Alone, Together

The song Alone, Together, with its duration of 3 minutes and 12 seconds, delves into the atmosphere that The Strokes sought to capture in their first studio album. Recorded between March and April 2001 in New York City, under the production of Gordon Raphael, the band aimed to capture a direct sound, without studio artifices. To achieve this, they relied heavily on live takes during the recording sessions, building the compositions from that energy. The lyrics, by Julian Casablancas, continued to explore the experiences and relationships of urban youth, a recurring theme in their work.

The formation of The Strokes had its peculiarities. Julian Casablancas and Nikolai Fraiture had known each other since childhood. On the other hand, Nick Valensi and Fabrizio Moretti met at a concert. It was at Le Rosey Institute in Switzerland where Casablancas, sent there by his father, met Albert Hammond Jr., another American. Years later, the chance encounter of Casablancas and Hammond Jr. on the streets of New York marked the beginning of the band. They both ended up living in adjoining apartments on the same street, and in 1999 they formalized their union as a band. Their popularity grew rapidly, especially in New York's Lower East Side, playing at Manhattan's Lounge, where Ryan Gentles was in charge of their bookings. Impressed by the group, Gentles quit his job to join them. After the release of their debut album, the band embarked on a world tour that included dates in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America, opening for the Rolling Stones. In 2002, they headlined the Carling Weekend festivals in the United Kingdom, a period documented in a short film titled “In Transit”, distributed to members of a now-defunct fan club.