Steve Albini, the exacting producer/engineer and frontman of the noisesome indie rock bands Shellac and Huge Black, has died. He was 61.
In line with a workers member at Albini’s Electrical Audio Recordings studio in Chicago, Albini died of a coronary heart assault on Tuesday night time.
Although he disdained the time period “producer,” preferring “engineer” as an alternative, Albini stated in a 2018 interview that he labored on greater than 2,000 albums, principally for underground or indie bands, but in addition notably on tasks by two of crucial and influential bands of the late Nineteen Eighties and early Nineties.
Along with recording Nirvana’s remaining full studio album, 1993’s In Utero, he additionally labored on the beloved 1988 album Surfer Rosa by considered one of late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain’s favourite bands, the Pixies. Continuously toggling amongst albums by A-list main label acts (PJ Harvey’s lashing 1993 album Rid of Me, Bush’s Razorblade Suitcase) and beloved indie bands from his native Chicago (Urge Overkill, The Jesus Lizard, Tar), Albini was additionally a prolific musician in his personal proper with a collection of hardcore and noise bands, together with Huge Black, Rapeman and Shellac.
Born in Pasadena on July 22, 1962, Albini positioned himself as a staunch outsider within the mainstream music business, which he thought of exploitative, refusing to just accept the normal producer royalties for any of the albums he recorded at his Chicago studio.
Shellac had been poised to launch its first album in a decade, To All Trains, subsequent week, and had booked a collection of exhibits in England in June, adopted by a run of U.S. dates in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles in July.
Typically engaged on dozens of albums a yr, Albini saved up his torrid tempo just lately, reteaming with frequent collaborator folks singer Nina Nastasia in 2022 in addition to engaged on albums by Black Midi, Spare Snare, Liturgy and Code Orange the previous two years.
This story first appeared on Billboard.com.
