London, UK (July 5, 2023)—Award-winning Irish mixer, engineer and producer Steve Fitzmaurice changed monitor brands after reconnecting with David Odlum, now Sam Smith’s MD, with whom he previously worked in the 1990s.
Fitzmaurice worked with Dublin-based rock band The Frames in the mid-1990s, and David Odlum, guitarist with The Frames, first brought Amphion monitors to Fitzmaurice’s attention. Now Odlum is a producer and engineer and currently musical director for Sam Smith, with whom Fitzmaurice has worked since their debut album in 2013.
“During lockdown, we did a live stream from Abbey Road Studios for Sam,” Fitzmaurice recalls. “I was mixing, and Dave was going on about the Amphions, so I got a pair of One18s to try,” as an alternative to his usual monitors. “At first, I found myself using them occasionally and then more and more.”
He was happy with the results but still unsure, he says, so Odlum suggested that he try Amphion’s Two18 speakers. “I kept them for two or three weeks and the same thing happened — I was using my other monitors less and less. I ended up buying a pair of Two18s, and now they’re my primary speakers.” Fitzmaurice has since expanded his stereo monitor setup with additional speakers from Finnish manufacturer Amphion to enable him to also mix in Dolby Atmos.
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Fitzmaurice, who is based at Pierce Entertainment’s London studios, has worked with a long list of artists, including Seal, Tina Turner, Tasmin Archer, Jodeci, Ian Brown, U2, Depeche Mode, Hikaru Utada, Smith and many others. He has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards, winning five for projects with Smith, Seal and U2, also working on various Oscar, Golden Globe and Brit Award-winning productions.
Fitzmaurice has a simple philosophy when it comes to mixing. “I like clarity, low-end and dynamics; I don’t really like clutter. My most used piece of equipment is probably the mute button! These days, it’s a constant battle to make loud, competitive records — we’re in a world where you have to EQ and compress everything — but I try and keep some sense of clarity, bottom end and dynamics while also trying to keep everything as natural as I can.”
His Amphion monitors have certainly helped him achieve those goals. “I think that they’re pretty natural-sounding, with clarity in the mid-range, especially, and the top end. But they’re not bland and boring. When you turn them up for clients, they’ve still got a bit of vibe.”
