Ep. 230: Cirkut | The Secrets of a Pop Super Producer

Today’s guest is the producer behind some of the biggest songs of the last 15 years — from “Wrecking Ball,” “Timber,” and “Dark Horse” to early records with The Weeknd and Britney Spears. From teaching himself production on cracked software and vinyl turntables… to going on a run of genre-defining hits. And the writer is… Cirkut! In this episode, he opens up about his early grind, the moment Britney cut his beat, his first sessions in LA, working alongside Max Martin and Dr. Luke, and the mindset that helped him go from unknown kid with an MPC to one of the most important producers in modern pop. A special thank you to our sponsors... Our lead sponsor, NMPA aka the National Music Publisher's Association. Your support means the world to us! And @splice -- the best sample library on the market, period. 00:00 — Intro: Who is Cirkut? 00:04:37 — Early music influences: hip-hop, DJ culture 00:05:49 — Discovering DJ gear & beat manipulation 00:07:55 — First exposure to FruityLoops & early production 00:10:24 — DJ’ing pep rallies with vinyl 00:12:36 — Applying early skills later for Lady Gaga 00:14:14 — Skipping audio classes to make beats 00:16:46 — Early Drake encounter in Toronto 00:18:40 — How the name “Cirkut” was born 00:21:35 — How a CD of his beats got to Britney Spears 00:22:10 — First big cut: Britney’s “Papi” 00:23:01 — Discovering electronic music & the blog era 00:23:49 — Learning from Masterkraft (the MySpace era) 00:33:00 — Working with The Weeknd on “High For This” 00:33:57 — Recognizing Abel’s early greatness 00:35:06 — Moving to LA & hustling through the rat race 00:38:49 — What finally got him out of the rat race 00:39:33 — The call from Dr. Luke 00:41:11 — The Flo Rida / Levels / Good Feeling near-miss 00:42:37 — Losing a big cut overnight 00:43:19 — When the hits start stacking: “Where Have You Been,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Timber” 00:44:48 — The thing he brought that cut through the noise 00:47:18 — What it’s like creating with Max Martin 00:49:36 — Winning Producer of the Year (Junos) 00:50:17 — When Cirkut realized he belonged at the top 00:52:04 — Why his ego is different 00:53:15 — His quiet superpower in the room 00:55:45 — Ad: NMPA + ⁨@splice⁩ 00:57:00 — The importance of speed 00:59:00 — Secret sauce... Knowing his sounds and blind listening 01:02:00 — Keeping production organic 01:03:57 — The Weeknd 01:12:10 — Ross' funny Pitbull / Cirkut story 01:13:03 — Cirkut's secret to success 01:14:00 — 'Unholy' Sam Smith 01:18:54 — Jung Kook, 'Seven' with Jon Bellion / Theron Thomas 01:21:00 — Charli XCX 01:22:00 — 'APT' and Bruno's 'Stank' 01:30:56 — Lady Gaga + Watt 01:42:30 — Production advice. Figure out what you're great at Hosted by Ross Golan Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad Watercolor by Michael White Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.