Is This It You Must Hear Before You Die". The Strokes Production Design Is This It Is This It is the debut studio album by American rock band the Strokes, released on July 30, 2001 by RCA Records. It was recorded at Transporterraum in New York City with producer Gordon Raphael from March to April 2001. For their debut, the band strived to capture a simple sound that was not significantly enhanced in the studio. Building on their 2001 EP "The Modern Age", the band members molded compositions largely through live takes during recording sessions, while songwriter and lead singer Julian Casablancas continued
Julian Casablancas sang about drugs and sex, about the people around him — it was so matter-of-fact," Casablancas stated in a "Rolling Stone" interview. "Reed 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 that Bob Marley, Nirvana and Pearl Jam are major influences on his work, the latter being the reason he started making music, upon hearing the song "Yellow Ledbetter". Julian, in agreement with several members of The Voidz, has named Stevie Wonder as being a composer with a “next level mind". Julian