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 culture00:05:49 — Discovering DJ gear & beat manipulation00:07:55 — First exposure to FruityLoops & early production00:10:24 — DJ’ing pep rallies with vinyl00:12:36 — Applying early skills later for Lady Gaga00:14:14 — Skipping audio classes to make beats00:16:46 — Early Drake encounter in Toronto00:18:40 — How the name “Cirkut” was born00:21:35 — How a CD of his beats got to Britney Spears00:22:10 — First big cut: Britney’s “Papi”00:23:01 — Discovering electronic music & the blog era00:23:49 — Learning from Masterkraft (the MySpace era)00:33:00 — Working with The Weeknd on “High For This”00:33:57 — Recognizing Abel’s early greatness00:35:06 — Moving to LA & hustling through the rat race00:38:49 — What finally got him out of the rat race00:39:33 — The call from Dr. Luke00:41:11 — The Flo Rida / Levels / Good Feeling near-miss00:42:37 — Losing a big cut overnight00:43:19 — When the hits start stacking: “Where Have You Been,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Timber”00:44:48 — The thing he brought that cut through the noise00:47:18 — What it’s like creating with Max Martin00:49:36 — Winning Producer of the Year (Junos)00:50:17 — When Cirkut realized he belonged at the top00:52:04 — Why his ego is different00:53:15 — His quiet superpower in the room00:55:45 — Ad: NMPA + ⁨@splice⁩  00:57:00 — The importance of speed00:59:00 — Secret sauce... Knowing his sounds and blind listening01:02:00 — Keeping production organic 01:03:57 — The Weeknd01:12:10 — Ross' funny Pitbull / Cirkut story01:13:03 — Cirkut's secret to success01:14:00 — 'Unholy' Sam Smith01:18:54 — Jung Kook, 'Seven' with Jon Bellion / Theron Thomas01:21:00 — Charli XCX01:22:00 — 'APT' and Bruno's 'Stank'01:30:56 — Lady Gaga + Watt01:42:30 — Production advice. Figure out what you're great atHosted by Ross GolanProduced by Joe London and Jad SaadWatercolor by Michael White Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.