SK Shlomo

Simon Kahn is an award-winning beatboxer, producer and live looping technologist who performs under the stage name SK Shlomo.

A Guinness World Record breaker, SK Shlomo gave up their astrophysics degree to perform their amazing vocal pyrotechnics. It was a good move. Since then they have won global acclaim and worked with Bjork, Damon Albarn, Martha Wainwright, Basement Jaxx and The Specials. In the process they have continually pushed the boundaries of beatboxing, bringing the art form to new and unexpected audiences.

Raised on a strict childhood diet of orchestral percussion and jazz drums, SK Shlomo instinctively began making vocal music as a small child. They first found critical acclaim as a beatboxer aged 18 when they began touring with the award winning multinational hip hop group Foreign Beggars. Soon after, SK Shlomo was collaborating with Bjork on her all vocal album Medulla.

After appearing on BBC2's Later with Jools Holland, they formed the pioneering beatbox group Shlomo & the Vocal Orchestra and gained international recognition through The Beatbox Choir, a TV documentary following the journey of the group's inception to their sold out debut show.

As well as being an artist in residence at London's Southbank Centre, SK Shlomo is a sought after composer writing for choirs, stage shows, films and adverts. Their works include a score for the BFI's restoration of Alfred Hitchcock's Downhill, a commission for the Royal Festival Hall's organ and a nomination for the British Composer Awards for their piece for the National Youth Choir.

SK Shlomo is a firm favourite on the festival scene, bringing out guests like their friend Ed Sheeran (whom they have taught a number of tricks), Lily Allen, Jarvis Cocker and Rudimental. They have played the main stages at Glastonbury more times than they remember, won rave reviews for their autobiographical one-man show and even had a feature film made about them.

In addition to live performances, SK Shlomo is also a popular and highly sought-after public speaker on topics including mental health, innovation, technology and creativity.

Keynote Speaking - How Technology is Changing The World
Since winning the World Loopstation Championships at the NAMM conference in LA, SK Shlomo has been in high demand as an authority on technology and creativity.

They have spoken at international events including TEDx, CDI (Mexico), ITV's Big Think, Roundhouse Rising, MusicTechFest, MGX (Microsoft USA) and WIRED.

Motivational Speaking - Mental Health Awareness
In an emotional, inspiring and humbling talk, SK Shlomo encourages talking, sharing and clearing away the stigma attached to men who are suffering feelings of worthlessness, are panicking, or scared about the future.

Performing under the stage name, SK Shlomo, Simon Kahn knows how it feels to be on top of the world. Their breathtaking vocal skills gained them early recognition as a world record-breaking beatboxer and world looping champion.

For over a decade, the genre-defying music producer has set new standards for their craft. As Shlomo, they burst in to the mainstream collaborating with Björk and performed with famous fans from Ed Sheeran, Damon Albarn, Lily Allen and Jarvis Cocker to Imogen Heap, Martha Wainwright and Rudimental.

But staying on top becomes increasingly tricky to maintain. Despite the standing ovations and the accolades, Simon would feel oddly empty inside. So, they took a step back to work out what they wanted and their world seemed to crumble under their feet. Like many high-achieving artists, they’d always been incredibly driven, but ultimately that came at the expense of their mental health.

Behind Simon's reinvention lies a realisation – that throughout their 20s, despite composing and producing for other artists, as well as for film and commercials, they had resisted becoming the solo recording artist they desperately wanted to be for fear of failure.

Determined to change, Simon set a challenge – to write a song every day for a month. For the first five days, they delivered. Then things ground to a painful halt, triggering a mental breakdown which led to six months in therapy. Diagnosed with PTSD, they were forced to confront their past.

Talking about a major trauma from childhood was a huge turning point in Simon's life. They named their album Surrender, because that's all the traumatised Simon could ever do - let go and trust. They found it empowering, stopping trying to control everything around them.

None of Simon's achievements in music arrived the traditional way. Appearing on Jools Holland at the start of their career was about the sum of it. They always strived to do everything differently, to create their own path. However, they realised that the biggest challenge was to stand up on stage and simply be their authentic self.

No clever machines, no fancy techniques, no persona. This was the real Simon, naked so-to-speak. And it was the scariest, most exciting thing they’d ever tried.

Live Performances
SK Shlomo is in huge demand to perform at festivals, live events, corporate functions, award ceremonies, product launches, international conferences, team building workshops and private parties. They have performed at every Glastonbury Festival since 2005.

Live, Shlomo performs either solo or with an eight-piece vocal group, The Vocal Orchestra. They can also host interactive workshop events.

SK Shlomo has twice held the record for the World's Largest Beatbox Ensemble, the latest being to direct a group of 2,081 Google employees at the Dublin Convention Centre in November 2011.

Previous clients include Google, Ford, Smirnoff, BBC Music, Glastonbury Festival, Bacardi, Bestival, XBox, Red Bull, Nokia, Southbank Centre, Microsoft, WIRED, Viacom, TEDx, Sony, Lloyds Bank, Vauxhall, War Child and Royal Albert Hall.

Exclusive interview with SK Shlomo

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