Steve Albini, a legendary producer and performer in indie rock, died on Tuesday from a heart attack. He was 61.
The recording studio veteran operated the Chicago Electrical Studio and engineered hits like Nirvana's 'In Utero' and the Pixies' 'Surfer Rosa' until his final years.
Staff members at Albini's studio, which he established in 1997, confirmed the respected rock musician's death from a heart attack to several media outlets. His wife, filmmaker Heather Whinna, survives him.
Albini, who favored the title "recording engineer" over "producer," was born in Pasadena, California, and later raised in Missoula, Montana. As a teenager, he performed in punk bands in his hometown before relocating to Chicago in the late 1970s to attend Northwestern University.
He earned a degree in journalism and started writing about Chicago's up-and-coming punk scene, where he was a fixture for pushing the frontiers of alternative music and post-punk.
Furthermore, he became well-known in the early 1980s as the lead singer of the Chicago-based group Big Black, which featured several EPs featuring the band's abrasive signature guitar sound.
The band, composed of bassist Jeff Pezzati and guitarist Santiago Durango, published their first album, 'Atomizer,' in 1986. They broke up a year after their second album, 'Songs About F---ing.'
"The band had persisted in making this hideous music and proven that if you have a valid set of working principles, you can do it on your terms and never have to kiss anybody's ass," he said.
Albini, who often collaborates on dozens of albums yearly, has continued to work intensely lately. In addition to working on albums by Black Midi, Spare Snare, Liturgy, and Code Orange over the last two years, he reteamed with frequent collaborator folk singer Nina Nastasia in 2022.
