Steve Albini, key figure of alternative rock and producer of Nirvana, dies at 61 | Culture

Shellac will not perform this year, as it has done in up to fifteen editions, at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. Its leader, Steve Albini, has died at the age of 61 due to a heart attack, according to several music media. It was already a tradition for Albini to take the stage at the festival, even chaining two concerts in some edition. But beyond Shellac and other bands in which he was a member, Albini will be remembered as a key figure in American alternative rock due to his role as a producer.

“My goal is to record albums that kick ass.” That was Steve Albini’s motto and he carried it out working with a good part of American alternative rock from the eighties and nineties, with productions for essential albums from those years such as In Utero, from Nirvana; Pink Surfer, of the Pixies, or Rid of Me, by PJ Harvey.

For 24 hours the Primavera Sound page will show an image of Albini and two years: 1962-2024. You will not be able to buy tickets for the imminent edition or check other types of information. Only the image of the musician who has performed the most times at the festival. “We are devastated. It has been a surprise. Albini is like family. He knew a lot about music, but he was also a fan. It was common to find him watching other groups in the audience,” Joan Pons, press officer for the festival, told this newspaper.

Steve Albini was born in Pasadena, California, in 1962, and spent his adolescence in Missoula, Montana, where he became fond of bands such as the New York Dolls, Ramones and the Sex Pistols. Already in Chicago, he studied journalism and began collaborating with punk publications, in addition to helping in recording studios. His first serious band was Big Black, a steamroller that already made clear the sound Albini was looking for: dry, sharp, basic. His first work as a producer that brought him fame was the debut of the Pixies, Pink Surfer, in 1988. Albini’s style consisted of leaving rock to the bones, removing layers and getting to the essence. That’s what Nirvana was looking for in 1993 for their album. In Utero, and that’s why they claimed Albini. Working with Kurt Cobain’s band was not relaxed. Albini, a guy who hated most things surrounding the music industry, had to see how many people outside the band had their opinions and wanted to point a way. He, stubborn, did not give in. “If an album takes more than a week to record, someone is screwing up,” he said.

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