The indie pop singer-songwriter duo speak about their intimate sound, long distance collaboration and building a sustainable music career through SoundCloud.
Welcome to Sound Advice, the series spotlighting artists’ creative process and their SoundCloud journey. We’ll get the inside knowledge straight from the source on how musicians, producers and creatives are leaning into everything SoundCloud offers to elevate their sound, get heard and catapult their careers. Sound Advice is now available in audio format on the SoundCloud Stories profile.
Chelsea Cutler was 17 years old when she started uploading unusual acoustic covers of songs by DJ Snake, Odesza and Jack Johnson to SoundCloud. The tracks went viral, leading her to sign to Ultra Records and collaborate with Louis The Child, Chet Porter and Adventure Club. A couple of years later, Chelsea and Jeremy Zucker discovered each other on SoundCloud, and became fans of each other’s confessional, heartfelt songs about love and life. In 2018, Los Angeles-based Jeremy invited New York-based Chelsea to an in-person studio session in upstate New York, and their easy creative chemistry led to songs like “scared,” “better off” and the double platinum “you were good to me.”
Despite never living in the same place, Chelsea and Jeremy have continually met up to write together, in cabins and cute studios across the USA, producing several EPs in the lead up to their 2024 album, ‘brent iii.’ We caught up with them while they were wrapping their US tour to speak about where they find inspiration, how they created the cozy sonic vibe of the ‘brent’ universe, and different strategies for connecting with fans, collaborators and record labels using SoundCloud.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE FEATURING JEREMY ZUCKER AND CHELSEA CUTLER
LISTEN TO 'BRENT III' BY JEREMY ZUCKER AND CHELSEA CUTLER
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE
- We begin with the story of how Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler met through SoundCloud, and how the platform has always been a hub of music discovery for them both. Through DMs, they went from sharing their appreciation for each other’s solo music — until a chance meeting at a college party made them realize that their URL friendship could become an IRL one. Thanks to SoundCloud, Jeremy and Chelsea felt a musical connection; it blossomed in the studio sessions that led to collaborative projects, including their latest, ‘brent iii.’
- The collaborative process is an evolving one for Jeremy and Chelsea: It’s as much an alignment of their personalities and modes of working as much as their shared musical tastes. They explain how their personal quirks have adapted to suit the project’s flow and sound, and how their songwriting and recording styles have grown in their studio sessions together. They hit on the vibe of their ‘brent’ album series, now in its third iteration. It’s an intimate sound that comes from their shared love of live instrumentation, analog studio techniques and using their physical environment to enhance the recording process.
- We speak about Jeremy and Chelsea’s latest album, 2024’s ‘brent iii’, and how their careful choice of locations for writing and recording together have had a big impact on the music they’ve released to date. Intention is key: the locations allow the duo to unlock a way of working that’s becoming critical to their sound; what they describe as “good, vulnerable music,” born of an honest friendship.
- Jeremy and Chelsea also give advice to fellow artists about long distance collaborations, touching on how connecting on SoundCloud laid the groundwork for learning more about how to be good collaborators once they began working on music together. As somewhat reserved individuals, working with another artist in person has proved fruitful for their confidence and instructive for how to conduct themselves professionally as musicians.
- Getting deeper into the sonics of ‘brent iii’, Jeremy and Chelsea circle back to their choice of writing and record locations, and how they set up their studios to enhance their now-signature sound: tactile, tender and very much live. Playing guitars and pianos, and using a choice selection of vintage analog gear and microphones, they build what they call a “high fidelity foundation" that can be finessed through software. We hear about the making of tracks “ashes & rust” and “i miss you” as part of this, and how they see investing in different instruments had paid off tenfold for their artistry.
- Once the music is ready, though, it leaves the studio and lives on SoundCloud. The platform has been critical to their growth as solo artists, and now as a duo — but what have they learned from using the platform over the years? Jeremy and Chelsea reflect on how they used SoundCloud to connect socially with their growing fanbase, pitch their music to blogs and record labels and eventually make music industry connections.
- Chelsea discusses her strategy of beginning her time on SoundCloud by recording and uploading cover songs, and how covers are a great way to reach out to new spheres of potential listeners. “Lock people into how you sound, then showcase your own writing from there,” she says. Jeremy took a different approach, focusing on his original music, but agrees with Chelsea on a core theme — consistency is key. By regularly uploading music to the platform, you can create a snowball effect of attention and feedback; it’s all about building community, which is so valuable in sustaining a career in music.
- Continuing on these themes, the duo go on to give more advice to up-and-coming artists. Building a life in the music industry today can be a tricky thing to get right, but they see their success as one built on gradual, intentional connections to their listeners. They also explain how taking care to blend the online experience of sharing your music with the in-person experience of performing music is crucial, as is speaking with your audience directly and treating said audience with respect and kindness.
- We finish the conversation with Jeremy and Chelsea’s plans for 2025, and what we can expect from them as solo artists in the near future.
LINKS AND EXTRAS
Follow Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler, who first connected via SoundCloud DMs.
Press play on their 2024 album, ‘brent iii.’
Listen to their track “A-frame,” which takes its name and sound from the recording location for ‘brent iii.’
Follow Quinn XCII, another mutual friend the duo had in common.
Go back to where it all began with Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler’s first track together, 2018’s “better off.”
Listen to Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler’s first full-length collaborative release, ‘brent’, and its follow-up, 2021’s ‘brent ii.’
To dive deeper into their tactile sound, listen to their live album, ‘brent (live in nyc).’
Check out the Dream Pop playlist on SoundCloud.
Never miss an episode and follow the official Sound Advice playlist on SoundCloud.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOUNDCLOUD
- Learn more about using DMs to connect with fellow artists and potential collaborators.
- Learn more about how to make a custom playlist on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about unlimited uploads, available with an Artist Pro subscription.
- Learn more unlocking access to unlimited distribution, available with Artist Pro.
- Learn more about getting heard with SoundCloud’s updated algorithm, available to Artist and Artist Pro subscribers.
To discover additional features a SoundCloud Artist or Artist Pro subscription offers, visit here. To catch up on past installments of Sound Advice and make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes, visit here.
CREDITS Host: Vivian Host, Executive Producer: Mike Spinella, Producer: KC Orcutt, Audio Engineer: David “DibS” Shackney, Coordinator: Trevor McGee, Editorial Associate: Lauren Martin
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