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 Punk's 2013 album "Random Access Memories". In conjunction with the release of his solo album, Casablancas founded the independent record label Cult Records in 2009. In June 2014 Cult Records entered a label services agreement with Kobalt, and currently represents artists such as The Growlers, Rey Pila, Karen O, and several others. Casablancas was born in New York City to business mogul John Casablancas, the founder of Elite Model Management, and Jeanette Christiansen, a Danish former model and Miss Denmark (1965). When Casablancas was eight, his parents divorced. He once stated that he wanted to be closer to his father,