You may not know his name, but anyone who’s been half-listening to the soundtrack in public spaces in 2013 can sing a hit touched by producer prodigy Henry Walter, aka Cirkut. Last week alone, the 27-year-old had three songs with his mentor, Dr. Luke, in Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100: Pitbull’s Timber, Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball and Katy Perry’s Roar. The rest of his 2013 resumé name-checks Britney Spears, Robin Thicke and Jesse J. The Halifax native took a break from studio time with Perry and Bonnie McKee to reflect on his smash-packed year.
1. Wrecking Billboard
In September, Roar reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was dethroned the next week… by another Cirkut hit, Wrecking Ball. “I’m not all about charts, but it was a symbolic thing,” he says. After two weeks at number one in October, the Cyrus ballad swung back to the top spot in December. Cirkut gives credit to the pop star, who “sold it,” but also points to the beltable slow jam’s unique mix. “It hits all the right emotional chords that a ballad has, but it also has a visceral, futuristic sound to it.”
2. Grammy gold
Not only did Cirkut score his first Grammy nomination on December 6, but it’s for one of the night’s biggest prizes: song of the year. He’s nominated along with Dr. Luke, Max Martin, McKee and Perry for Roar, and his steep competition includes Lorde, Pink and Nate Ruess, Bruno Mars, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
3. California Dream
At home in Toronto (where he still spends lots of time despite relocating to L.A.), Cirkut still co-owns Dream House studios, the Queen West space where he recorded High For This with the Weeknd. “It’s a great place for things to bubble – like a headquarters for us,” he says.
But his Beverly Hills-based Dream Machine music publishing and management company, which develops new producers and songwriters, is taking off as well – take Montreal writers OC and Kevin Figs, for example, who worked with Jesse J this year. And though he says it’s not uncommon to work a 14-hour day alongside Dr. Luke in the space he calls “Dream House L.A.,” the long hours are paying off. “I have learned so much from people like him [that] I am [now] bringing as much to the table,” he says. “I am no longer a student but an equal collaborator.”
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