Steve Albini has died. Famous frontman and producer, central figure of the global indie and alternative scene, has passed away at the age of 61 due to a heart attack. The news, as reported by Pitchfork, came from the staff of his Electronic Audio recording studio.
Steve Albini, real name Steven Frank Albini (Pasadena, July 22, 1962 – Chicago, May 8, 2024), was a singer, guitarist, record producer, sound engineer and music critic. Besides that frontman of historic alternative rock groups such as Shellac, Rapeman and Big Black, Albini also produced some of the albums that have made the history of rock in the last 40 years, including “In Utero” by Nirvana (here is our in-depth analysis of that historic collaboration ), “Surfer Rosa” by the Pixies and “Rid Of Me” by PJ Harvey. He is also the founder of the company Electrical Audio, which operates with two recording studios in Chicago and over the years has established itself as one of the most important realities of independent rock.
Born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Montana, he moved to Chicago as a young man, where he still lives today. Rose to prominence in the early eighties as frontman by Big Black (the Chicago trio known for aggressive guitar-based rock that used a drum machines rather than a real drummer), had reached the pinnacle of fame after producing “In Utero”, helping Kurt Cobain identify the sound he wanted to give to his band after what had been recorded on the previous album, “Nevermind “, had not satisfied him. Albini was known for giving the records he produced a sound that was very faithful to what the bands had in live concerts, interfering little in the artistic process. In fact, he liked to be called engineer rather than producer and, throughout his career, he has continued to openly criticize the music industry's exploitative practices. He insisted on credit for “Recorded by Steve Albini” but refused royalties of the recordings he made, a common financial bonus for most producers. Even in his later years, Albini consistently accepted production gigs, refusing to pay for them royalties as a sign of support for its indie artists.
With his Shellac he was preparing the presentation tour of the new album “To All Trains”, out next week, Friday 17 May.
Below is the video in which Steve Albini talked about his conditions for the collaboration with Nirvana for “In Utero”.
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
