Martin Courtney

Bio

Real Estate are an American rock band from Ridgewood, New Jersey that have released six albums over the past 15 years. At a time when the music industry is increasingly untenable for smaller artists, Real Estate has managed to maintain a devoted fan base and navigate a business landscape that has claimed the careers of many of their peers. When considering the creative process behind 2024’s Daniel, band cofounder and primary songwriter Martin Courtney aimed to untangle some of the creative hand-wringing and second-guessing that can so easily trip up artists as they find themselves several albums deep into their career. “Our aim was to just let Real Estate be Real Estate” he says, calling from the lobby of a busy airport. “The trick, of course, to just being yourself is actually knowing who you are. This many years into making records together, I think we’ve finally figured that out.”