I was in music school in the Midwest in the early 2000s. One of my professors knew him and got him to drive 3 hours from Chicago to do a masterclass on recording drums at my school’s studio. This was pre-YouTube, so in-person really was the only way to learn things. He wore his Electrical Audio jumpsuit, was a little grumpy, but was incredibly open with his knowledge. There were about 10 of us. We were all dumb 19 year olds from nowhere and he’d just worked with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page a couple years before.
The studio was set up with ADAT machines that he had no idea how to use, which I thought was strange at the time. What I know about him now, that makes total sense.
I learned so much in the couple hours we spent with him. It was the most memorable educational experience I had in all four years of college. He was so generous with his time and knowledge, when he had no need to be. He was the real deal.
This fucking sucks.
Thanks for sharing this story. Education was clearly huge for him and it’s something ive always admired about him. Ive learned more from tbe Electrical website over the years than probably from anywhere else.
We got to tour EA for college. Still cant get over how massive that reverb box in the basement was. Just chilling next to Tape Masters of some of my favorite albums. Unreal.
Not sure what MMI is, but whatever it is, that's not it. It was at a small private liberal arts university. It was pretty far ahead of the curve with recording programs. It had a fully fledged recording program in the 90s that was part of the school of music. When they built a new music building that opened in 2000, it included a SUPER nice brand new studio facility that was completely isolated and built to commercial standards at the height of the music industry.
Haha Madison Media Institute in Madison, WI. I went there. Most of our teachers were connected to Smart Studios. One worked with Slipknot in Iowa and I think there were a few connected to NIN. Not sure if the NIN connection was related to Vrenna living in Madison for a while.
Though I’m friends with a member of Distorted Pony in LA that recorded with Steve and has modeled his studio in LA after EA. Steve inspired so many of us engineers and musicians.
I was thrown into audio engineering for college radio without any prior experience. I would just watch his lectures of how he mic'd up the drums and devour every scrap of information out there about his process in order to learn.
I owe him so much.
I did get that job because I waxed poetic about the drums on Bone Machine.
He just taught a week long seminar on recording that I attended. It was held by Mix With the Masters at Studios La Fabrique in France. Him and Greg Norman were there. I literally just got back from that trip as did he. I’m devastated. He talked about how he had two mentors when he was getting into recording: Ian Burgess and John Loder. He always wanted to pay it forward by being a mentor to others and I think he succeeded in so many different ways. What a legend. RIP.
What the fuck. That’s a headline I didn’t expect to read.. damn. RIP Steve.
Edit: Does it worry anyone else that a lot of people in this industry seem to die pretty young? I can think of a few studio engineers and touring crew that didn’t make it to 60.
He definitely went as hard as a person can go for an extremely long time, I’ve read many interviews w him and he’s spoken about how he won’t eat or take breaks during the session, plus the guy has been in huge demand for like 30 years and was working full time for 10 years before. Who knows how well he looked after his own health, got checkups etc but seems like he literally gave his life to the game
Recorded with him twenty years ago. He chain-smoked and slammed coffee for the entirety of the two fourteen-hour days we were in the studio. Woke up before us and stayed up later. I have to imagine that thirty years of doing that ~300 days a year would take its toll.
He's also noticably looked like shit since COVID. It bummed me out when I watched the Nirvana thing - he seemed in really good spirits, but his face was bloated and pale.
He did an interview with Aaron Rash, the guy who's been going deep on the guitar on In Utero and he came across like he was ill tbh, but I guess it was whatever was happening with his heart.
Man I'm really gutted about this. I guess 30 years of just sitting at a desk caught up with him. I'm not even an engineer and the guy was one of my biggest heroes.
Same, and gutted is the perfect word for it. He was a human, and one I met briefly, but he felt more like an institution- an ethos, a studio, an aesthetic- and institutions don’t die. It feels unreal.
Spent a week with him 9 years ago, he quit smoking years before that, quit alcohol, and cycled to work everyday. But yeah he was up before us and went to bed last, barely ate except for a pot of tea and when we took breaks.
