Karl Thomas, better known as ShockOne, is an Australian electronic music producer and DJ who was born in 1982. He was born in Esperance, Western Australia, but currently lives in Perth. He has been releasing music as ShockOne since 2005 and is recognized for creating a broad range of dance genres such as drum and bass, dubstep, drumstep, and electro house.
ShockOne’s music career started in high school, when he met and joined a metal band (named Xygen) with Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen (the two who would later become Pendulum and finally Knife Party) and Jay Burns. After Pendulum began in the early 2000s, Xygen ended, and Karl Thomas began producing electronic music under the moniker ShockOne.
ShockOne produced many songs and remixes between 2005 and 2009, establishing himself in the global drum and bass scene. In 2009, he published his first self-titled EP, which included the drum and bass smash “Polygon” and the dubstep single “Adachigahara’s Theme,” among other tracks. In 2010, the Re-Fix EP was published, which included VIPs and remixes of tracks from the ShockOne EP.
In 2010, Thomas revealed that he will begin work on his full-length first album, Universus. The album’s first single, “Crucify Me,” was released in June 2011. It was a two-part drum and bass/dubstep piece with his own vocals, including friend and fellow producer Phetsta. “Relapse,” a dubstep tune featuring Sam Nafie’s vocals, was released as the band’s second single in December 2011. The third single, “Chaos Theory,” was released in October 2012 and is a drumstep/dubstep track that has received a lot of attention in Australia, the United Kingdom, and all around the globe. “Lazerbeam,” a drum and bass tune with extra production by Metrik and vocals by Kyza, was the fourth single taken from Universus.
Universus was released on April 26, 2013 in Australia and on April 29, 2013 in the rest of the globe. On the first day of release, the album was the overall number one album in Australia. It includes 14 tracks in dance genres such as drum and bass, electro house, and dubstep. Collaborations include Phetsta, Reija Lee (ShockOne’s sister), Metrik, Kyza, and Sam Nafie.
Thomas returned to Perth in 2014 to establish a new home studio before beginning production on his EP, In This Light, which was released on May 6, 2016. To promote the EP and re-introduce himself to the market, Thomas debuted the EP’s track “City Lock” on triple j Goodnights on February 2, 2016, and announced a countrywide tour.
Meanwhile, Thomas continues to compose remixes for a variety of artists, including Netsky, Chicane, Ayah Marar, The Aston Shuffle, and the Brookes Brothers. ShockOne’s second full-length album, A Dark Machine, was released on August 1, 2019. The following month, he began a countrywide tour to promote the record.
Sponsor
