Get To Know: Estate
Don’t be afraid to let it all hang out when listen to Estate’s music. No one’s watching.
Why does Minnesota keep creeping up in these columns? Is it because of the wonderful wildlife is has to offer? Or perhaps it’s the nightlife of Minneapolis? Or maybe it’s neither. Maybe it’s just all the talented bands that just so happen to reside there. Electro-masters Estate have joined the ranks of Minneapolis royalty this week with their minimalistic approach to creating elaborate beats. Members Dan Kramer and Josh Johnson used simple commonplace recording devices - showing that those fancy soundboards that some other electronic artists rely on are nothing but show. Recorded in July 2006, their debut album, Vacation, is a holiday within itself - breaking away from conventional modes of electronic music; instead creating a medium that even your hard-nosed grandmother could enjoy. Vacation doesn’t have the crazy eclectic sounds that deem electronic music sometimes unlistenable. The album relies on more inviting modes to bring in new listeners. Their style is very warm, but is by no means boring because of it. You can still break it down to the beats that Kramer and Johnson lay out for you. This isn’t the lame ambient music that you hear in every pretentious record store in the city. Vacation is the music you listen to on your walk through the park or alone in your room when you want to get down with no one looking.
“Let Her Know” off of Vacation is the perfect example of this. Its upbeat tempo and poppy beat will put a pop in your step as you walk. It’s such a heartwarming song, fabricated electronic beats combined with true human emotion. Listening to “Let Her Know” on the rare sunny days of November will make you forget about the impending chill that’s going to make you miserable in the coming months.
Estate also offers their original music to other electronic artists to remix. Get to Know alums Nobot previously remixed Estate’s song “Let Her Know” on their album Power Today! and Estate in turn remixed Nobot’s “Uke Falls” as part of the Nobot and Estate remix project. Estate’s own tune “Write to Make,” remixed by fellow Minnesotan Gigamesh, is the more flamboyant cousin of the original version. It’s hard not to start moving your body to the catchy beat that Gigamesh adds to Estate’s provocative lyrics. So don’t be afraid to get down, or at least tap your foot to Estate’s jams.
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Nov 05, 2008 @ 7:00 am
