The Strokes The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of singer Julian Casablancas, lead guitarist Nick Valensi, rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Following the conclusion of five-album deals with RCA and Rough Trade, the band has continued to release new music through Casablancas' Cult Records. Met with widespread critical acclaim, the Strokes' 2001 debut, "Is This It", helped usher in the garage rock revival movement of the early-21st century—and ranks number eight on "Rolling Stone"s 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time,
Julian Casablancas recorded The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed covers – "Venus in Furs", "Run Run Run" and "White Light/White Heat", under the title "White Light White Heat (rock n roll animal live era version)" – to the HBO television series, "Vinyl". The songs were subsequently released on various soundtracks to the series by Atlantic Records. Casablancas worked with Daft Punk on their 2013 album "Random Access Memories" by contributing lyrics, vocals, and a guitar solo to their song "Instant Crush". The album won the 2013 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, with Casablancas as one of the co-recipients of the