Behind the Scenes at FLO with Fabrice Lemuel
When it comes to live sound, precision, reliability and trust are everything. Monitor engineer Fabrice Lemuel knows this as well as anyone: as part of the audio team for UK girl-group FLO, every show is high-stakes, and nothing can be left to chance.
Delivering great sound to the audience is only part of the job – performers and crew need the same clarity to do their best work. That’s why the audio has to be reliable at every point in the production.
We caught up backstage with Fabrice and Musical Director Producer Wez for FLO’s show at Somerset House in London, who were kind enough to give us a run-through of some of the audio equipment they use to bring FLO’s tour to life.
A Musical Journey
“I’m a church boy at heart, I love my gospel music,” Fabrice says during a break in soundcheck. “I fell in love with music at a very young age. Originally trying to play the bass guitar – my step Dad even took it upon himself to learn it as well, so he could teach me. I’ve crossed paths with various music elements over time – as a DJ, and also as a primary school music teacher. These days I’m an Audio Consultant and Production Manager, which in this case includes running monitors for FLO.”
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Fabrice’s list of tour credits includes the likes of Emeli Sandé, Tinie Tempah, Nicole Scherzinger and Wizkid – including Wizkid’s ‘Day In The Live’ for YouTube Originals, a live broadcast during lockdown, which Fabrice cites as a personal highlight.
Whilst he always had a love for music, it was a meeting with another live sound professional that launched his own career into live music.
“Similarly to the script of Wolf of Wall Street, I met Raphael Williams (engineer for Stormzy) at church,” Fabrice recalls of his first steps into live audio. “I simply said to him that I’d love to do what he does. He took my number, and six months to a year later I got a call from him inviting me down to the warehouse. Then he asked me if I wanted to go on tour, to which I said ‘yes…’. And the rest is history.”
The Art of Live Sound
For Fabrice, live sound is as much about the people as it is about the gear – trust, communication and reliability are all essential.
“From a monitors point of view, it’s about having good interpersonal skills,” he says. “And a level of trust with the guys on and off the stage. That way, you can give them all what they require, effectively and efficiently.
“I love creating the journey,” he says of his favourite thing about his job. “From choosing the gear, building the infrastructure, and deciding with the artist and musical directors how the shows will go, including sonically from a Front Of House perspective. There’s nothing that comes close to letting the sound pressure fill the room, no matter how many times you’ve done this before.”
Fabrice’s RME Monitor Setup
Gear Overview:
- RME MADIface XT II & MADIface USB – Recording shows and running virtual playback; AES outputs for FOH or MON; multiple MADI connections for wide compatibility
When it comes to his choice of interface, Fabrice is a fan of RME MADI devices.
“I’ve found it to be super reliable,” he says. “It goes without saying to take care of your gear, but the RME kit has never failed. It’s also simple to set up and record. My favourite thing is probably having the different types of MADI connections, which enables me to connect easily to most other setups I come across.”
“I’m using it to record everything – comms, timecode, their ears mixes, and all the channels. So if anyone has an issue we can always go through it. When we come to doing soundcheck, afterwards I might make some adjustments. Sometimes I use virtual soundcheck with the girls to check their mixes, basically make sure everyone is happy and comfortable.”
“I’m actually not using TotalMix FX a great deal, or to its fullest potential at least,” he says of RME’s software mixer, which runs on the DSP of RME interfaces. “But it has come in useful for re-routing TimeCode to different places in bigger setups. My main reason for using RME though is the reliability – the build quality of the products is really high. They’re extremely well-built.”
“Obviously like anything if you don’t take care of it it’ll get damaged. But otherwise they just don’t break. And the sound is sonically the best sound you can get from an interface – AD conversion, DA conversion. Whatever you need, the RME kit is at the top of the line.”
To finish off, we asked Fabrice whether he has any words of wisdom for other aspiring sound engineers. His advice?
“Be before-time,” he says, “not on-time, because then you’re late. Also be nice, be respectful, be reliable and stay consistent. And then learn your craft – learn the gear, study, always keep learning. Find a mentor if you can, and glean from them good practices etc. Then you should be able to get as far as you want to go.”
Producer Wez’s Playback Rig
While Fabrice handles monitors, Producer Wez (Musical Director) manages the playback rig on the FLO tour. His setup combines Ableton, AbleSet, DirectOut, Ferrofish, iConnectivity and a DiGiCo OrangeBox, designed for redundancy and complete control.
“I’m using Ableton with AbleSet, so I’ve got the A and the B laptop, and AbleSet locks them both together,” Wez tells us.
“The girls’ music is very intricate, and the keys change a lot, so throughout the songs we have a lot of automation going. I’m running timecode – that handles the lights and any video aspects that we’ve got.”
The shows run on a mixture of MADI – a 64-channel, ‘point to point’ method of digitally transmitting audio – and Dante, Audinate’s popular AoIP format.
“I trigger all the tracks from the B laptop using AbleSet, and then we go into the (DirectOut) EXBOX,” continues Wez. “From the EXBOX we’re out into the Ferrofish A32pro Dante. From there, we come out Dante into the DiGiCo OrangeBox.”
As is standard for larger tours, Wez’s rig features an A and B setup, which allows for switching between a primary and backup rig if a fault occurs. This happens automatically via the DirectOut EXBOX.MD, a Dante and MADI switcher that’s perfect for live touring: if a fault does occur, the artist and crew never lose a show, and the switchover is so fast that the audience won’t even notice.
“I also have the option of analogue outs as a backup,” Wez pointing to the Ferrofish A32pro Dante, a 32in/32out converter with front panel metering, which connects to other devices via MADI or Dante. “Just to make sure we’re totally covered no matter what happens. If we have any network issues, I’ve got the analogues ready to go. I can see it metering, and I like having the visual there to actually see exactly what’s going on.
“We have the iConnectivity in case I’m using a iPad,” finishes Wez to conclude his rig tour. “But with AbleSet I kind of keep it all in the box really.”
Key Gear Highlights / Workflow:
- DirectOut ExBox.MD – Dante/MADI switcher with automatic backup switching via pilot tone
- Ferrofish A32Pro Dante – High-channel-count AD/DA conversion via MADI & Dante
- iConnectivity MioXM – iPad/MIDI integration
- Ableton + AbleSet – Dual-laptop playback, automation, and timecode control
This setup ensures zero downtime and full control, even in complex, networked live shows.
Massive thanks to Fabrice Lemuel, Producer Wez and everyone at FLO! To find out where the band is playing next and check out their latest release head to the official FLO website.
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Why Synthax Live Sound Solutions?
Fabrice and Wez’s setups highlight the versatility of the Live Sound Solutions we supply, combining RME, Ferrofish, iConnectivity, and DirectOut into rigs that professional engineers can rely on for touring or playback systems.
If you’re a live engineer looking to design a professional, reliable rig, Synthax can help you tailor the setup to your workflow, ensuring every show runs smoothly and sounds exceptional.
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