Steve Albini, an iconic figure in the American alternative music landscape, has tragically passed away at age 61 due to a heart attack. His death was confirmed by employees at his recording studio, Electrical Audio. Albini played various roles such as vocalist, guitarist, and producer, and was a driving force behind several revered albums. He contributed significantly to several bands, notably Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac, challenging the norms of post-punk and art-rock.
He was also known for his engineering work on albums created by renowned artists like Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey, and the collaboration between Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Always staying true to his punk ethos, Albini resisted mainstream streaming platforms, and opposed the notion of earning royalties from the works he produced.
Born in 1962 in California, Albini found his musical roots in the punk movement, deeply influenced by bands such as Ramones, Devo, and Pere Ubu. Pursuing journalism studies, he relocated to Chicago suburbs, where he became entwined in the city’s vibrant underground music scene, participating in zines and working at Ruthless Records, a punk label.
His own musical journey embarked with the formation of Big Black, which evolved from a solo gig to a foursome. The band launched their first album ‘Atomizer’ in 1986, and their second release ‘Songs About F*cking’ gained substantial recognition in the 80s US punk scene, even impressing Robert Plant, who later invited Albini to produce his album with Jimmy Page, titled ‘Walking Into Clarksdale’.
Despite the success, the band dissolved prior to the release of ‘Songs About F*cking’, as Albini favoured cessation over the band becoming a “gross rock spectacle”. Following this, he founded Rapeman in 1987, which was arguably the epitome of his desire to question and challenge norms, though he later conceded that the band’s name was a misjudgement, deeming it “flippant”.
Taking care to avoid shifting from one band to another, Albini expressed his wish for a long-standing band, which he successfully created. Established in 1992, Shellac emerged as a unique force in the American art-rock domain, producing an austere yet rhythmically engaging sound marked by the powerful collaboration between Albini, drummer Todd Trainer, and bassist Bob Weston. The band launched five albums, with To All Trains set for release next week.
In parallel to producing his own tracks, Albini honed his expertise at the mixing console. An important initial credit was Surfer Rosa, the Pixies’ first album in 1988. This led to several more as the grunge movement took off in the early 1990s, featuring bands such as the Jesus Lizard, Tad, the Breeders, and others. Albini played a significant role in shaping PJ Harvey’s stark sound in Rid Of Me in 1993, and perhaps his most remarkable credit in that year was Nirvana’s notoriously austere album, In Utero, which was the sequel to Nevermind.
Musicians admired Albini for his straightforward style, which prioritised the artist’s vision over a specific production style. He also showed a strong preference for analogue methodologies, bluntly rejecting digital technology in the liner notes to Songs About Fucking.
His successful career enabled him to launch Electrical Audio in 1995, and his name can be found in the credits for a variety of pivotal American indie acts, which extended far beyond the noisy genre he was typically associated with, including Joanna Newsom, Low, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. UK artists like Manic Street Preachers, Mogwai and Jarvis Cocker also sought after his expertise.
Actor Elijah Wood, along with many other notable figures, paid homage to Albini, describing his passing as the “heart-wrenching demise of a legend”. – Guardian