Nikolai Fraiture claims it was never his dream to be a frontman.
The Strokes’ bassist, whose debut solo album The Time of the Assassins hits shelves on Tuesday, is insistent that his new project Nickel Eye wasn’t designed as any kind of ego trip.
“It was never my intention,” he says. “These were always words and ideas that never really had a plan—they were always just a way to let things out. With the time off, I was able to make them into an album.”
The result is The Time of the Assassins, a collection of acoustic-based folk tunes inspired by Fraiture’s appreciation of Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. There are glimpses of The Strokes’ driving rhythms, but the trademark ripping solos and snarling vocals are conspicuously absent—the new frontman is as understated as ever when he steps behind the microphone.
Fraiture’s reservations aren’t surprising. With The Strokes, he’s always been the quiet bassist, shying away from the spotlight in the long shadows of modern rock gods like Julian Casablancas and Nick Valensi.
In early 2007, after spending a year on the road in support of their third LP, First Impressions of Earth, The Strokes told dismayed fans that they would be taking an extended break.
Various solo albums have since followed, including two from guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., and Little Joy, the eponymous debut by drummer Fabrizio Moretti’s side project.
Yet with The Strokes weeks away from reconvening to begin work on album number four, a fact that Fraiture looks me in the eye and confirms (frustrated Strokes fans rejoice!), the oft-overlooked bassist has hit the road with a new backing band for what will be a very brief tour.
Why did he wait so long? It seems the creation of this record was designed simply as a way to pass the time.
“I had the basic words for quite a while, but most of the music was written during the two years we had off from The Strokes.”
Fraiture reveals he was frustrated by their lack of progress on new material.
“I think originally we [needed time off], and then Albert [began] concentrating more on his own project. It was by then that we wanted to get back together, and we tried, and for a while he wasn’t coming in so much, he was still focusing on his solo effort. We met up, all of us, and decided that February 2009 would be best [to get back together].”
Initially, Fraiture found time to finish an old project that had been lying dormant.
“It was this experimental film that I wanted to do for a long time with a friend from college. We had filmed it…in 2003 when we had a quick break back then. It’s based on French surrealist writing, mainly a few poems by Rimbaud.”
Fraiture met his new bandmates (which include guitarist Jamie MacDonald of the band South) unexpectedly while on vacation. “I was visiting my wife’s family in London for an extended period of time, and we all hung out. We started talking about music, they said they had a studio in Hackney, and we went in and recorded some demos.”
Though it’s been a while since Fraiture jammed with his most famous group of friends, he did call in a few hired guns—the album features guest appearances by Regina Spektor and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
True to form, Fraiture is modest about his new venture into the spotlight. “It [feels] the same, but with a twist. It’s the same kind of connection with the crowd, and I really enjoy that aspect of performing. It’s a little bit different of course, because it’s a different type of attention that you get.”
“The album’s not out yet, so it’s not that much pressure. People don’t know the songs, so they’re more just discovering a new band.”
With another successful solo album primed for release, Strokes fans are going to have to wait just a little longer for their heroes to return. In the meantime, they can tide themselves over by exploring this effort, which came as a surprise to everyone, including its creator.
