey Pila,Karen O, Promiseland, the Strokes, the Voidz, Exhibition andCerebral Ballzy. The label has also released works of Albert Hammond Jr.,the Virgins, Reputante, INHEAVEN, Exclamation Pony and Nelson London (C O L O R).
Casablancas served as a co-producer on Rey Pila's album released on Cult,The Future Sugar.[42] In August 2016, Cult Records announced a new album withthe Growlers, a Southern California-based band. It was also announced that Casablancas himself was producing the album, later known asCity Club.[43]
As a solo artist, Casablancas set out with an intention to say what was on his mind, both musically and lyrically.[44] 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 says that in pursuit of a solo career, he is protecting the integrity of the [Strokes] vibe.[45] 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.[46]
His first solo album,Phrazes for the Young (inspired by theOscar 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.[47] Recorded in Omaha, Nebraska, and New York, the album was produced by Jason Lader, with additional production fromBright Eyes'Mike Mogis.[48] The album was strongly influenced bynew wave andelectronica, with Casablancas utilizingsynthesizers for many songs. He discussed his new styling 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."[49]
Julian Casablancas made his live solo debut for a private party for the introduction of a fashion brand inTokyo.[50] To celebrate the release of the EP, he 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 band includedJeff Kite (keyboard), Nelson London (synthesizer), JP Bowersock (guitar),Danielle Haim (percussion) andAlex Carapetis (drums).[51] Casablancas then toured with the Sick Six in Europe, United States, Australia, and Japan from November 2009 until July 2010 , Then after That Julian Casablancas performed some shows In 2011 - 2012 and some Maybe in 2013 for the singer concerts for the days .[52][53][54]
Casablancas composed the original song "I Like the Night" as part of his endorsement deal to represent Azzaro's new men's fragrance Decibel, dB. The Azzaro Decibel television commercial featuring Julian aired in France on September 1, 2011.[55] He hosted a monthly music showCulture Void on Sirius XMU between May 2016 and February 2017, where he curated and shared some music across genres.[56]
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.[57][58] 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.[59]
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.[44] They share the goal of "representing things unseen" and "exploring [music] from the margins", as Jake [Bercovici] has said.[60] Inspired by the complex nature of Middle Eastern music scales, Casablancas says he is more interested in "the in between notes" than the traditional seven note scale of Western music.[61] 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.[60] Casablancas says his work with the Voidz is simply an "evolution of the same mission" [as with the Strokes],[62] but the Voidz are more aligned with the type of music with which he would like to experiment, moving forward.[63] 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 albumTyranny. The album was released on his own label Cult Records[64] 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.[65] The album features the 11-minute single "Human Sadness", a song whose demo was originally composed for the soundtrack ofThe Unseen Beauty, a short documentary film which profiled Casablancas' stepfather, artist Sam Adoquei.[66] The group revealed dates for a South American tour in August 2017.[67]
On March 30, 2018, the Voidz released their second album, titledVirtue.[68] 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.[69] The album features track, "Pyramid of Bones", which was featured onAdult Swim in April 2018, along with their single "Coul as a Ghoul" on the Adult Swim's Singles Program.[70][71]
The Voidz released their third albumLike All Before You on September 20, 2024. The album's themes were once again political in nature with Casablancas seeking to fuse experimental sounds and ideas with pop hooks.[72] On July 31, 2025, they released a new four-track EP 'Megz of Ram'. The EP was recorded in the same East Village basement whereIs This It first took shape.[73]
Casablancas, along with the Strokes, provided vocals on a cover ofMarvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" withJoshua Homme on drums andEddie 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 onAlbert Hammond, Jr.'s "Scared" on his solo albumYours to Keep. He subsequently played aCasio guitar and provided backing vocals on "Sick, Sick, Sick" byQueens of the Stone Age.[74]
In 2008, he recorded a song withSantigold (then known as Santogold) andPharrell ofN*E*R*D titled "My Drive Thru" for aConverse advertising campaign.[75] During his solo phase, he recorded "Boombox" withAndy Samberg,Jorma Taccone, andAkiva Schaffer ofthe Lonely Island for their 2009 debut albumIncredibad, and was featured in anSNL Digital Short for the same song.[76] In addition, he also recorded "I Wish It Was Christmas Today", a festive song based on aSaturday Night Live skit made popular byJimmy Fallon,Horatio Sanz,Chris Kattan andTracy Morgan. Casablancas performed the song live onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon on December 21, 2009, together withthe Roots, Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon. He also appeared in the 100th Digital Short, which aired on May 12, 2012.
