Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band the Strokes, with which he has released seven studio albums since its founding in 1998. Casablancas released a solo studio album, Phrazes for the Young, in 2009, and has released three albums with the experimental rock band the Voidz.
The Strokes' debut album Is 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's Room on Fire and 2005's First Impressions of Earth. After a six-year hiatus, the Strokes released Angles in 2011 and Comedown 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's Grammy-winning The New Abnormal, the first such nomination or win for the band.
In 2009, during a hiatus from the Strokes, Casablancas released his debut solo album, Phrazes for the Young. In the same year he founded the independent record label Cult Records,Blistein, Jon.Julian Casablancas Previews New Album With Rioters and Video Games" Rolling Stone March 6, 2014. which has represented artists the Growlers, Rey Pila and Karen O.
Since 2014 he has been the frontman of experimental rock band the Voidz, endeavoring to make less commercial music and explore new themes. The Voidz have released three studio albums.
Early life Julian Fernando Casablancas was born in Upper East Side, Manhattan in New York City on August 23, 1978, where he was raised, the son of American-Spanish businessman John Casablancas, the founder of Elite Model Management, and Jeanette Christiansen (née Christjansen), a Danish model and the 1965 Miss Denmark who later became an artist. When Casablancas was eight, his parents divorced. He said that he wanted to be closer to his father, which "translated into teenage rebelliousness". His mother later married Ghanaian painter Sam Adoquei, who helped shape Casablancas musically by exposing him to music like the Doors, which was markedly different from the mostly Phil Collins-influenced music he listened to as a child. Prior to becoming a musician, he aspired to play professional basketball.
Casablancas has several half-siblings, including an elder from his father's first marriage and three younger half-siblings from his father's fourth marriage. Casablancas met future Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture when they were six years old, while they both attended the bilingual French school Lycée Français de New York. When he was 13, his father sent him to the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland, to improve his grades. Casablancas later returned to New York City and attended Dwight School with two other future Strokes bandmates: guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Casablancas never finished high school, but took the GED and enrolled in music classes at Five Towns College, which he later said was the first time that he enjoyed himself in class. He later attended Adelphi University, which he graduated from in 2001, studying with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec.
Career
The Strokes (1998–present)
After meeting future guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fab Moretti at Dwight School in Manhattan, 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, with Casablancas as the lead vocalist and main songwriter and Nikolai Fraiture on bass.
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 reformed Rough Trade Records in the UK sparked interest there, leading to their first release via the website of the UK magazine NME, who gave away a free mp3 download of "Last Nite" a week prior to the physical release as part of The 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 album Is This It was released.
The band received high praise for Is This It, setting the stage for what people expected would "save rock" in the new millennium. 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.
However, the group found it difficult to replicate their early critical success. In an excerpt from Lizzie Goodman's Meet 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, "With Room on Fire , 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 like Room on Fire. We got __ by the same thing twice!"
After the release of the two other albums and several major tours, the band took a five-year break, returning with their fourth album, Angles, in 2011. 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.
Although their creative processes have been critiqued by outside observers as "a democracy under a dictator", Casablancas said in 2010 that the band was moving "more in the direction of everyone being equal." 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." The 2011 release, Angles, is said to reflect the beginning of the more collaborative nature of the band's creative process.
The album release was followed by several headlining appearances at musical festivals, including Reading, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. The band released Comedown Machine in 2013, as their last album under the contract with long-time label RCA, for which they did no promotion. The band released an EP, Future Present Past, on Casablancas' own label Cult Records in 2016.
In December 2018, it was announced that the band would headline at Bilbao BBK Live in 2019, kicking off their global comeback. Numerous dates for festivals and shows were subsequently announced, including a show at the Governors Ball Music Festival, marking the band's return to New York City.
Starting May 14, 2019, the Strokes teased some new songs, starting with "The Adults are Talking", live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, suggesting that the Strokes might release a new album. 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 from Angles as requested by fans. "I don't remember Angles. What's Angles?" Casablancas responded before suggesting that the band play the new song and later confirming the release of a new project.
The band released the album The 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 with Rick Rubin for a new album, however Albert Hammond Jr. said they were only presenting ideas to him. However, he would eventually end up producing the album. It was their first full-length album since Comedown 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. On July 24th, 2026, The Strokes released their 7th LP "Reality Awaits"
Cult Records In 2009, Casablancas founded Cult Records, the creative imprint for his solo album Phrazes for the Young. The label signed a partnership agreement with Kobalt Label Services in 2014, which includes representation and product management, physical distribution across multiple territories, digital distribution through AWAL, marketing and sync licensing services. As of 2026, Cult Records currently represents the Growlers, Har Mar Superstar, Songhoy Blues, Rey Pila, Karen O, Promiseland, the Strokes, the Voidz, Exhibition and Cerebral 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. In August 2016, Cult Records announced a new album with the Growlers, a Southern California-based band. It was also announced that Casablancas himself was producing the album, later known as City Club.
Solo projects (2009–present)
As a solo artist, Casablancas set out with an intention to say what was on his mind, both musically and lyrically. 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. 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.
His first solo album, Phrazes for the Young (inspired by the Oscar 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. Recorded in Omaha, Nebraska, and New York, the album was produced by Jason Lader, with additional production from Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis. The album was strongly influenced by new wave and electronica, with Casablancas utilizing synthesizers 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."
Julian Casablancas made his live solo debut for a private party for the introduction of a fashion brand in Tokyo. 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 included Jeff Kite (keyboard), Nelson London (synthesizer), JP Bowersock (guitar), Danielle Haim (percussion) and Alex Carapetis (drums). Casablancas then toured with the Sick Six in Europe, United States, Australia, and Japan from November 2009 until July 2010.
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. He hosted a monthly music show Culture Void on Sirius XMU between May 2016 and February 2017, where he curated and shared some music across genres.
The Voidz (2013–present)