Soulshock and Karlin

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 DMC 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 KIIS-FM, Soulshock came out to New York City 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." EMI/Medley had offered Soulshock 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 are 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 break through with CeCe 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. Soulshock & Karlin recently produced new tracks for Craig David & Sting "Rise and Fall," Blu Cantrell "Don't Wanna Say Goodbye," Monica "Breaks My Heart," "I Wrote This Song," "Hurt the Most" and the first single from American Pop Idol Justin Guarini "Sorry."

Soulshock & Karlin produced and wrote their first #1 top 40 hit “Leave (Get Out)" performed by JoJo, and the #1 R&B song “Truth Is” performed by American Idol winner Fantasia (which also received a Grammy nomination for best R&B album) and tracks for rap star Nelly. Soulshock and Karlin went on to collaborate with Keyshia Cole, Kelly Rowland, and Samantha Jade and to produce songs for the debut solo albums of Cheryl Cole and 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, 3 Words and Overcome respectively.

• Official website