Ian Eric Kirkpatrick (born September 20, 1982) is an American record producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He has produced and written music for many high-profile artists such as Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Nick Jonas, Pitbull, Selena Gomez, Shakira, and The Chainsmokers.^[1][2] Kirkpatrick's writing catalogue includes songs which have amassed over a billion streams individually on streaming platform Spotify.^[3]

Kirkpatrick is managed by Dan Petel of This Is Noise Management.^[4]

Kirkpatrick identifies as an “Irish Moroccan Jew” due to his mother's Casablanca roots and his father's Irish origins^[5]

Kirkpatrick grew up in Encino, Los Angeles. He was first introduced to music at the age of 5 years, when he received a drum set for his birthday. Throughout his teenage years, Kirkpatrick played in some small bands in junior high and high school.^[4] He briefly studied economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz while simultaneously producing music, before pursuing music full-time.^[5]

In 1997, the Aphex Twin song "Girl/Boy Song" drove Kirkpatrick to use computerised production methods to make similar electronic music.^[6] At the start of his career, Kirkpatrick started a recording studio in the garage of Petel's parents where he recorded for local bands before moving to bands on labels such as Hollywood Records, Fearless Records and Drive-Thru Records.^[4]

Initially, Kirkpatrick also produced music for Warped Tour groups such as Breathe Carolina, Neon Trees, Young the Giant, and the Plain White T’s, before signing a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.^[6]

Kirkpatrick’s early success as a producer led to him co-writing with other songwriters and musical artists. In 2015, he met major breakthrough with writing and production involvement in singer Jason Derulo's “Want to Want Me” and went on to collaborate with singer Selena Gomez starting in 2017.^[4]

Kirkpatrick has incorporated the Steinberg Cubase into his production workflow, a tool he has used on production titles such as Dua Lipa's "Don't Start Now".^[7] He is able to play keys and guitar, but expresses more familiarity in drums.^[4] He cites Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and Autechre as some of his artistic influences.^[6] He is based in Los Angeles.^[4]