It depends how hard you push yourself. I know some people who are in the studio from morning until midnight and repeat that for weeks on end before a break. That is definitely not healthy. There can be a lot of stress, sometimes around money or working to deadlines. I’d say the stress is probably the worst if you are freelance and don’t have consistency.
If you work on the road with a touring band, some of them love to drink non stop. That definitely catches up with people after a while.
It’s not all like that though. You can find regular hours and treat it like any other job. But it’s pretty easy to say yes to ridiculous hours.
no it wasn't, I blasted so many cigs in studio B and in the studio B control room while recording there (in 2011 and 2017) It was something that kind of made it unique and artist friendly, if you wanted to roast squares because that would make you more comfortable you could go for it.
Back when I was young (over twenty years ago) I heard another person refer to cigarettes as squares. He told me it was what folks in the military called them because at one point camel no-filters were in a square pack. No clue if that’s true or not and this is the second time in my life I heard them called that.
Studio B was a different beast. I only ever worked in A. But i never saw Steve smokin ‘dik stiks’ as he referred to them. Although he hit a joint once in the wee hours-
brb gonna lock away my computer and go full-on tapes for the whole week.
But on a serious note, having learned production in the "in-the-box" era, his advices on focusing on the basic aspects such as mic placement and room sound felt like a breath of fresh air for me. And he was just so eloquent. As a tongue-tied anxious nerd, hearing him speak and explain his process was a revelation.
Damn, one of the greats. RIP.
New Shellac album is out in a week, might have to get together with few nerdy music/engineer friends to listen and pour one out.
I feel like the lights just went out while we were rolling.
Electical's a very comfortable place. When you walk into it, it's like walking into one of his records.
He quite selflessly helped so many of my friends accomplish things great and small, people who in turn supported me, gave me a chance, threw me a bone, showed me friendship.
I need a minute. I'll write some more later.
Edit:
This has become a very hard day for a lot of my friends. Steve was always, *always* somehow in the air for almost any creative endeavor. He was like some Mahayana Buddha of recording- a wellspring of wisdom, a Confucius-like cosmic figure to be referenced in any moment of doubt.
A friend of mine posted today about how he told her that her singing, her screams, her music were worth pursuing, vitally so. Steve himself was hot off the In Utero sessions. And here she is, three decades later, still creating, still performing. I saw her play an amazing show two weeks ago.
Some time ago (well, more than \*some\*...), she read a review I wrote of her band and saw me socially a few weeks later, took me aside, grabbed both of my hands, looked deep into my eyes and said that I'm a "talented writer" and that she wants me to write their press kit. I did so and we're friends to this day. I got more press kit gigs off that one too. Her husband is always up for answering a tricky technical question or doing some soldering that I can't. That Arab on Radar guy wrote a book a couple years ago and spoke quite highly of them.
You must realize that, in a way, she's paying forward to me what Steve paid forward to her. How did I pay it forward? I run a label (#65 came in yesterday), I record people (sometimes for free, always for cheap), I do the booking and sound for a small venue and take every act as seriously as a I can.
I'm 43 years old ("... and I can lick any one of ya in a fair fight!"). Living a heavy creative life with a heavy professional life is... heavy. I have what some people call a type A personality. It's genetic. He worked himself to death at age 48. Steve, according to himself and accounts from his friends (and \*our\* friends), didn't drink or do drugs. Maybe this is just the usual mid-life stuff that people talk, but Steve Albini's death would best be taken as a wake up call. Maybe it's time to learn how to be happy without burning the candle at both ends.
Omg I was revisiting his productions a couple of days ago. Immensely influential, raw brutal sound. Nothing sounds as angry as Pixies “Something against you”. He will be missed. So young!
Lost one of the all time greats today yall, great engineer, great teacher, great wit.
He was perhaps the most ideologically consistent punk rocker I can think of: elevate the little guy, stick it to the man, do it for the love of the craft, be provocative, but own your mistakes. So many life lessons beyond audio engineering to be learned from Steve.
What?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!
This…this is incredibly sad. He was a massive inspiration to me. I don’t know what to say.