Casablancas also collaborated withDanger Mouse andSparklehorse on the song "Little Girl" on the 2010 album,Dark Night of the Soul, contributing the lyrics, lead and backing vocals, and guitar solo.[77] Aside from vocal collaborations, he also contributed to the song "Forrest Gump" onDigitalism's sophomore albumI Love You, Dude in 2011. The electronica duo initiated a collaboration with Casablancas through his manager, and Casablancas contributed 'a 30-second recording with him on guitar' via email.[78]
Casablancas also lent his vocals to the title track, "Rave On", on a 2011 tribute album toBuddy Holly,Rave On Buddy Holly.[79] In 2016, Casablancas contributed three specially recordedthe Velvet Underground andLou Reed covers –Venus in Furs,[80]Run Run Run[81] andWhite Light/White Heat,[82] under the titleWhite Light White Heat (rock n roll animal live era version) – to theHBO television series,Vinyl.[83] The songs were subsequently released on various soundtracks to the series byAtlantic Records.
Casablancas worked withDaft Punk on their 2013 albumRandom Access Memories by contributing lyrics, vocals, and a guitar solo to their song "Instant Crush".[84][85][86] The album won the 2013Grammy Award for Album of the Year, with Casablancas as one of the co-recipients of the award.[87] Another collaboration between Casablancas and Daft Punk written during the recording sessions ofRandom Access Memories was spoken about by Casablancas in several interviews following the album's release.[88][89] This song "Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)", also featuringthe Voidz, would eventually release on the10th anniversary edition of the album.[90]
In April 2015, it was revealed that Casablancas had worked on a song withSavages'Jehnny Beth. The collaboration was later announced to be a cover of "Boy/Girl," a 1983 duet by Danish punk bandSort Sol andLydia Lunch.[91] The music video, directed byWarren Fu, was released on December 4, 2015. The 7" was released through both Cult Records and Pop Noire Records on December 18, 2015.[92] Casablancas also wrote the song "Youth Without Love" for Har Mar Superstar's 2016 albumBest Summer Ever,[93] and is featured on "No One There", a song by Indian-born musician, Hammarsing Kharhmar (Exhibition).[94]
In 2015, Julian also made an appearance on Leftöver Crack's album, Constructs of the State. His vocals can be heard on the song Vicious Constructs. The song is sung by both Casablancas and Leftöver Crack lead singer Stza Crack(Scott Sturgeon).[citation needed]
Casablancas also co-producedRey Pila's 2015 albumThe Future Sugar[95]and later their 2017 EPWall of Goth.[96]
On October 4, 2024,Charli XCX announced the collaborators for her remix albumBrat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat, Julian being featured amongst them. On October 5th, the track list was revealed and showed he would be featured on the remix of "Mean girls".[97] In the buildup to the release of the album on [DATE], she remarked that when it comes to his style, she thinks " he of all people understands how to capture that kind of an energy in a room and on the songs. It was definitely crazy pulling that all together."[98] The album eventually released throughAtlantic Records on October 11, 2024. The musical styling of the song ended up being closer to his recent work with the Voidz, having an electronic style reminiscent of his solo work.
