The Strokes’ ‘Is This It’ turns 25: Producer Gordon Raphael talks bottling magic and if it could ever happen again

To mark 25 years since the release of The Strokes‘ seminal debut ‘Is This It‘, producer Gordon Raphael has spoken to NME about the album’s impact and legacy, as well as the fortunes of the band since and the current guitar rock renaissance. READ MORE: The Strokes on the cover: “Journalists kiss your ass to your face and talk shit when they’re writing the article” ‘Is This It’ was first released on this day (July 30) in Australia back in 2001, before hitting shelves in the UK, Europe and Japan and an eventual October release in the US after delays brought on by the 9/11 attacks. In a 10/10 review of the album, NME hailed ‘Is This It’ as “one of the best and most characterful debut albums of the last 20 years”. The now classic debut from Julian Casablancas and co contained the singles ‘Hard to Explain’, ‘Last Nite’ and ‘Someday’ and kickstarted a global garage rock revolution from the ashes of Britpop, grunge and nu-metal. For better or worse, the stylish and effortlessly cool breeze of the NYC future-icons and the album set the template for indie for coming decade, and laid the foundations for the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Libertines. With the band having freshly ...