Cirkut Mentor Session:: Watch Full Length Video
In the Elevator With Beyonce:: Cirkut is one of my favorite songs of all time. I'm really excited to dig into what you've done and your process. We have a very competent group of people here. Feel free to interrupt the conversations throughout when you want to dig in a little deeper.
How To Start DJing In Your 20s:: As soon as I saw a pair of turntables, I was like, I need to do that. I started off as a kid maybe 1415 DJing. I got really into hip hop. Back then, it was before Serato. Did you play parties and stuff? Like, how did you do?
Making Music Started With DJing:: What did you learn from DJing that you brought into the actual making music? Just getting my hands on the turntables and starting to make beats really started just my quest into music making. How'd you do it? It was many years of just sucking at it.
What was your first release, how did that happen:: First release was in Toronto when I was like maybe around like 2010, 2011. One of my tracks made it into a session with Britney Spears. That at least gave me some recognition or clout. This will lead to other things maybe.
Working With Abel on At The Know:: At The Know is one of the first songs on House of Balloon. It's definitely a darker track. It sounds very distinctly with The Weeknd. He says he didn't really know what he was doing at the time. Now he tries to find a balance where he goes with his gut.
In the Elevator With Jay-Z:: Be part of your generation and to build with someone instead of looking for the big name. Even if it was seven years later, that seed was planted. You never know when you're going to have to call upon that relationship again.
Describing Abel's Music:: Abel's voice is so distinctive. His attitude, he's very self critical. I want to work with someone who wants to get in the trenches and grind and get it right. His strengths are how he combines sweet, kind of pretty melodies but with very hard and edgy lyrics.
Daft Punk on Starboy and Can't Feel My Face:: You reconnected seven years later and you ended up working on Starboy and Can't Feel My Face. Abel trusted Know's sense of sonics and sound and kind of the way to produce stuff. But the songs weren't perfect.
One Little Thing Changes Everything:: When you come into a song like that, you're trying to add your magic to it. You try a bunch of different things. Exhaust every option, exhaust every opportunity to get to that one thing. It's kind of like a game where you got to figure it out.
Daft Punk:: Every French person that I've worked with, they're like the biggest snob. They hate everything except what they do How did they do those robots, by the way? I wish I could have seen that process. But they just get it right.
Duft Punk's Let's Do This:: Sebastian: I think I distorted it a little bit, which kind of gave it some of those harmonics of it. I love the restraint of that, the fact that the loop starts, the full drum starts. It doesn't use any of the cliches or the tricks. Every sound kind of matters.
How Dr. Luke Got Involved With Max:: I just took a leap of faith. I'm going to move my life to La. We're going to work together, says producer Max. How did this thing happen? I wasn't totally into the pop producing songwriting realm yet
Working With Luke Combs:: Luke Shaw and I worked together for years. He says he learned how to get out of his shell and think about the song as a whole. Shaw: He has a good way of sitting back and having the big picture of a song. It takes skill to be able to analyze it and make important decisions.
How To Work With An Artist:: How do you work with someone that's a complex, complicated character? I'm the more chill quiet, the quiet kind of assassin quiet. It's just important to be who you are and make that work for you. Don't try to be someone else.
Max Martin is still writing the biggest songs of all time:: Maddox: Max Martin is the biggest songwriter of all time. What's the magic and what's Maddox's magic? Maddox: His willingness to be hands on and do it himself, that's a big part of it.
Compressing Vocal:: Max did the melody and Bonnie and Katie did the lyrics. As long as it sounds good, I don't think it matters how you get there. How did the moment when it goes the roar? How was that written?
How Much of the Melody Did Max Martin Do?:: How much of the melody did Max Martin do that they wrote to and then how much did they add? He didn't do the entire song. I think Katie got on the mic and did some melodies. And it was kind of a collaboration.
How To Get the Most Out of Your Artists:: You have such a diverse playing field and style and way of producing. How do you get the most out of your artists when they come in? I like to mix it up because that's a challenge too. I want to collaborate with an artist who's passionate about what they're doing.
