Biography
The Estate are a Sydney based duo, consisting of Braden Clarke (27 - keys, vocals, programming) and Brendan Gibson (24 - guitars, vocals, programming).
The pair met at high school, where they would meet at night to jam in the empty schoolyard.
In 2002 Braden was a top 20 finalist in Channel 7's 'Popstars'. Soon after, he moved to the UK where he cut his teeth playing clubs and corporate gigs around London.
Meanwhile, Brendan was finishing school and playing guitar in Sydney alt-rock outfit 'Marching Dust', which gained notoriety for playing shows at student demonstrations and clashing with police.
In late 2007 Braden returned to Sydney and the pair started making music from where they had left off.
The first track The Estate recorded upon Braden's return was immediately picked up by foghorn records for release on the Grow Your Own: Upload 2 compilation, released in May 2008. The Grow Your Own series has previously featured artists such as Sick Puppies and The Panics.
In December 2008 The Estate self-recorded their debut album masterplan (MGM) which, although not a major commercial success, had critics taking notice. Elise Rana of TNT Magazine (London) called the album 'a delicious slice of guitar driven electro-pop'.
The Estate's varied influences include Bob Dylan, The Cat Empire, Suzanne Vega, RHCP, John Legend and Morcheeba.
The Estate released a covers EP, Impostors, on iTunes in February 2009. The track list featured covers of songs by Madonna, Neil Young, Paul Simon and Shawn Colvin, and received significant airplay on Sydney’s FBI radio.
Before beginning work on their next EP, The Estate consulted with Matt O’Connor (Thirsty Merc, The Beautiful Girls, Mia Dyson), who saw the duo’s potential and steered them towards a more mainstream-friendly sound.
The resultant yet-to-be-named EP is currently in post production, due for release early 2010.
Instrumentation
Braden Clarke - Vocals, Keyboards, Programming
Brendan Gibson - Vocals, Guitars, Programming
Discography
3 hot new demo's from the Estate are now online - check the Audio section.
Check out tracks from the album "Masterplan" in the audio section.
The full album is available for download NOW on Amazon and iTunes.
The iTunes exclusive covers EP "Impostors" featuring original takes on Neil Young, Paul Simon, Madonna and Shawn Colvin is also available for download (iTunes UK, AUS, Canada only)