Described by Willamette Week as “ The Northwest’s endemic brand of loud and depressive guitar music weaved into R&B vibes,” BendreTheGiant is the vessel for Portland producer/vocalist Ben Estrada. Though Estrada has been releasing music since 2022, last year marked the first time he brought in outside collaborators, and BendreTheGiant has evolved into a six-person band. The past year has seen Estrada and company tour the West Coast, release an album’s worth of music, and earn features in publications like OPB, Eugene Weekly, and The Bend Source Weekly.

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The decision to expand BendreTheGiant into a collaborative project was borne out Estrada’s need to make a change. In late 2023 he was living alone in Seattle, getting out of a long term relationship, and experiencing an absence of community. Reconnecting with high school friend Delos Erickson prompted Estrada to relocate to Portland, and begin arranging his solo compositions to be played by a band. Erickson, a recent University of Oregon music school graduate, plays keyboards, sings backup, and assists Estrada with writing in BendreTheGiant. 

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Since June of 2024, BendreTheGiant has released three singles and two EPs, most recently dropping the EP Wading In The Deep End on March 7th. The four songs on Wading In The Deep End span multiple genres, featuring everything from 90's hip hop drum sounds, to distorted indie-punk guitar tones, to a horn section that sounds straight out of HBO's Yacht Rock documentary. Having now wrapped up a ten-date tour for the EP, BendreTheGiant returns to the studio this spring to begin work on their debut album, which is being funded by a MusicOregon artist grant.