The World According To The Voidz' Julian Casablancas
In a wide-spanning interview, The Voidz frontman sits down with Rebekah Sherman-Myntti to talk about his process, total truth, The Strokes, and so much more.
By Rebekah Sherman-Myntti
Illustration by Natalie Shields
Published
Characters is a column by filmmaker Rebekah Sherman-Myntti that spotlights unique artists and personalities, giving readers a deeper understanding of her featured guest.
It took 2 hours to reach the diner where I’d be meeting Julian Casablancas. For someone whose name is so deeply linked to New York City, I momentarily questioned the suggestion to not meet in town…but as I approached the place, it all made sense. With a bright red, blue, and metallic silver exterior, it was as if the restaurant had been ripped out of a 1980s science fiction film set (not in some phony contrived way) and was the home base for a mad scientist – in the end, this turned out to be a fitting vibe for our conversation. Julian talks about his personal history, his work, and his future with the adventurous spirit of an explorer and pathfinder, someone always blazing ahead.
As the frontman for The Voidz, Julian has embraced a wild, genre-defying sound and maintains a constant desire and enthusiasm to experiment and delve into uncharted musical territories. Many credit his first band, The Strokes, with the revival of garage rock and indie rock music in the early 2000s, and their songs (and style) have had a profound and lasting impact on subsequent generations of musicians.
From those early days to today, there is a purity to Julian’s artistic expression and to his rejection of the industry’s expectations. It is inspiring to see an artist care so deeply about his work (and impact) after decades of creative output. Unlike many musicians who have experienced his level of fame and success, Julian shows no sign of slowing down. So, after shooting The Voidz for a special episode of my music time capsule show TOMORROW!, Julian and I sat in a turquoise leather booth and traversed my map of subjects, from his relationship to truth and understanding to “melodic harmonic realms” and his transformative experiences with music and people in his life… and much, much more. Our conversation further confirmed something most of us already know — Julian is one of today’s greatest living musicians.