Sam Fishkin

Starting behind the microphone as a radio DJ, Sam Fishkin quickly found it more interesting to work with musicians creating albums rather than just spinning them. Sam took any way he could to get to the world that fascinated him; he invited bands to interview on his late night show, broadcast live concerts, mixed sound at clubs all over the city, toured the states in an ol’ Econline van and, eventually, landed in a recording studio. That versatility in sound has allowed Sam to work in music and audio for film, television, radio, and advertising in almost every role, with the credentials to prove it.

There’s no genre Sam hasn’t heard and worked on.

Dozens of albums, two Emmy’s, a pile of films, podcasts, and countless TV shows later,he has racked up credits mixing performances by Jennifer Hudson, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Styx, Mumford & Sons, and Childish Gambino. He’s recorded legendary blues artists Koko Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Tinsley Ellis, Lonnie Brooks, and John Lee Hooker.

Film work includes the Eastland: Chicago’s Deadliest Day by Harvey Moshman, winner of the 2020 Chicago/Midwest EMMY for Outstanding Audio, critically acclaimed Punch 9 for Harold Washington by Joe Winston, Head Games directed by Oscar nominee Steve James (Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters), and Allegory of the Cave by director Sandro Miller and starring John Malkovich.

Television series work includes the WTTW-PBS series Chicago Stories, and Geoffrey Baer’s Chicago Mysteries, ten seasons of CNBC’s American Greed, and the PBS special Live from the Harris Theater Adrian Dunn’s Emancipation which won the 2023 Chicago/Midwest EMMY for Outstanding Audio.

In 2006, Sam co-founded Mix Kitchen, in its current Streeterville location. “I work with somany different artists and producers, on so many different kinds of audio and music.” says Fishkin. “The studio is a flexible and creative space, I can jump from a VO recording to surround film mixing to tracking a band all in the same day.”

A New Jersey native, Sam graduated from Northwestern University with a major in Radio, TV & Film. He is a member of the Audio Engineering Society, EARS (Chicago), NARAS, and is past-president of the board of The Actors Gymnasium Circus Theater in
Evanston, IL.