Friendships can contain so many struggles, but at the same time, they can pull different people together. For Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler, their unique perspectives on music and life have allowed them to nurture a friendship that has lasted years. This duo met for the first time back in 2016 at my own college, the University of Connecticut. Zucker had been following Cutler on SoundCloud, and when he was flown out by his friend to perform at a fraternity party at UConn he was surprised to see her attending the event. This crossing of paths has led to many collaborations between the two singer-songwriters.
Their first song together, âYou Were Good to Me,â was released in 2019 and was later a part of their EP brent. After more collaborations together, the duo released their debut album, brent iii, on Nov. 1, 2024, to close out the trilogy of past brent EPs. This folk-pop album has quickly become a fan favorite, and many followers of both artists experienced the songs live during âBrent Forever: The Tourâ this past fall. I had the amazing opportunity to chat with Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler about their collaborations, inspirations, and friendship, and the insight I gained shows me why so many fans find comfort in this album and the artists who created it.
The Process Of Creating Brent III
Zucker and Cutler werenât originally planning on creating brent iii, but instead wanted it to happen if it felt right. They both have ongoing solo careers and got really involved in their solo projects. âBrent iii was the long-term dream,â Zucker tells me. âWe wanted to let it happen when it would happen [as a] really natural thing,â he says. It took time for the artists to coordinate their schedules so that they could release the music and go on the âBrent Forever: The Tourâ together.
One of the strongest components of the brent trilogy is the differences in Zucker and Cutlerâs genres and musical styles. While Zucker believes in genres, he doesnât feel like artists should be constricted by them, and Cutler touches on this more from the perspective of their collaboration. âWe both have kind of taken inspiration from so many different places,â Chelsea Cutler tells me. âAlso as individuals, we are maturing in a similar direction so itâs been pretty easy for us to come together sonically,â she continues. These two artists were able to craft a cohesive album while still pulling inspiration from their own specific perspectives and musical techniques and processes.
âWhen youâre working on a song, it kind of becomes a race against ⊠the magic disappearing.â
Jeremy Zucker
While working on brent iii, Zucker and Cutler had to decide which songs would be included on the album and the order to tell their story. Zucker explains how working on the songs felt like they were racing against the magic of the song disappearing. âWhen you write something thatâs good, thereâs inherently a lot of magic in there,â he tells me, “You have to keep kind of refining and adding or simplifying to sort of get to the place where the magic has stuck.” The songs chosen on the album clearly contain this âmagicâ and captivate listeners. Songs such as âA-frameâ stood out from the day Zucker and Cutler wrote it, and it has been an upbeat song adding excitement to the album. âBlack & whiteâ was one of the last songs added to the project, but it was the perfect addition. While âashes & rustâ opens the album because of its exceptional sonic palate, âgood thingsâ was the best choice as the last song on the tracklist for a different reason. âWe felt like âgood thingsâ was also the perfect way to wrap up the project,â Cutler tells me. âThe song is about how things canât last forever and thereâs a magic in things being finite,â she says. While the 36-minute tracklist of brent iii is finite, the meanings, stories, and feelings that fans can pull from Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutlerâs album have no limits.
The Stories Told By Lyrics
While brent iii has songs inspired by individual experiences outside of Zucker and Cutlerâs friendship, they use their songs as a way to support each other and help each other get their feelings and life stories out into the lyrics of the tracks. Since their first collaboration in 2019, both artists have grown in their lyricism. âThe largest difference in our writing or storytelling is hopefully that weâre more mature and kind of able to look at and write about more complex and nuanced emotions ⊠than we were able to when we were making the first two brent projects,â Chelsea Cutler explains. Zucker further describes how their more complex emotions allow them to write about more specific and honest topics in the album.
â[âyou were good to meâ] totally kind of started this whole trajectory of everything that brent became.â
Chelsea Cutler
The nuanced lyrics of brent iii allow fans to connect with the songs more, and some specific tracks stand out to Cutler and Zucker in particular. The comforting writing from the duo began with âyou were good to me.â âItâs the first song we made for a brent project ⊠[and] I feel very indebted to that song for that,â Cutler says. This song is part of the reason the duo could continue crafting beautiful songs for the rest of the brent trilogy. Diving into songs from the most recent album, âA-frameâ was written in an A-frame cabin in California with inspiring scenery surrounding the artists. The location had a âpalpable magicâ that can be felt in the song.
Another song was inspired by this trip and getting away from the normal studio writing session setting. Zucker was able to process what was going on in his life by writing âand the government too!â while on this trip with Cutler. âThe second verse of âand the government too!â speaks to me personally,â he says about his favorite lyric on the album. After reciting that verse, he tells me how âthe idea of imagining that in the future this is just a funny story that you get to tell your kidsâ is a beautiful way to view a problem and how it will be solved in the future. So many fans face an assortment of obstacles in their lives, and they can find comfort in the various lyrics of brent iii and how Zucker and Cutler processed their emotions to create the project.
The Friendship Behind The Collaboration
From their first time meeting at a UConn party to their recent tour together, Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler can keep a healthy friendship, which is the key to their collaboration. They put their friendship first at the end of the day. Still, their collaborations on their projects are an important part of their relationship. âWhat brent is has stayed so true and at the center of everything,â Cutler tells me. The duo can explore many possibilities and opportunities through their collaborations, especially on this album. From shared âah-haâ moments while writing songs to getting crĂȘpes to eat someplace on the side of the road, their friendship stayed strong while making brent iii and has allowed them to have special moments that they can hold on to for life.
âThere are just so many really amazing moments that get attached to these songs that grow and live with us for so long.â
Jeremy Zucker
Both artists learned so much about each other and about creating music through this project. âI think that collaborating with your friend is particularly challenging and beautiful,â Cutler says. The two singers are able to support each other while also learning more from what they admire about each other. While chatting about how Cutler sometimes runs off to write a song, Zucker says that he aspires to be more spontaneous like her. âMusicality and perspective-wise, her creativity is really admirable and inspiring,â Jeremy Zucker tells me. While Zucker and Cutler are not sure theyâll create a fourth brent, they still envision themselves working together in some other ways in the future. Cutler specifically spoke about how they will always want to be involved in each othersâ careers. With how much this duo learns from each other through their projects and friendship, they donât plan to close the door to collaborations in general.
With Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler being friends for years and being so comfortable with each other to share their stories, they wanted their record, brent iii, to feel like a cozy, safe place for fans. I am so grateful to have gotten to hear from the two artists about their experiences collaborating and creating this album, and itâs become one of my comfort albums. Their magical storytelling and unique musical contributions are so beautiful and truly make this album a work of art. Be sure to give brent iii a listen and stay up to date on their future collaborations and solo projects!