Nirvana producer Steve Albini dies suddenly at 61 just days before new release as tributes paid to indie music icon
ICONIC music producer Steve Albini, who has worked with beloved artists such as Nirvana and the Pixies, has died at age 61.
Albini, who has been involved in the indie rock scene as both a producer and a performer, died of a heart attack, staff at his recording studio, Electrical Audio, confirmed.
He served as the frontman for underground rock banks such as Shellac and Big Black but was known for being an impressive force in the studio.
Albini recorded Nirvana’s third and final album, In Utero, and the Pixies’ debut album, Surfer Rosa.
Albini continued to work with Nirvana long after the death of their frontman, Kurt Cobain, in 1994, working with the band on several box sets and their self-titled greatest hits album.
“I’m only interested in working on records that legitimately reflect the band’s own perception of their music and existence,” he wrote in a 1992 letter to the band to express his interest on working with them for their third album.
“If you will commit yourselves to that as a tenet of the recording methodology, then I will bust my a** for you.”
Cobain had been a fan of Albini’s work on Surfer Rosa and felt that his style of engineering would be perfect for the band’s anti-corporate image.
“I don’t think [the label] were behind it,” bassist Krist Novoselic told Louder in August 2023.
“But we’d sold enough records to do whatever the hell we wanted.”
In Utero was recorded and mixed in under two weeks with Albini completing his work on the album on February 26, 1993, months ahead of its eventual release on September 21, 1993.
It would become the band members’ favorite album.
Just before Albini’s death, Shellac was gearing up to release their first album since 2014, To All Trains.
The album is scheduled to be released on May 17, however, it’s unclear at this time if it will be delayed.
“Stunned by the death of Steve Albini. Unquestionably a giant of American indie rock, he seemed to be in the midst of a personal & professional renaissance,” wrote music critic Steven Hyden on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“He was always interesting, even when he was maddening. And his drum sound is one of the greatest in recorded music. RIP.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Electrical Audio for comment.
The Haus of Decline podcast wrote on X: “RIP Steve Albini. This is f**king awful. We interacted a few times on here. I am not exaggerating when I say The Breeders’ Pod has the greatest production of any album ever. A true genius. I will miss him terribly.”
Actor Elijah Wood called Albini’s death a “heartbreaking loss of a legend.”
“Love to his family and innumerable colleagues. Farewell, Steve Albini,” read a tweet.
Primavera Sound, where Albini and his band regularly performed wrote: “We have lost a legend, a friend, a member of our family. What are we going to do without you, Steve?”
“After having welcomed them at 15 editions of the festival, it is impossible for us to imagine a Primavera Sound without him, because no band explains us better than Shellac.”