Karl Wolf

Karl wolf storms back on the music scene with his hit new album Bite the Bullet! The first single “Africa” has gone to the top of the charts in every territory it has been released in, including the Middle East, Japan and Canada! The “Africa” video, which already has over six million views on youtube, had the honour of being the first video ever played on MTV Arabia!

The Karl Wolf story:

Though Karl was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to avoid the civil war that the country was facing, his family moved to Dubai when Karl was an infant. From very early on music played a large part in his life. His mother taught the piano and his father played the guitar, drums and a traditional Arabic instrument called the Oud.

“Music was just part of me,” Karl explains. “Growing up, it’s not like I knew I was going to be a musician or singer the rest of my life but I just loved it sooooo much. Music was always present in our lives. I was always interested in anything that was music-related, singing, dancing, playing instruments…anything that was musical.”

This interest quickly blossomed, with Karl becoming a multiple threat! Songwriter, producer, singer, Karl can do it all. Karl started as a producer and was involved with many multi-platinum albums in Canada. These include Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Mitsou, Quebec’s Star Académie and Emily Bégin. Karl then began developing as an artist and was a member of Dubmatique and SKY, both platinum-selling groups. He earned a prestigious Felix Award in 2001 for “Best Mix and Sound of the Year” for his work on Gabrielle Destroismaisons’ Etcetera as well as a SOCAN award in 2004 for “Best Pop Song” for his work on Star Académie I.

As more and more industry insiders began hearing about him or working with him word of his talent began to spread. Artists like Christina Milian, Glenn Lewis and Mya all began asking for material. However, at the time, Karl was busy at work on his first solo album, Face Behind the Face.

Released on Valentine’s Day 2006, Face Behind the Face, turned Karl into an instant Mega-Star in the Middle East and Canada. The album’s first hit Butterflies spent XX weeks at 1. The Canadian remix with Quebec pop-princess Eve rose to 3. The second single Summer Days and Summer Nights in Beirut, which recalls the beauty of Beirut before the civil war, was also a huge success on radio. The third release from the debut album Desensitize was a club smash and a remix with Canadian rapper Choclair can still be heard in clubs around the world.

Face Behind the Face, won Karl a Sounds of Blackness Award (SOBA) in 2007 as the “Best R&B/Soul Artist of the Year” and he was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award (Canada’s music awards) for “Best R&B/Soul Recording.”

The success of Face Behind the Face help develop Karl as an international artist. One of his first international performances after the release of the album was with R&B Queen Mary J. Blidge in Dubai. “The vibe at that show was incredible,” says Karl. “The public was just soo excited because it was my first major concert in the region after my album release!” The release of the second album, Bite the Bullet, has solidified as a major international artist. In the last year alone, with the territorial release of the album, he performed with Lauryn Hill, Neyo, Girlicious, T-Pain, Flo-Rida, Pitbull, Kelly Roland, and Akon. He also shared the stage with both Ludacris and Akon at MTV Arabia’s launch event!