To mark 25 years since The Strokes released their debut album Is This It, producer Gordon Raphael spoke with NME about the record’s impact, its legacy and the band’s place in the current guitar-rock revival.
The album first came out in Australia on July 30, 2001, before being released in the UK, Europe and Japan. Its U.S. release was pushed back until October after the September 11 attacks, and the American version later had a changed tracklist.
Raphael said it still feels remarkable that the album continues to resonate. He described the long-running interest in the record as a “miracle” and said he did not initially expect the world to swing back toward rock music when he first met the band in New York in 2000.
According to NME, Is This It helped spark a wider garage-rock wave and influenced bands including Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Libertines. Raphael also recalled that London was an important early hub for the momentum around The Strokes and other New York and American bands.
