Meet The Chart-Topping Producer Who Lady Gaga Praises For His ‘Incredibly Positive Energy’

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Henry Walter whitethorn beryllium seated successful a spacious Los Angeles signaling studio, but he’s inactive having audio trouble. A afloat integer workstation sits astir 5 feet down him arsenic helium scoots astir the country connected a swivel chair, trying to hole the feedback coming from his laptop. “I haven’t opened Zoom in, like, a month,” helium says with a suspiration arsenic helium presses a fewer buttons connected his keyboard. Once helium finds the problem, helium triumphantly puts his hands successful the air. “I deliberation we did it.”

There’s a charming spot of irony successful watching 1 of the astir prolific and palmy producers successful the euphony manufacture fumble with his audio output. Since starting his accumulation vocation successful 2008, Walter — amended known by his moniker, Cirkut — has been down immoderate of this century’s biggest hits, helping to constitute and nutrient monolithic singles for Rihanna, Kesha, The Weeknd and dozens much passim the 2010s. Today, the 39-year-old Grammy-winning producer’s sonic soundscapes people euphony by a slew of modern artists, including Jungkook and Latto’s Billboard Hot 100-topping collaboration, “Seven”; Charli xcx’s “360,” “Rewind” and “365”; and adjacent Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.”

“I deliberation caller producers and artists are inspired by his work, particularly close now,” says popular vocalist Kim Petras, who collaborated with Cirkut connected “I Don’t Want It astatine All,” “Can’t Do Better” and the Hot 100 No. 1 Sam Smith collaboration, “Unholy.” “He’s benignant of a maestro astatine electropop. I deliberation radical are going to beryllium inspired for a portion by him.”

And connected his latest collaboration, Walter deed an adjacent loftier high. “I inactive benignant of pinch myself,” helium says with a grin of co-producing astir of Lady Gaga’s lauded 2025 album, MAYHEM. “Like, ‘Wow, I helped nutrient a Gaga album.’ It’s truly chill and I’m truly proud.”

The feeling is mutual. Gaga, who co-produced the task alongside Walter, Andrew Watt and her fiancé, Michael Polansky, says she was astounded by Walter’s accomplishment successful the studio. “He has this incredibly affirmative vigor that makes a beauteous abstraction for songwriting and production,” she tells Billboard. “On the philharmonic side, it was his intuition astir accumulation that struck maine the most. Cirkut is incredibly talented arsenic a programmer. His method proficiency is astonishing but besides highly philharmonic — his musicianship is truthful well-rounded and rich.”

But the electropop gems helium crafts present are a acold outcry from his humble origins. Growing up successful Halifax, Nova Scotia — which helium affectionately describes arsenic “not precisely a mecca of music” — Walter’s friends were hip-hop heads. Some were DJs who would invitation a 14-year-old Walter implicit to ticker them rotation and scratch their records connected Technic 1200 turntables. “I saw that and I was like, ‘I request immoderate that is. I request to bash that,’ ” helium recalls.

In his adolescence, Walter became fascinated with “deconstructing songs and learning what makes them tick,” listening to arsenic galore CDs arsenic helium could and trying his manus astatine insignificant DJ gigs for schoolhouse pep rallies, dances and a tiny schoolhouse vigor show. When helium turned 18, Walter moved to Toronto, seeking retired a vocation arsenic a hip-hop DJ and discovering different sonic worlds successful the process. “You’d spell retired for the nighttime and you’d perceive dancehall, soca, reggae, hip-hop and conscionable each this unthinkable creation music,” helium says.