The year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Is This It, the debut album from the Strokes. The album’s unflinchingly unique sound and the somewhat edgy image of the band contributed to something of a revolution in the alternative-music space. Some called it a rebirth of rock and roll in New York City; others called it the newest incarnation of the Velvet Underground. Regardless, Is This It has a few hallmarks that set it apart from its contemporaries. Among them are the dueling guitars of Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi, both swapping rhythm and lead duties from verse to chorus. The groove is held down by Nikolai Fraiture’s sensible bass lines and Fabrizio Moretti’s airtight drumming. Perhaps most impactful of all is the distinctive voice and slightly charred sound of the front man, Julian Casablancas.
Today, we’ll take a look at how the Strokes arrived at their sound and how their chart-topping debut took shape. In the process, I’ll point out some of the gear they used and the methods behind the album’s controlled chaos. Since I wasn’t in the booth with Gordon and the Strokes, I’ve relied on the few written accounts of the recording sessions along with other supplemental material. I’ve listed my sources at the end of this article.
Recording The Modern Age
Before being catapulted to the world stage, the Strokes would meet Gordon Raphael, owner and engineer at the Manhattan-based Transporterraum. Located in Manhattan, Raphael’s basement studio featured a single 888 interface with just eight mic inputs.[1] For The Modern Age, Raphael opted for a quick and dirty approach — three mics on the drums, one mic for each guitar and bass, and a room mic. That left one mic for vocals. They set up in the live room and recorded all the takes as a full band.
The 11-minute EP was a chaotic, in-your-face introduction to the world — precisely the desired effect. The Modern Age became an almost-instant hit and got scooped up by Rough Trade. Critical reception was glowing. NME named the record their single of the week, saying, “. . . The Strokes aren’t just a sound perfectly preserved in retro aspic. They’re the latest in a thrilling line of American bands reinvigorating rock with taut guitar lines, stunning dynamics and great hair.”[2]
Returning to the Basement
After the band signed with RCA, they elected to start recording with Grammy Award-winning producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters, Counting Crows). After recording three songs, the band scrapped the sessions, calling the sound too polished and pretentious. They left Norton’s high-end studio and returned to Gordon Raphael and the Transporterraum, which was on the brink of foreclosure.
Even though it was located in a basement, Transporterraum had a distinct sound that Norton’s studio lacked. The live room was roughly 25 feet square with 12-foot-tall ceilings and homemade acoustic treatment. All in all, the studio had the perfect vibe for a band like the Strokes. It was here that the band would spend six weeks getting to know Gordon Raphael — rehearsing, partying, and recording one of the most important rock records of 2001.
The Sound of the Strokes
According to Raphael, the Strokes set out to sound like “a band from the past that took a time trip into the future to make their record.”[1] The band wanted to do things differently than any other act out there. Raphael had this to say on the subject: “Everyone was pasting together five samples to make a snare drum sound. So what’s the opposite of that? No samples. Everyone is playing to a click track, and isolating drums from the guitar. So let’s have everyone in the room at the same time, live.”[3] Casablancas felt the same, saying later, “It’s anti-image. I don’t want to be some brainiac band. I just want us to do what we do: ROCK YOUR F____ B____ OFF.”[4]
The band’s approach to recording the album was twofold. First, they wanted to record with “raw efficiency.” This wish saw the band tracking entire songs in the live room simultaneously. Sometimes, they would practice a song for days before the band could get a live take that they liked. Only the vocal would not be recorded live. Second, they’d use any means necessary to achieve the right sound, especially when it came to miking the drums. Together with Gordon Raphael’s experimental tendencies, this approach would help the Strokes strike gold.
Recording Guitars and Bass
With the major-label funding secured and foreclosure a less-present danger, Raphael rented a second 888 interface to bring the total number of mic inputs up to 16. He positioned Albert Hammond Jr. and his now-signature ’70s reissue Stratocaster on one side of the room. On the other side, Nick Valensi stood with his 1995 Epiphone Riviera (hot-rodded with P-94 pickups). Both guitarists played through 2×12-inch Fender Hot Rod Devilles pushed by Jekyll and Hyde overdrives, RAT distortion pedals, and the MXR Micro Amp. Raphael miked up each amp with a Sennheiser MD 421 running into API preamps with no EQ. Fraiture’s Fender Jazz Bass, Ampeg SVT-CL, and Ampeg SVT-810E 8×10-inch extension cabinet were located on the third side of the room.
