Producer and engineer Steve Albini, who recorded Nirvana and the Pixies, has died at the age of 61

CHICAGO (TND) — Steve Albini, the idiosyncratic producer and engineer who recorded era-defining ’90s alternative rock albums by Nirvana, the Pixies and PJ Harvey, among others, has died. He was 61 years old.

Albini, who also performed as a punk rock musician in the noise and post-punk bands Big Black, which he fronted, and Shellac, died of a heart attack, staff at his recording studio, Electric Audio, confirmed to Pitchfork.

In addition to running the state-of-the-art studio Electric Audio in Chicago, at affordable prices for many independent musicians, Albini also had unique business practices in the music industry, refusing to charge royalties on artists’ recordings, as is common for engineers and producers.

“The session I did with Nirvana was on essentially the same terms as I would do with any band, then or now: we’ll figure out how much it’s worth to do the session, you pay me, and Bob is your uncle,” Albini explained in a 2014 documentary.

Within the music industry, my business practices are somewhat unusual. Normally bands pay a royalty to the producer or engineer… from an ethical point of view I think it’s an untenable position for me to say to a band, ‘I’m going to work for you for a few weeks and then you’re going to pay me the rest pay tribute to your damn life.

Albini’s model – which he likened to building a house, and not charging homeowners for its construction for years – and his ear for a raw yet refined way of presenting the bands on recordings made him a of the most prolific and sought-after producers of the 1990s.

His work as an engineer on the Pixies album ‘Surfer Rosa’ put him on the map with many, but his signature on Nirvana’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ would make him a household name in the alternative music wave of the 1990s. He would go on to form long-term partnerships with groups such as The Jesus Lizard and Pixies, while also working with popular bands of the era such as Bush, as well as collaborating with icons of the Chicago and Midwest rock world such as Cheap Trick and The Stooges.

His sudden death sent waves of sadness and shock through the music landscape.

“He was undoubtedly a giant of American indie rock and seemed to be in the midst of a personal and professional renaissance,” music critic Steven Hyden wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “He was always interesting, even when he was going crazy. And his drum sound is one of the best in recorded music”

“Steve Albini has done more in his 61 years on earth to shape music as we know it than most people could ever dream of doing in several lifetimes,” said musician and indie label runner Max Allison. wrote. “norms we take for granted have now entered the culture through his mind and hands. He taught generations how to make art your life’s work.”