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.

Today's guest went from making songs on a floppy-disk keyboard, sampling off a Kellogg’s cereal box DAW, and sending blind MySpace messages… to producing the some of the biggest crossover dance anthems of the last decade. And The Writer Is... Zedd!

What makes this conversation special isn’t just the hits — it’s how brutally honest he is about the craft, the obsession, and the unexpected moments that built his career.

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.

Chapters:

0:00:00 – Teaser

0:01:06 – Welcome & Episode Intro

35:58 – Zedd on Never Thinking He’d Be Successful

25:41 – Growing Up Poor & Studying One Album a Month

18:01 – The Kellogg’s DAW That Started Everything

15:33 – Learning Music on a 16-Track Floppy-Disk Keyboard

30:44 – Why He Thought EDM Was a Joke at First

38:12 – The Skrillex MySpace Story That Changed His Life

31:25 – Finding His Sound Through Curiosity & Obsession

47:14 – The “Lightning Moment” Behind Clarity

59:34 – Being Wrong More Often Than Right

1:03:03 – Why Most Music Feels the Same Today

1:03:37 – Extraordinary vs. Average: What Listeners Actually Feel

1:00:08 – “All I’m Doing Is Chasing a Feeling”

56:26 – The Chaos Behind Making The Middle

1:00:47 – Realizing the Scale of His Own Success

28:23 – What It Takes to Stay Inspired

6:48 – The Creative Principles He Still Lives By

41:22 – The Fastest Way for Artists to Get Noticed

1:05:23 – Zedd’s Final Advice for Musicians

1:07:19 – Closing Thoughts

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.

Today’s guest has rewired modern hip-hop. His fingerprints live all over the last decade

but the real story behind that success is far more human, painful, and transformative than the headlines ever show.

In this conversation, he opens up about the highs and lows of being a producer in hip-hop: the pressure, the politics, the contracts, the moments that nearly broke him, and the breakthroughs that almost didn’t happen.

He also shares the lessons shaped by fatherhood, betrayal, and real perseverance — all while creating some of the most important and culture-defining music of our time. And The Writer Is... Hitboy!

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.

Chapter list

0:00 TEASER

1:20 Ross’ Intro

2:02 Fatherhood and Being a Full-Time Dad

5:12 Parenting, Hoops, and What His Son Really Loves

6:29 The Humbling Reality Check: Kids Don’t Care About Your Hits

7:29 Growing Up Between Pasadena & San Bernardino

8:34 Seeing His Uncle’s Success & Wanting to Be on TV

9:35 Falling in Love With Beat Programming

10:12 Learning to Write & Rap at 13

11:23 Selling His First Beat for $20 at 16

12:24 MySpace Era: The Birth of “Hit-Boy”

13:09 First Major Betrayal: Partner Gets Signed Behind His Back

15:01 Advice to His Younger Self: Patience & Self-Belief

15:23 Building Early Industry Relationships Through MySpace

16:13 First Time Inside a Real Studio (The Underdogs)

17:39 The Underworld of LA Sessions & A Young Hit-Boy Watching Greats

18:44 First Major Placement: Jennifer Lopez

19:06 Providing for His Mom With His First Checks

19:27 Growing Up Without a Present Father

20:22 His Dad’s Return & Going on a Run Together

22:04 How Fatherhood Changed His Time, Focus & Creativity

23:27 Recording Nas: The Hidden Role People Don’t See

24:57 Getting His First Publishing Deal (And the 18-Year Lock-In)

28:02 Staying Current: “I Update My Software Every Day”

28:21 First Big Hit: Drop The World Lil Wayne & Eminem

29:47 Why He Used to Clash With Kanye

32:00 The ‘N*****s in Paris’ Moment (Language Question + Setup)

33:35 First Song With Kanye: The Christmas Track

34:12 Making Music With Kanye, Jay-Z & the Good Music Family

35:40 Hearing 'Paris' for the First Time in the Planetarium

36:32 Realizing the Song Was Going to Be a Cultural Earthquake

38:23 Big Sean, Executive Production & Sharpening His Ear

39:09 How Drake Found the ‘Trophies’ Beat

39:52 Stripping Beats Down to Let Artists Shine

40:33 When to Stop Producing: The Minimalism Lesson

41:38 Depression, Contracts & Losing the Relationship With Drake

42:57 The Pain of ‘Trophies’ Not Making Drake’s Album

43:13 What His Publishing Deal Held Him Back From

44:22 Working From a Place of Fear vs. Freedom

45:01 Working With Beyoncé (Excellence at Every Level)

46:22 The Story of ‘THIQUE’: An 8-Year-Old Beat Comes Back to Life

46:39 Why Old Beats Deserve Second Lives

47:57 The Making of Sicko Mode & Travis Scott’s Explosion

48:20 The Greatest Timing Ever: Streaming, Social Media, Travis

49:00 The Long Journey of Sicko Mode (2016 → 2018)

50:13 Are Producers Songwriters? The Eternal Debate

51:30 Nipsey Hussle: Early Sessions & Mutual Respect

53:53 Nipsey Claims the Song: “I Need This for My Project”

Hosted by Ross Golan

Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.