Jack Antonoff has been making Grammy-winning albums with Taylor Swift for years now, but he says that their most recent release, The Tortured Poets Department, represents the height of their artistic collaboration.
Asked by TIME what he learned from working on that record, Jack said, “So much. Every album we’ve done together, I’ve learned so much. That one, to me, was just the ultimate … I felt like it was truly what it’s like to be alive right now.”
“That album, because it’s this crazy journey of love, lost love, betrayal, and hurt, and then even the escapism chapter with ‘Florida!!!’ which is one of my favorite parts — I see it as our opus. It’s a whirlwind. It was a whirlwind to make it,” he continues.
“I love it so much for that reason, because the only true goal when making an album is to capture the feeling of the moment.”
“TTPD moves quickly into different emotional territory, which I think is how a lot of us are living,” he concludes. “I think that’s why so many people are listening to it.”
Asked if he would like to explore a different genre or sound with Taylor, Jack says, “I don’t really plan. Everything always happens in the moment in the room.”
Jack also worked on Sabrina Carpenter‘s RIAA Platinum-certified album Short n’ Sweet. He says his favorite song on that record is “Sharpest Tool,” in which Sabrina sings about a guy, “I know you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed/ We had sex, I met your best friends/ Then a bird flies by and you forget.”
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