Julian Casablancas, frontman of The Strokes and The Voidz, has hit out at Ed Sheeran in a bizarre new interview. The singer talked in depth about the state of pop music, saying that being popular doesn’t mean being successful as a musician. “I’ve talked about this before, but there’s an exact parallel between music and politics”, Casablancas mused, as reported by Pitchfork. “I strive to build a world where the Velvet Underground would be more popular than the Rolling Stones. Or where Ariel Pink is as popular as Ed Sheeran”.

The interviewer argued that Pink, an underground musician, does not have the same ambition as pop star Ed Sheeran. Casablancas countered “everything you’re saying sounds 100 percent like cultural brainwashing”. He then clarified “I’m not trying to diss Ed Sheeran or any pop star. Ed Sheeran seems like a nice, cool guy and I have nothing against his music”. However, “whether it’s music or politics, right now we’re mired in whoever’s propaganda is loudest”.

The Voidz will release new album ‘Virtue’ on March 30.