For a guy who’s personified

unflappable cool for a decade,

once and (perhaps?) future Stroke

Julian Casablancas has plenty

at stake with his solo debut.“The

challenges I’m facing are real,”

he says.“I could fail miserably.

Motivation is not an issue.”

By DAVID MARCHESE

Photograph by Guy ARoCH

GROOMING BY NICO GUILIS AT SEE MANAGEMENT

SIX WEEKS BEFORE the October release of Phrazes for the Young, Julian Casablancas’ wonderfully familiar (that voice!) and far-out (those synths!) solo debut, the rstwhile Strokes frontman is sitting in his publicist’s downtown Manhattan office, gently disagreeing with the notion that he’s been keeping a low profile. “I’ve been around,” he mumbles, as elegantly disheveled as you remember, his shampoo-proof brown hair, untied white Nikes, and black trench coat all displaying grimy variations

on their original colors. “I know it may seem like I’ve been quiet, but I’ve been busy. I’m happy to feed the illusion that I’m a lazy recluse.”

Though the singer didn’t quite go full Garbo
after the 2006 release of the band’s last effort,

the underwhelming First Impressions of Earth, his scant output (a Converse commercial, a couple of guest vocal spots) appears positively stingy when compared to his fellow Strokes’ fecundity. But to hear the 31-year-old tell it, the last few years have been full of hard work, as he’s struggled to find a fresh, radio-ready sound for Phrazes and get a new Strokes album off the ground, all while maintaining his sanity and sobriety.

“The music business is a pretty shallow
game,” Casablancas says. “But I’ve learned
how to get what I want from it.” Yeah, he’s
been around.

EVER YONE WINS AT SPIN.COM / NOVEMBER 2009 59