Renowned music engineer Steve Albini, who produced seminal albums for Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and Pixies, has passed away at the age of 61. The cause of death was a heart attack, his staff confirmed to Pitchfork.
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Albini pursued a journalism degree at Northwestern University. He emerged as a central figure in the Chicago punk rock scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s, marking his beginnings both as a performer in multiple bands and as an engineer for an array of albums.
Steve Albini’s unique stance and influential work on the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa captivated Kurt Cobain, leading Nirvana to collaborate with Albini on their 1993 album In Utero. Though not as radio-friendly as Nirvana’s breakthrough 1991 juggernaut Nevermind, Albini’s collaboration with the punk trio has earned favor in the passing decades.
Albini collaborated with a range of acts including the Breeders, Slint, Helmet, the Jesus Lizard, Jon Spencer, and the Dirty Three. He also teamed up with former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant for their 1998 album, Walking Into Clarksdale.
In the early 1990s, Albini established the band Shellac, which has since released five studio albums. Their latest album, To All Trains, is set to debut next week.
Fans Flood Social Media to Pay Tribute to Steve Albini
As news of Steve Albini’s sudden passing spread, music fans took to social media to pay tribute to the indie scene legend.
“Hard not to acknowledge what a giant musical force he was. The George Martin of Grunge. If he’s not already in the @RockHall of Fame in Cleveland, he should be immediately,” a fan wrote on X.
“Ugh man, a heartbreaking loss of a legend,” actor and filmmaker Elijah Wood wrote. “Love to his family and innumerable colleagues. Farewell, Steve Albini.”
“As a kid, I learned Steve Albini’s name because he was the connecting thread between the most intense, uncompromising, urgent-sounding albums I had ever heard. Nobody else made drums sound like that,” another fan wrote.
“The great Steve Albini has died. He engineered some of the greatest albums of all time,” comedian and podcaster Marc Maron tweeted. He linked a 2015 interview he did with Albini before adding, “Rest in heavy peace, Steve.”
In his later years, Albini established a routine professional life in Chicago, collaborating with a wide range of artists who sought him out. He also continued to tour and release albums with Shellac.
However, he also surprisingly became a highly successful professional poker player. In 2018, Albini clinched a World Series of Poker gold bracelet, taking home a prize exceeding $105,000. He nearly doubled this amount with another victory four years later.
Shellac’s new album, To All Trains, drops May 17th.