BBC Radio 6 Music’s Artist Collection features New York band the Strokes twenty years on from their debut album Is This It.

At the BBC is a two-hour compilation of sessions and interviews the band has done at the BBC over the years, since their earliest visits in 2001.

Having tested the waters with an EP, the engaging five-piece went on a promotional tour for Is This It, travelling just ahead of the album’s release date in the various countries they visited around the world.

They created quite a sensation, the album was a hit and contained the singles Hard to Explain, Last Nite and Someday. It rocket-fuelled a resurgence of spiky, concise, guitar-driven songs delivered with attitude, and has ranked high in various best album of the 2000s charts.

The Strokes have earned their place among the influential acts from New York, such as the Velvet Underground, the Ramones and Television, and continue with line-up that remains unchanged since 1998. Show less