Casablancas citesthe Doors as one of his earliest musical influences, though he specifies that he was influenced by their musical style rather than the public image of their vocalist and frontmanJim Morrison.[58] He has also citedLou Reed ofthe Velvet Underground as a major influence on his lyrics and singing style. He stated in aRolling Stone interview, "The way Lou Reed wrote and sang about drugs and sex, about the people around him — it was so matter-of-fact. He could be romantic in the way he portrayed these crazy situations, but he was also intensely real. It was poetry and journalism." Additionally, he has stated thatBob Marley,[99]Nirvana, andPearl Jam are major influences on his work, even referring to the Pearl Jam song "Yellow Ledbetter" as the reason he started making music.[100] He also, in agreement with several of his Voidz bandmates, namedStevie Wonder as a composer with a "next level mind".[58]
Casablancas has served as inspiration for several other musicians includingAlex Turner of theArctic Monkeys and the painterElizabeth Peyton.[101]Courtney Love's song "But Julian, I'm a Little Bit Older Than You" from her debut solo albumAmerica's Sweetheart (2004) was written about Casablancas.[102]
In 2005, Casablancas married Juliet Joslin, who was the assistant manager of the Strokes at the time.[8] Their son, Cal, was born in January 2010.[103] In the early 2010s, Casablancas and his family moved toUpstate New York fromGreenwich Village in Manhattan and split their time between upstate New York andLong Beach, California.[104][105] Their second son, Zephyr, was born on March 27, 2015.[106] The couple divorced in 2019.[107][108] By 2020, Casablancas had moved to Los Angeles,[109] although in 2024 he confirmed he had since moved back to New York, having concluded that “[the] quality of life is higher in LA, and the quality of art is higher in New York, with respect to both."[110]
Casablancas maintained ateetotal since 2009, stating that he was once "[hung over] for five years" during his drinking days.[111][112][113][114]
Casablancas is a lifelong fan of theNew York Mets, once even composing new theme music forSNY, who owns the Mets' local broadcasting rights, and offering it to the network for free.[115] He has namedDarryl Strawberry andMike Piazza among his favorite players in franchise history. He has also expressed admiration forBuffalo Bills quarterbackJosh Allen,[116] going so far as to "quit [watching] sports" following theNew York Jets' selection ofSam Darnold over Allen in the2018 NFL draft.[117]
Although he has named the2004 re-election ofGeorge W. Bush as what first motivated his interest in politics, it was only throughout the 2010s that Casablancas became increasingly vocal about his political concerns.[62] He has expressed a belief that "whoever's propaganda's the loudest" determines popularity within politics and music alike.[61] He is an ardent supporter ofindependent media and has also shown support for theBoycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.[118] Casablancas has citedOliver Stone,Chris Hedges,Noam Chomsky,Jesse Ventura, andHoward Zinn as political influences,[61][62]Martin Luther King Jr. as his favorite philosopher,[62] andPaul Robeson as a role model for politically engaged musicians.[61]
In 2016, Casablancas interviewedHenry Giroux forRolling Stone.[119] In 2019, he appeared in conversation with Giroux atMcMaster University[120] and authored the foreword to Giroux'sThe Terror of the Unforeseen.[121]
In September 2018, Casablancas appeared onLee Camp's showRedacted Tonight on Russian state-funded networkRT America. The following month, Camp opened for the Voidz at a show inHouston, Texas.[62]
Casablancas endorsed Vermont SenatorBernie Sanders for the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, and on the eve of the 2020New Hampshire primary, the Strokes performed in support of Sanders at theUniversity of New Hampshire.[122] That October, shortly before the2020 United States elections,Rolling Stone released the first episode of Casablancas' interview seriesS.O.S. – Earth is a Mess,[123] which premiered periodically through 2021. Guests includedAmy Goodman,Andrew Yang,Richard D. Wolff, andNoam Chomsky, while much of Casablancas' questioning centered ondemocratic reform and the influence ofspecial interest groups on politics and the media. Casablancas was one of more than 600 musicians who signed an open letter calling for a boycott of Israel.[124]
Casablancas refused to vote in the2024 US presidential election, saying "The two parties are a joke – a horrible lie" and that he "[saw] little point in choosing between these puppets...".[125]
Solo discography
With the Voidz
With the Strokes
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)I left and got a GED and went to Five Towns, which is a vocational music school that anyone can go to.
Après sa tournée solo, il retrouvera son groupe pour enregistrer le quatrième album des Strokes.
Casablancas said of his son, Cal, born in January
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