Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler on brent iii: Bottling Up Magic and Creating Safe Spaces 

Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler have been crafting the brent universe for years, a sonically safe space that feels like a home away from home. With brent iii, the duo continues to channel their friendship, comfort, and honesty into heartfelt music. Magic like brent doesn’t come from a regular studio. To create brent iii, Jeremy and Chelsea retreated to an A-frame cabin in the woods, overlooking a frozen lake in January. This serene, natural setting provided the inspiration and intimacy that shaped the album’s sound. The atmosphere—complete with a crackling fireplace and breathtaking views—quickly put the duo “in their feels.” While both artists pursue thriving solo careers, their collaborations spark a unique creative magic. Together, they turn raw emotions into art, offering listeners a space to process their feelings and find solace. Yet, no magic lasts forever, and on brent iii the artists have given their all to close off the project series with a worthy finale. 

“There’s a fire going and were in the main room, the suns setting, and were overlooking a lake. It was so cute and cosy looking, it got us in our feels pretty quickly. We were so excited to start cause there was just this palpable magic. “ – Chelsea 

Friendship at the Heart of brent 

Jeremy and Chelsea’s friendship is the foundation of brent. During the press conference, their warmth and playful banter gave way to moments of heartfelt reflection, mirroring the dynamics of their creative process. As collaborators, they’ve learned how to balance support and space, transforming their personal conversations into songs. Their bond has deepened over the years, with lessons learned from each brent project shaping both their artistry and friendship. “I’ve grown so much as an artist and as a person through brent,” Chelsea admitted. “It’s taught me about teamwork, production, and being a better friend.” 

“The song writing process is partially therapizing. If one of us is going through this specific thing, then the we are there to get it out of each other and help to write it down and translate it into a song. Mostly we both have our own perspective on a song and we then put it together by writing about different things but it feels like we write about the same thing. “ – Chelsea 

The Magic of Making Music Together 

The production process for brent iii was a seamless blend of Jeremy’s production expertise and Chelsea’s knack for spontaneity. Jeremy credits Chelsea with helping him embrace creative risks, while Chelsea jokes about secretly taking notes on Jeremy’s techniques. Improvisation and instinct played a key role in the album’s creation. Both artists cherish the moments when they look at each other mid-session, knowing they’re creating something special. “Those giddy moments where we just feel it—it’s indescribable,” Chelsea said. 

“I think when you’re working on a song it kind becomes a race against the magic disappearing. so when you write something that’s good there’s the magic there, so you have to keep kind d of refining and simplifying to the place where the magic has stuck. Producing is really just trying to bottle up that magic.” – Jeremy

Q&A 

Given that many fans see brent as a safe space to deal with emotional topics. Was there anything specific about this album which you wanted to give them a new perspective on things or give a sense of comfort with? 

Jeremy: There are definitively more like specific stories on here so I guess it would really relate to someone that is dealing with the hyper specific issues that we talk about on a couple songs. Like ashes & rust is about transgenerational trauma, and the governmet too! is about like a long  distance intercontinental relationship. But there’s also just like a couple really general like relatable across the board songs like black & white is about loving being on tour  and being thankful to the fans but it could also come across as a genuine appreciation and love song. I think like a lot of music has a lot of perspective that you can kind of pull from and I think brent iii is definitely no exception in terms of how well people can connect to it. 

Chelsea: Yeah I think that, I probably overplay this card a bit, but I think that the fact that the fact that we can make music so earnestly as friends definitely helps us make music that others can find a lot of solace and comfort in. We always sit in the studio and say the record should feel like a cosy safe space for people and I really think that is born out of us being friends and kind of building this world that feels like friendship for a lot of people. 

Genre-blending Brilliance 

When working on brent, Chelsea and Jeremy gravitate toward folk and singer-songwriter styles, blending their individual influences. Jeremy’s indie sensibilities and Chelsea’s electronic pop background create a distinctive sound with hints of Americana. The artists just see what parts of their won worlds fit best into the world of brent. For brent iii, they brought unfinished solo projects into the mix, like Chelsea’s love you into loving me and Jeremy’s toothbrush song. The sound of brent is so distinct and unique yet the two friends love to experiment with new sounds and elements, crafting songs that spring from an open-minded and curious environment full of creativity. 

“I do believe that genre boundaries exist I just believe that we shouldn`t feel restricted by them. I think genres are like, allow my strange metaphore, they are like a certain cuisine and songs are made of flavours and the influences are the ingredients almost. And you know it is really exciting when you borrow and ingredient from a different cuisine.” – Jeremy 

Brent through the years 

They both grew in their writing style and storytelling, getting more mature with age and facing more complex issues in life. Jeremy reflects: “I think about this a lot, But the older you get the more complex your emotions and less singular they get.” Still, when asked for their favourite song of the brent discography they both can’t deny the strong connection to their first ever written song for brent: you were good to me. The beginning of brent just holds this numistakable nostalgia and magic that they both keep close to their hearts. “We’ll never make a song as good as that ever again, just kidding, who knows maybe we will. “, Jeremy says jokingly. 

“I feel like what brent is and that feeling and world all has kind of stayed the same, I mean it all kind of changed cause we changed and got older. But I feel like what brent is has stayed so true and at the center of everything.” – Chelsea 

Favourite Memories & Lyrics

The duo shared some of their favorite moments and lyrics from brent iii. For Chelsea, writing and the government too! during their first night at the cabin stood out. She fondly recalled the moment Jeremy turned a candid conversation into the lyric, “I would scream at the stars for keeping us apart…and the government too!.” Chelsea still likes how the just kept the realness of this moment and did not try to make the lyrics any more poetic or romantic. For Jeremy, creating i miss you was another cherished moment. While watching The Snow Society on a projector in the cabin, Jeremy strummed his guitar while Chelsea wrote lyrics. “We were so zoned out but locked in” he remembered, smiling. The making of brent is special in itself, but they both think that getting away together to make music as friends contributes largely to the magic.  

“I like that we get to talk about our memories a lot, cause the more we talk about it the more I remember of the things we forgot. And there’s just so many moments attached to songs that grow and live with us for so long.“ – Jeremy 

A Look Into the Future 

This wholesome press conference perfectly reflected the cozy, authentic essence that brent embodies. Jeremy and Chelsea’s mutual admiration, both as friends and collaborators, is the heartbeat of the magic they create. brent iii may be the last chapter in this universe, but it’s one that leaves a lasting mark, offering listeners not just music, but a safe haven—a space to feel deeply, heal openly, and connect meaningfully. Even though this might feel like an ending, Jeremy and Chelsea are committed to being lifelong collaborators and friends. Whether through solo projects or surprise features, their bond will continue to shape their music careers.  

Opening brent iii with Ashes & Rust as a track that slowly builds and features such a rich sonic palette really introduced listeners to the world of the album. Closing it with good things, a beautiful song about the magic of things being finite, makes it a slight bit easier to let go of the magical world so many found comfort in for the last six years. As the sun sets on this phase of their journey, the warmth of brent will continue to linger, a beacon of comfort and emotional resonance for years to come.