Flat 808:: One asked how do you keep pushing the edge and staying excited in pop? How do you approach making things still sound different or interesting? It's just about taking risks, being willing to take risks.
What Makes a Pop Song?:: Is there something for you that defines pop music? The message, the lyric that is something universal. There's so many factors that go into a hit song. If only if it would just make a great song, it'll be a hit.
Katie's 'Dark Horse':: There's one song we need to touch on and it's Dark Horse, which I think is a brilliant song. I think if you look at the numbers, it's her biggest song. It's up there with our Firework that those two have been neck and neck for a while.
Katy Perry on Dark Horse Beat:: The song Dark Horse was created onA&Random day. It features a female pop artist on a beat like that. The song has a copyright claim. How was the song created and what made you come up with a different vibe?
Juicy J on His Christian Rap Song:: I had never heard this Christian rap song before on MySpace. It made me feel very just angry, sad, hurt, confused, he says. The legal battle is still ongoing.
Katy Perry on the Liability Case:: Kayla: Sometimes you're an artist and you have some things that you've created, and then someone creates something that you legitimately think that they took it. Was there ever a conversation that could be had to where there can be some kind of understanding? The system is broken, in my opinion.
Robin Thighs on The Blurred Lines:: Sometimes I made a melody once which wasA&Rip off of The Cure. Those are the most dangerous ones. It's tricky talking to presenting this case to a jury of people who aren't musicians. Do you bring it up right away or do you just play them off?
Dr. Luke on His Sexual Misconduct:: Did you find that your team really came to your aid during that time, or did you find any fair weather friends while you were going through this hard lawsuit. When you collaborate with people, you're in it together, you win together and you lose together. We all really love that song.
Ke$ha on Becoming International and Leaving Canada:: I think it's moving out of Canada. And La is the place for music. It's hard for Canadians to break out sometimes, so I felt making the La move was right. Just meet as many people as you can.
Does Your Team Have Canadian Members?:: Is your whole team American, or do you have any Canadian? It's pretty much most American, actually. I don't have too many friends left from Toronto. I keep it pretty tight knit, maybe to my detriment. I do everything myself still.
Did you go through a process of name changing:: When I started DJing, when I was like 14 or 15, it was DJ Cirkut. As I segued out of DJing more into producing, I just dropped the DJ. You fill whatever name you choose with that value later. The music makes the name cool.
Working With His Girlfriend Ava:: Max worked with Luke and Luke before producing Ava. What's it like working with your girlfriend? It's great. Every relationship has its challenges, but the benefits outweigh the downsides.
Eva's Rise to Success:: Did you see a change in Eva from things that she did to unlock her potential? I think it's just experience and growth. Her going through that and having certain hardships and now being able to taste the success. I'm proud of where she's at now.
The Breakthrough Song:: Sweep of Psycho is Ava's breakthrough song. The song was created by a fellow Norwegian. It was in Norwegian, so it was like, whatever, different language singing that melody. It stood out in a time when there wasn't a lot of pure pop music.
Mikkel on Ava's Relationship With Him:: With you guys being so close as her producer, how do you feel? Do you think it helps that you guys are that close or just sometimes we get in the way? So far, it's been good.
Katy Perry on Her Lyrics:: Dean: Are you pretty hands on in terms of if the lyric doesn't sound good to you or the general idea isn't working, or do you just kind of trust the process with Bonnie McKee? He says there is something to be said about knowing your strength and knowing your place.
Toronto's Kendrick Lamar on Collaborating:: Who were your influences when you were growing up in Toronto? I think I've had different eras. It's changed over the years. And now in the pop world. I feel like I have influence for each.
How do you prioritize your time as a producer:: Right now I'm in a bit of a crunch time where I'm having to juggle a few different things. I'm finishing Ava Max's album and then I've started new stuff with other artists. How do you manage your time? The most important stuff is the top stuff.
The Songwriting Assignment:: Cirkut asked the group to create a songwriting assignment. Make something risky. Not risque, but risky. Sometimes we've written to beats back. We've done kpop week. What are your favorite exercises?

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