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Alongside Luke at the beginning of Petrass career and throughout the Kesha trial was Henry Russell Walter, a.k.a.
His name popped up again this summer as the producer of Maroon 5 and Cardi Bs Girls Like You.
Cirkut instead has turned his attention on a pop newcomer of his own, Ava Max.
The campy chorus quotes30 Rockwhere Ava sings, Grab a cop gun kinda crazy / Shes poison but tasty.
For Luke, it marks the loss of his closest ally in the record business.
Youve had so many megasuccesses in your career.
Are you surprised to see Ava Maxs Sweet But Psycho getting the same?
Or at least building to the same level of hit?Yeah.
I felt like it would really make an impact, but of course you never really know.
Avas a really incredible, exciting new artist.
And Ive gotten to help and watch it grow from the very beginning.
I was wondering if you could talk about that a bit.I think everything goes in cycles.
Right now, weve been [in a] very rap-, R&B-leaning kind of thing.
Im responsible for some of it.
I like to be versatile and do all different types of sounds, so I think thats good.
A few years ago, I was very involved in a lot of very pop music.
I dont know how else to describe it, and I feel like thats one of my fortes.
Id love for radio to be playing pop, dance music all day.
I think it needs that.
I started off as a hip-hop DJ.
I was really into 90s hip-hop.
I was into scratching and turntables and mixing and all that kind of stuff.
Youre also working with Kim Petras, who makes dance-leaning pop.Yeah.
Shes an awesome artist.
I really love the songs we did together.
Shes also doing something really fun for pop music, and I think shes a great talent.
She works pretty extensively with Dr. Luke, who you came up with at the same time.
Are you still working with him on a consistent basis?Not really as much.
We had a relationship for many years and he was like my mentor to a certain extent.
At a certain point, you kinda wanna spread your wings.
We did a lot of stuff together, but now Im pretty much focusing on working on my own.
Were not working together.
Obviously hes been going through part of a legal drama with Kesha, an artist youve also worked with.
Did that factor into that decision at all?No, that was totally independent of that.
Like I said, we worked together for many years.
It had nothing to do with the whole Kesha thing.
Are you still signed to Prescription Songs?
When you produce stuff, does it go through that company?Actually, no.
Im not signed to Prescription Songs anymore, no.
Do you remember when that happened?Its been a few months now, I think.
My contract just ended.
When you worked on the Kim stuff, the allegations against Luke had already been out and were public.
You know you both share credits on those songs.
Is that something youve thought about at all?
Did you have thoughts about that?At the time, we were very close.
Wed worked together for many years, and I wasnt really thinking about that to be honest, no.
I was happy to work on the project.
That was basically the last thing we did together, Luke and I, before my contract ended.
I wasnt really thinking about that.
It must feel good to branch off on your own.Yeah, for sure.
I feel like Im in a great transitional period.
Im really excited about working, finishing Avas album, and just all the new things Im working on.
It feels like starting something new.
You are obviously focusing a lot on Ava.
Do you want to build up other artists?
Are there plans to start an imprint?I definitely see myself doing something like that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
