Steve Levine
Grammy & Brit Award-Winning Producer & Engineer
Culture Club, The Beach Boys, Deniece Williams, The Clash
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The Story
Steve Levine is a legendary British record producer who helped define the 1980s pop sound through pioneering digital recording techniques, Synclavier synthesis, and iconic production arrangements. From crafting multi-platinum hits like "Karma Chameleon" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" for Culture Club to blending pristine vocal harmonies with modern production on The Beach Boys' self-titled 1985 album, Steve’s signature work spans genre-defining collaborations with The Clash, Motörhead, Gary Moore, XTC, Mis-Teeq, China Crisis, and Ziggy Marley.
Today, Steve operates out of his personal recording facility in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle, where he also runs Baltic Jazz Recordings, a label focused on neo-soul, jazz, and soul-psychedelia.
In a high-stakes hybrid environment combining vintage analogue gear with state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, Steve requires absolute playback accuracy, ultra-low noise, and zero fatigue during marathon sessions.
To maintain total confidence in every tracking, mixing, and mastering decision, Steve relies on a complete ecosystem of iFi audio's flagship reference systems and SilentPower's signal and power isolation technologies.
Precision D/A Conversion & Unrivalled Clarity
At the centre of Steve's setup sits the flagship iDSD Phantom alongside the ultra-resolving iDSD Valkyrie. The Phantom serves as a surgical reference tool in his control room, revealing the raw truth of every signal fed into it.
“The sonic clarity of the iDSD Phantom is really a mix engineer’s dream, every detail of the recording is heard with amazing fidelity.”
Dual-Sonic Character & Immersion
A key component of Steve's monitoring workflow is the ability to evaluate tracks through different sonic signatures without altering his physical signal chain.
The Phantom's selectable solid-state and tube modes allow him to shift effortlessly from critical technical analysis to deep artistic listening.
“The tube circuit brings a new dimension to your listening pleasure, you can fully immerse yourself in the track.”
Mix Translation & Depth of Field
For a producer working across genres ranging from intricate jazz arrangements to heavy rock, precise spatial placement and frequency balance are essential.
By pairing iFi's reference D/A conversion with SilentPower's noise-elimination ecosystem including the LAN iPurifier Pro, Pulsar USB, iPower X, and GND Defender, Steve achieves an extraordinarily quiet noise floor and an accurate 3D soundstage.
“The overall balance of my final mixes is even better thanks to the iDSD Phantom's unrivalled clarity and depth of field.”
