Biography

Soulshock & Karlin Biography

Soulshock & Karlin have written and produced hits for artists such as Usher, JoJo, JLS, Monica, Whitney Houston, Fantasia, Destiny’s Child , Craig David & Sting, Alesha Dixon and the late 2Pac. Some of their best-known work is Whitney Houston’s “Heartbreak Hotel”, JoJo’s “Leave (Get Out)”, JLS’s ” One shot ” , Fantasia’s “Truth Is”, Toni Braxton’s “I Love Me Some Him”, Monica’s “Before You Walk Out of My Life”, Craig David and Sting’s “Rise and Fall” and 2Pac’s “Do For Love” and “Heaven Got A Ghetto.” Arena Magazine has called the team “Probably the best R&B producers in the world”(March, 2001).

But success did not come overnight for the Danish duo. Soulshock began his career as a hip-hop club DJ, spinning records in his bedroom. His big break came in 1989 when he took third place in the prestigious DMC World Mixing Championships in London. The contest victory led to a DJ position on the European Tour for Queen Latifah, Jungle Brothers and Chill Rob G. That gig, in turn, gave Soulshock the opportunity to remix songs for Mc Lyte, Queen Latifah among others. With his remixes playing on KISS-FM, Soulshock came out to New York to study under DJ Red Alert. But as Soulshock recalls, “I went back to Denmark, because it was so tough being in New York and I was making no money at all.”

Fortunately for Soulshock, EMI/Medley had offered him and his former partner Cutfather a label deal in Denmark. In 1990, he opened SoulPower Productions and Records. Moving toward more of an R&B vibe, Soulshock needed a great keyboard player, and found one in Karlin. A fan of Jazz greats such as Bob James and Stanley Clarke, Karlin was an integral part of Denmark’s jazz scene before joining with Soulshock producing Patti Labelle’s “All Right Now.” A musician in the traditional sense of the word, Karlin says, “I think our different backgrounds is what make our tracks interesting.” While the future overseas looked bright, Soulshock & Karlin felt that the brand of R&B/hip-hop they specialized in was being overshadowed in Europe by dance and house music. The duo made the move to Los Angeles and, after months of struggling, finally had a breakthrough with Ce Ce Peniston. Their single “I’m In The Mood” came out and made some noise. With the ball rolling, Soulshock & Karlin scored their first big hit with Monica’s #1 R&B single “Before You Walk Out of My Life”, which they wrote and produced. Hits with artists such as Toni Braxton, Brandy, Brownstone, Silk, and 2Pac followed.

In 1999, Soulshock & Karlin enjoyed another #1 single with Whitney Houston’s “Heartbreak Hotel” which received two Grammy nominations: Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Vocalist. They also enjoyed their first UK hit single with UK artist Jamelia and the song “Thank you.”

Soulshock & Karlin produced and wrote their first #1 top 40 hit “Leave (Get Out)” performed by JoJo ,the #1 R&B song “Truth Is” performed by American Idol winner Fantasia (also received a Grammy nomination for best R&B album) and tracks for rap star Nelly .

In addition, SoulPower has developed SoulPower/Universal artist Ashley Parker Angel who had a MTV reality show, There and Back. Ashley Parker Angel released his debut album, Soundtrack To Your Life.

Soulshock & Karlin are currently in the studio and have worked with artists such as R. Kelly, Cheryl Cole, JLS, Keyshia Cole, Alexandra Bruke , Toni Braxton, Backstreet Boys, Fantasia, Kelly Rowland, JoJo, Mario, and Monica. They also worked on UK artist Lemar’s 1st single “If She Knew” and Alesha Dixon’s single in the UK “Breathe Slow” which reached #3 on the UK pop charts. Soulshock and Karlin enjoyed another UK number one single with JLS ” One shot ” in 2010 and got to work with R Kelly on the song ” I love the DJ “.

In 2010 Soulshock took time off to appear as a judge on the hugely successful TV talent show ” X-factor ” .