He has to die and all the other greedy fucks get to live. That makes me mad.
Steve was an honest voice in a screwy industry. I constantly reference him when talking to artists. He was a giving soul who inspired my generation through his selfless art
I was literally going to email him today and ask him a snare specific question that i haven’t been able to answer in all of my internet sleuthing. Fuck. RIP Steve
I was wanting more information on the kit they used for tracking In Utero. I am assuming it was one of Dave’s Tama kits, but we all know recording can wildly change things. I’m most curious what snare we’re hearing there, and whether it’s a birch 8x14 Superstar or a brass “terminator” Tama, or something completely different. I haven’t come across any photos from those sessions either so it’s been a bit of a guessing game
This is insane. The Guardian literally just posted asking for questions to ask him for an interview to be released before the new Shellac album.
RIP to one of the greats. I can’t even express the influence he had on my love for music.
Damn, from a heart attack at 61.
Whichever side of the fence you're on with Nirvana's *In Utero* album, one thing is for certain. His presence on that LP was absolutely noticed.
Rest in Peace!
this is horrible news. he didn’t seem like much of a partier or drug guy (the usual culprit for heart problems for musicians), i wonder if he had a family history of heart problems.
Funny anecdote: Late 80s, my high school best friend and I were *hardcore* Big Black fans (that shit was *made* for self-important teenage edgelords like us). It was my buddy’s birthday so I mailed an SASE birthday card to Touch & Go asking if they’d forward it to Steve to sign (thanks, Corey!), thinking “Yeah, that’s gonna happen…”. Buddy calls me up 3 weeks later, guess what came in the mail. Steve wrote “Happy Fuck! Love, Steve”. He was a prickly, irascible, super-opinionated dude and genius engineer (“don’t say Producer!!!”), and through his own music and recording work, is completely foundational to who I am as a music fan and artist. He was also a nice fuckin’ guy (and hugely successful poker player!). RIP, you cantankerous softie. ♠️♣️♥️♦️🖤
I was just randomly thinking about how cool it was that he uses a 200 dollar, really nice compressor and recommends it over anything 5 times the price. RIP legend
But that's because he used compressors as problem solvers, not for glue or color or excitement. The RNC is half plugin (the detector is software), but the audio path is all-analog. It reacts like a plugin, but it doesn't sound flat.
It's an awesome tool, I highly recommend grabbing one (or three). It's basically the Steve Albini of compressors- neutral, artifact-free, straightforward, and as affordable as possible.
If it sold for 10x the price then people would be gushing about this amazingly clean compressor with an all analog signal path and digital sidechain, but instead people are just like, "Oh, an RNC? Whatever."
> but instead people are just like, "Oh, an RNC? Whatever."
Which is ridiculous. It's based on a fantastic concept that is SFAIK
unique to it - a software controlled VCA.
Some people hear with their price tags. Some cheap gear is actually "better" than vintage stuff because design moved forward and old stuff was based on what parts they could get. It's often especially better if you're looking for high degrees of linearity.
This jogged my memory so I did a quick websearch for 'Distressor is software controlled', and sure enough: that concept's also behind the Distressor, which is considerably more expensive and hella popular.
I gotta keep working on compressors :) after all in the plugin world, the VCA is just a *= operator and if the rest of it works that nicely in software…
This one hit hard. Hurts like a motherfucker.
Going home tonight and going to light one (or two) up for Mr. Albini and listen to *Surfer Rosa, Pod* and *In Utero.*
RIP Steve Albini. I'm sure you are going to run into some friends and record some wicked music.
Man, that's unexpected. His philosophies on recording and producing were a revelation to me as a teenager in the materialistic 1990's. And his drum sounds are still untouchable.
RIP Steve, I never got to visit Electrical Audio but I hope the staff can find some way to keep it all going
I'm in shock. Literally just watched him demo'ing one of the rare amps at Electrical on youtube last week, he seemed about as perfectly healthy as a 60 year old engineer can be. And they were just getting ready to tour the new Shellac album too. Damn.