Recording Drums
Fabrizio Moretti set up his 3-piece Ludwig Classic Maple kit across from Fraiture’s bass to complete the square. His kit featured a wood snare, 14-inch Zildjian A hats, and a 22-inch Zildjian A Custom ride. Miking was a relatively simple affair with common studio microphones:
- Kick: Shure Beta 58
- Snare: 2 x Shure SM57 (top and bottom)
- Room mic #1: Audio-Technica AT4033, 2 feet in front of the kit
With the basics of the kit miked up, Raphael experimented with the location of secondary room mics. The exact placement of the second room mic differed from song to song, with one particularly interesting placement seeing room mic #2 near the ceiling and as far away from the drums as they could get it.
For “Hard to Explain” and “Soma,” where the live drums emulate the style of a drum machine, the hi-hat was located on the right side of the drum kit to prevent hi-hat bleed. Fully realizing the effect was also an experimental process that saw heavy use of quantization, compression, and EQ to turn a real-life performance into something that sounded synthetic and heavy-handed.
By virtue of their arrangement in the live room, there was no way to eliminate bleed from source to source effectively. The screaming and discordant guitar amps combined with the rumbling bass and bled into the AT4033 to produce an extra helping of grit and charisma. By viewing the inherent limitations of their space as a creative tool, the Strokes were able to capture a sound all their own. All it took to achieve their sonic goals was a willingness to experiment and a determination to get it right.
Recording Vocals
Aside from the cohesive, “band in a room” sound, the vocal performance defines Is This It. A considerable part of the vocal’s impact is Julian Casablancas himself, but it’s the texture of his voice and how it was mixed that takes the cake. No stranger to giving esoteric instruction, Casablancas famously asked for his voice to sound like a “pair of blue jeans worn in just the right amount.”
Using the AT4033 from the drum kit, Casablancas sent his vocals through his Peavey practice amplifier. This turned out to be a stroke of genius. The Peavey lightly toasted the vocals without totally destroying the lo-fi feel. A Neumann TLM 103 was placed in front of the amp to preserve as much of the tone as possible. Casablancas’s sound is unforgettable and instantly recognizable. It’s simultaneously modern and vintage, paying homage to those who came before while paving the way for those to follow.
Is This It
All told, Is This It took six weeks and cost just $20,000 to produce[5]. But, when you put it all together, Is This It became more than the sum of its painstakingly recorded parts. The lo-fi New York rock anthems would receive critical acclaim and bulldoze their way through clubs worldwide. Throw in the lyrical content, and the album takes shape as a one-of-a-kind representation of life in New York City as a bored 20-something. It explores trivial interactions on the surface while inviting the listener to ask more profound questions about the nature of humanity at their leisure.
The album set the stage for a revolution in alternative music. It provided a new take on songwriting, sounds, and textures. New York bands, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, and Interpol, exploded onto the scene in their wake. Across the pond, the Strokes influenced Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. Even today, 20 years later, the influence of Is This It and the Strokes is clearly painted across the alternative/indie music spectrum.
Most of all, the success of Is This It proves that world-class gear isn’t always the key to great sound — although it certainly helps! For this work, what mattered was a steadfast dedication to perfection, relentless rehearsing, bold production choices, and making the most of the gear and space on hand. By doing so, and by returning to the methods of the original EP, the Strokes launched a decades-long career and punched the group’s ticket to global stardom.
Making the Most of What’s Available
Twenty years ago, the Strokes set out to make a record that sounded like a vintage record you’d find in the future. Using what little gear they had available, a dingy studio, and an underground producer, they hit the mark. Fire up Is This It today, and you’ll hear a vintage sound right here in the future. And, in the words of Gordon Raphael, “Really well-crafted songs never go out of fashion — no matter what era they’re from.”[6] And, if you ask me, it’s likely that the album will continue to stand the test of time.
Sources
- Buskin, Richard. “Gordon Raphael: Producing The Strokes.” Sound On Sound. April 2002.
- NME. “SINGLE OF THE WEEK: The Strokes — The Modern Age.” NME. September 12, 2005.
- Weiss, David. “The Strokes Still Rule the Decade: ‘Is This It’ Explained by Gordon Raphael.” SonicScoop. December 22, 2009.
- NME. “The Strokes — Why New York’s Finest Will Change Your Life – Forever!” Shesfixingherhair.co.uk. April 10, 2009. Originally published in NME, May 2001.
- Walker, Gary. “The Genius Of… Is This It By The Strokes.” Guitar.com. September 9, 2020.
- Trendell, Andrew. “The Strokes’ Producer Gordon Raphael on the Chances of the Band Celebrating 20 Years of ‘Is This It’.” NME.com. February 23, 2021.
