Steve Albini, legendary producer of Nirvana, dies at 61 while working in his studio – El Financiero

“My goal is to make records that kick ass,” Steve Albini used to say. The Nirvana producer and American musician died at the age of 61 while at his Electronic Audio recording studio in Chicago, United States.

Albini was considered a pioneer of sound and indie-rock, leader of Big Black and Shellac and recording engineer for Nirvana and PJ Harvey.

With Nirvana, the band founded by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, he worked on the album In Utero (1993), the group’s third and last, which contains hits such as ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ and ‘Pennyroyal Tea’.

What did Steve Albini die from?

Taylor Hales, an employee at Albini’s recording studio, confirmed to Variety and other American media that the cause of the producer’s death was a heart attack.

His death occurs just a week before the release of his band Shellac’s first album in ten years, titled To All Trains, scheduled for May 17.

Who was Steve Albini?

Steve Albini was born in California in 1962, studied journalism in Chicago and at that time entered the city’s underground music scene.

His fame as a musician began in the early 80s, as the leader of Big Black, he also fronted the underground rock band Shellac.

American producer Steve Albini during a conversation at the International Music Festival (FIM), at the Santander Performing Arts Ensemble in Guadalajara (Mexico). (Photo: EFE/ Francisco Guasco).

His title of ‘legend’ was earned mainly for producing iconic albums in rock history such as Surfer Rosa (1988) by the Pixies, considered one of the most influential rock albums in history.

Albini’s style was characterized by its experimental and lo-fi sound, he was one of the biggest inspirations for Kurt Cobain in the creation of Nevermind (1991).

That was also one of the reasons why he signed the producer on his next studio project, In Utero, which with its harsh sound ranked as the number 1 album on the Billboard 200 list.

Steve Albini worked with Nirvana, band of Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain. (AP)

Among his famous albums are:

• In Utero
• Rid of Me’, de PJ Harvey
• Walking Into Clarksdale, by former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

He also collaborated with artists such as The Breeders, The Jesus Lizard and Mclusky, among others.

According to Variety, Albini did not like the term “producer” and insisted that the credit “Recorded by Steve Albini” appear; Furthermore, he refused to receive “points” (the copyright bonus) from the recordings on which he worked.

With information from EFE.