There once (and some say still does) existed a band named The Strokes. Starring five of New York City’s most talented, strapping young men, this group sought out on a fool’s errand, attempting to save the radio waves from the heaping garbage being passed off as rock n’ roll at the time (see: Nickleback, 3 Doors Down, Creed, etc..). And while the radio still churns out a massive amount of noise pollution on a daily basis, the fivesome succeeded in creating a wide array of excellent tracks populating their stan-worthy discography.
Throughout their, oftentimes, several years in between albums, the band members, each beaming with their own creative ideas, started their own side projects, which further expanded The Strokes musical universe. Nick Valensi, the group’s resident ax-handler, contributions to this ever-expanding universe included CRX, a new wave, post-punk band based out of Los Angeles.
For CRX’s debut album, _New Skin_, the songs were mostly crafted from Valensi’s mind and nowhere else. The band acted less as a group and more as his personal project. But in the ensuing three years, Valensi attracted various members from the LA rock n’ roll community, rounding out the CRX’s backbone. When the time came to record the album’s follow-up record, CRX was a full band and the writing process turned into a collaborative effort. Along with Nick Valensi, the members included Ralph Alexander (drums), [Brad Oberhofer](https://www.flaunt.com/content/brad-oberhofer) (keys / backing vocals), Jon Safley (bass), and Darian Zahedi (guitar, backing vocals).
_Peek_ avoids the dreaded sophomore slump by expanding on the sound CRX established on New Skin. By adding other members into the songwriting foray, the group introduces new ideas and sounds into their arsenal. With influences ranging from _Remain in Light_ by the Talking Heads to _Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)_ by David Bowie, Peek umps across many different genres, surprising the listener with each track. Flaunt spoke with the boys from CRX about what the hell they were doing between albums, their songwriting process, and if we truly are as alone as the track “We’re All Alone,” makes us out to be.
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**First of all, welcome back! It’s been almost three years since the band released New Skin. What’s been happening between releases?**
**Nick**: We toured the first album a lot, and we’re always keeping busy with our other projects. I’ve been doing some shows with The Strokes here and there, and working on new material. I think I always feel more busy than I actually am though.
**What music was the band collectively listening to while writing and recording the songs for this album? Were there any particular bands or artists which inspired the sound captured on Peek?**
**Nick**: “Low” and “Scary Monsters” by David Bowie. “New Values” and “The Idiot” by Iggy Pop. “Fear of Music” and “Remain in Light” by Talking Heads.
**The opening track is a euphoric, five-minute plus new wave synth rave-up which features the standout line “Put down your phone and face it...we’re all alone.” It feels almost like a thesis for the rest of the songs which follow. What are your thoughts on this smart-phone obsessed generation? Do you think we live an isolated existence?**
**Jon**: In my opinion, it’s accentuated the way to escape the reality of oneself and live vicariously through the other version. Only to find yourself... well... alone. Lol
**Darian**: I think we definitely have the ability to isolate like never before and get away with it. We create the reality we want people to see but it easily becomes pathologically perfected, and artificial.
**Besides CRX, you’re, of course, a founding member of The Strokes. Is there any difficulty juggling two different bands? When writing music, can you tell if a certain riff would work better with CRX compared to The Strokes?**
**Nick**: It’s pretty easy. The hardest part is remembering where I left my guitar.
**Can you give Flaunt any exclusive news regarding a new Strokes album?**
**Nick**: Not much news, other than we want to make another album and we’re working on bringing it to reality.
**I’ve heard Nick primarily wrote most of the tracks which appeared on New Skin. For Peek, however, the writing came at a more collaborative, group effort. How do you think this affected the newest album? Do you think the sound has changed?**
**Nick**: Opening up the door to more collaboration influenced the sound of the band a lot. In many ways it feels like a brand new band. We’re much more defined. In a weird way, having more opinions in the room helped us become more focused and singular.
**Darian**: I think it helped push the band into a new direction. We all decided on a common vision and held each other to it which helped keep things consistent, letting all our different influences add the nuances. The collaboration process itself also inevitably pushed all of us to leave the comfort zone and experiment a lot more which took us to new places musically.
**You previously released the music video for “Falling,” which features a woman wandering around a space populated by sheep, cats, and decks of cards. It’s said to be inspired by Haruki Murakami. Where did you get the idea for this clip? How did Murakami come into play?**
**Darian**: This idea came from the director Kansas Bowling. She presented us with the idea and we thought it was a great opportunity to do something different. The visuals give new meaning to the lyrics while taking you on a dreamlike journey.
**This go-around, your album includes production credits from Shane Stoneback, whose worked with bands like Vampire Weekend and Sleigh Bells. How did his influence shape the record?**
**Jon**: Shane was influential in many ways. His work ethic, knowledge, and experience pushed us to meet him at the same level of enthusiasm. Personally, what influenced me the most about Shane was his ability to translate our complex communication and ornate mental examples with a successful and supportive attitude.
**Darian**: Shane was both a very skilled engineer and a great sounding board for ideas, almost like another member of the band. He had the same love we did for the sounds we were going for and was able to help us conjure them up.
**Nick**: Shane’s contribution was huge. He never let us get lost in a sea of options. He was on board with the kind of album we wanted to make and forced us to stay focused. He devoted himself to the project as fully as the band did. He deserves a ton of credit.
**Besides CRX, are there any other projects that any other projects you’re working on? This is for all the band members**
**Darian**: Brad goes by Oberhofer and makes great music on his own. Jon and I have People On People.
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