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

And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

And The Writer Is

Music Creation, Songwriters, Songwriting, Artists, Music Interviews, Music, Interviews, Education

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 109 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

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.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's weird because you look at your discography and it feels like you never miss. Today's Super Producer has double-digit Billboard number one singles. Are you critical of yourself? I think I'm more critical now because I actually know what it takes for it to be great and I want to win. These were the years of me honing my craft, really. I'm figuring it out and you need that time. Because I wasn't really a musician,
0:40.7	but this is how I developed a sense of rhythm. No, that was a huge turning point. How do you work so fast? You know, when someone listens to a song, they don't care if it was made in a couple hours, or if it took months and months, it's when it does matters when you're in the studio. If you're spending too long, you might have lost the magic.
0:38.1	There is something to be said for being excited about the idea you're working on. I try to
0:42.7	accomplish that early on in the session. Your sonic choices are unparalleled. What tools do you
0:48.9	use? Everything in production is nuances, you know? It's like the tiniest little things.
0:52.9	There is a little bit of an X factor to it because I...
0:57.0	This season is presented by NMPA, the National Music Publishers Association.
1:03.2	Champions of songwriters and publishers everywhere.
1:06.7	Welcome to And The Writer is. I'm your host, Ross Golan.
1:10.3	Today's super producer has double-digit
1:12.8	billboard number one singles, not just hits, but Evergreens, eh? If music is the soundtrack of our
1:19.8	lives, then the music supervisor of the past 15 years is this nice fella. All the way from down
1:27.2	the street, this Canadian- the way from down the street.
1:28.3	This Canadian-born producer cares about the future of musicians in a way few active
1:33.6	writers do.
1:35.0	And the writer is my fellow hockey player and friend, Circuit.
1:41.5	Thank you, Ross.
1:43.2	Oh, Canada.
1:46.4	You grew up in, in Toronto, right, area?
1:50.3	Kind of moved around a bit.
1:51.4	Toronto, Montreal, Nova Scotia, you know, but Canada, basically, you know.
1:57.0	Places where there's ice and snow, yeah.
	...

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