Nirvana, Pixies, The Breeders producer Steve Albini has died aged 61

Hugely influential musician and alternative rock engineer Steve Albini has died aged 61.

He died of a heart attack at his recording studio in Chicago on Tuesday, Electrical Audio officials told Pitchfork. Albini is best known for his work as a producer on monumental albums including Nirvana’s In Utero, The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and The Breeders’ Pod.

In addition to his producing work, Albini has performed as a musician in bands such as Big Black and Shellac, with the latter planning a tour in support of their new album To All Trains. It will be released on May 17th and will be the band’s first new album in a decade. The release will not be available on streaming platforms, as Albini has been critical of platforms such as Spotify in recent years.

Albini famously said he considered himself more of an engineer who recorded music than a record producer. His contributions to the indie rock movement also include Urge Overkill’s “Jesus Urge Overkill” and PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me.”

The Pixies posted a photo of Albini on social media to mark his death. He worked with the alternative rock favorites on some of their biggest hits, including “Bone Machine,” “Gigantic” and “Where’s My Mind.”

Albini pointed in 2022 that he might be interested in collaborating with Dolly Parton, who released her first rock ‘n’ roll album in November.

“Dolly Parton, do you like analogue recordings?” he posted on social media as the 78-year-old country star hinted at her interest in crossing over into the rock genre.

As the 1980s turned into the 1990s, Albini’s raw, hard, edgy and loud analog production defined an era of rock music that brought the underground into the mainstream.

He was notoriously critical of the music industry. Albini wrote about some of these issues in a 1993 essay entitled “The Problem with Music.”

“Now all rock bands are smart enough to be suspicious of the scum of the music industry,” Albini wrote. “Make no mistake: once a band signs a letter of intent, they will either eventually sign a deal that suits the label or they will be destroyed.”

Albini became a fixture in the Chicago music scene after founding Electric Audio in 1997. Dozens of acts have recorded there, including Bob Mould, Wire, Blues Traveler and Chicago bands Zwan and No Empathy.