sAlbini, an alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the music landscape through his work with Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey and others, has died. He was 61 years old.
Brian Fox, an engineer at Albini’s studio, Electrical Audio Recording, said Wednesday that Albini died after a heart attack Tuesday night.
In addition to his work on canonized rock albums such as Nirvana’s “In Utero”, the Pixies’ “Surfer Rosa” and PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me”, Albini was the lead singer of the underground bands Big Black and Shellac.
He rejected the term “producer,” refused to receive royalties from the albums he worked on, and requested that he be credited with “Recorded by Steve Albini,” a legendary label for the albums he worked on.
At the time of his death, Albini’s band Shellac was preparing to tour their first album in a decade, “To All Trains,” which will be released next week. Other artists whose music has been shaped by Albini include Joanna Newsom’s indie-folk opus “Ys” and releases by bands such as Breeders, Jesus Lizard, Hum, Superchunk, Low and Mogwai.
Albini was born in California, raised in Montana, and fell in love with Chicago’s DIY punk music scene while studying journalism at Northwestern University.
As a teenager, he played in punk bands, and in college he wrote about music for the prescient indie zine “Forced Exposure.” While attending Northwestern in the early ’80s, he founded the abrasive and noisy post-punk band Big Black, known for its biting riffs, violent and taboo lyrics, and electronic drums in place of a live drummer. It was a controversial innovation for the time, from a man whose career would be defined by risky choices. The band’s best-known song, the ugly, explosive six-minute “Kerosene” from their cult-favorite 1986 album “Atomizer,” is ideal proof — and not for the faint of heart.
Then came the short-lived band Rapeman – one of two groups Albini fronted with indefensibly offensive names and vulgar song titles. In the early ’90s, he formed Shellac, the fierce, distorted noise-rock band – an evolution of Big Black, but still punctuated by pummeling guitar tones and aggressive vocals.
In 1997, Albini opened his famous studio, Electrical Audio, in Chicago.
“The recording part is the part that matters to me – that I’m making a document that records a piece of our culture, the life’s work of the musicians who are hiring me,” Albini told The Guardian last year when asked about some of the well-known and loved albums he recorded. “I take that part very seriously. I want the music to outlive us all.”
Albini was a larger-than-life figure on the independent rock music scene, known for his forward-thinking productions, unapologetic irreverence, acerbic sense of humor, and critiques of the music industry’s exploitative practices – as detailed in his landmark 1993 essay, “The Problem with music” – as much as his talents.
Later in life he became a noted poker player and apologized for his past indiscretions.
“Ugh, man, such a heartbreaking loss of a legend. Love to your family and countless colleagues,” wrote actor Elijah Wood in X. “Goodbye, Steve Albini.”
Author Michael Azerrad, who included a chapter on Big Black in his comprehensive history, “Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991,” also posted on X.
“I don’t know what to say about Steve Albini’s passing,” Azerrad wrote. “He had a brilliant mind, was a great artist and underwent the most remarkable and inspiring personal transformation. I can’t believe he is gone.”
Albini is survived by his wife, Heather Whinna, a filmmaker.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
