Steve Albini died of a heart attack at the age of 61 and Nirvana shared his four-page proposal to them.
Albini passed away at his recording studio in Chicago, called Electronic Audio. The studio’s staff confirmed his death. Albini led underground bands like Shellac, Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour. He was famous for producing albums like Nirvana’s ‘In Utero,’ Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa,’ PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid of Me,’ Manic Street Preachers’ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers,’ and others.
What Did Albini Say In His Letter?
Following his death, Nirvana took to X and revealed Albini’s letter where he explained his musical approach and how he intended to record ‘In Utero.’ In his letter, the late producer said that if a record takes more than a week to make, then someone’s messing up. Albini added:
“I think the very best thing you could do at this point is exactly what you are talking about doing: bang a record out in a couple of days, with high quality but minimal ‘production’ and no interference from the front office bullet heads. If that is indeed what you want to do, I would love to be involved.”
He continued:
“If, instead, you might find yourselves in the position of being temporarily indulged by the record company, only to have them yank the chain at some point (hassling you to rework songs/sequences/production, calling-in hired guns to ‘sweeten’ your record, turning the whole thing over to some remix jockey, whatever…) then you’re in for a bummer and I want no part of it.”
Steve Cared About The Band’s Creativity
Albini explained how he records music:
“I consider the band the most important thing, as the creative entity that spawned both the band’s personality and style and as the social entity that exists 24 hours out of each day. I do not consider it my place to tell you what to do or how to play. I’m quite willing to let my opinions be heard (if I think the band is making beautiful progress or a heaving mistake, I consider it part of my job to tell them) but if the band decides to pursue something, I’ll see that it gets done.”
In the rest of his letter, Albini also stated that he didn’t want any royalties for producing and mixing the album. He thought it was unfair for producers or engineers to receive royalties when it’s the band who creates the music and the fans who buy the records. He preferred to be paid a flat fee for his work.
You can see Nirvana’s tweet below.
Steve Albini. pic.twitter.com/DzYjvJykdx
— Nirvana (@Nirvana) May 9, 2024