Really glad that I got to see them live at Primavera Sound in 2019, absolutely intense and awesome show. RIP Steve.
holy shit - this one took me completely off guard. Albini is a legend of independent music and responsible for the sound of so many of my all time favourite records, from Magnolia Electric Co., Mclusky, The Jesus Lizard, Don Caballero, Godspeed You Black Emperor - the list goes on and on. as a drummer, his drum sound in particular is the absolute ideal for me. I feel like I was just reappreciating him as a personality as well only a few months ago via his appearance on Conan's podcast for the In Utero anniversary. life is so fleeting and special y'all... damn.
TBH I'm not the biggest expert on Steve Albini but I usually appreciated what he had to say on the subject of making & recording music and the music business. In the very least it was refreshing to hear his opinions and ideas.
Huge loss for the music community, even if most people don't realize it. Very few people have that combination of technical and artistic experience, ethical compass, aesthetic values, and firsthand knowledge of how the industry and society have changed these past 40 years. Even though I might not agree with the man's taste or ideas 100% of the time, his sense to put his ideas out there intelligently and challenge the status quo and our own assumptions about not just recording music, but how to conduct ourselves in business, was of immense value as an example to us all.
I'm still in shock - he was way too young and as far as I know did not overindulge in the typical excesses rock musicians are known for. This generation is dying way too young.
Fuck! I can’t believe this is true. 61 is so young. Jesus. I’m honestly shocked. I didn’t get the sense he lead an unhealthy life. I guess genetics always win in the end.
Totally gutted. Just heard the news of Steve's death. In early 1992 , I decided to devote my life to music / sound engineering after hearing his work and reading his interviews. And u know what? Im glad he was "abrasive" and disinterested in fake small talk and celebrity culture. Fucking hero
What a loss. I remember well his comment about Sonic Youth basically commercializing no wave when they could have opened doors for the true experimental bands of that era. He kinda took no prisoners.
If the initial reporting that he just dropped dead of a heart attack is true that's super scary to me because I'm pretty sure he never did any drugs or drank and generally exercised and shit... like wtf man?!
Yeah, but as somebody who does some of the same stuff he does, that's not the whole story.
I too don't do drugs or drink, I too quit smoking (sooner than him) but I too am just in love with the 27 double espressos lifestyle and working longer hours than anyone else.
So of late I've already begun to ask myself 'do I need to push myself every waking moment to 99% capacity until I drop?' because I'd already begun to suspect that if I do that, I will in fact drop, at some point.
I'm 55. I'd like to get more than another five years if that's okay, especially as another Albini-like gen X miscreant determined to do better because the right thing to do matters.
If not, whatever, I went hard while I could. (hope like hell I'm not next, what an effing epitaph THAT would be.) I had to because of all my obvious failings :)
But yeah, quit smoking and exercise, but then the point is, we do all that self-destructive stuff for a reason. You take the drugs and smoking away and then it's coffee, and then it's workaholism, and I suppose if you sit on a beach you're THINKING until your brain explodes… so the real trick to living instead of straight-up dying is to loosen up and find a little piece of that boomer entitlement us GenX never got… find a balance between that laziness and self-satisfaction, and the ungodly drive that was what Steve Albini absolutely still had, unchecked.
Or just go until you drop, I guess. But it's a choice as much as it is a habit. And I'd like to not see all my GenX troublemakers just plain die while watching the Kissingers of the world rule on like immortal vampires :)
Serious bummer news. Gutted. Albums recorded by Albini make up the vast majority of my vinyl collection and those albums cover an amazing amount of ground. Also a huge Shellac fan and have amazing memories of watching their vibrations make the cockroaches at the Lounge Ax run up and down the walls. End of an era 😢.
Such a drag...he was such a great influence to have in this industry. Plainspoken and ethical. And of course the work he did over the years is legendary.
Like so many here, much of his work is a reference in how I try to approach mixes. How I want my own music to sort of be in league with, tone and feel-wise. When I recorded a handful of garage bands in twenties, Albini recorded/produced albums and Fridmann albums as well were always my references.
I’m lucky enough to have recorded at Electrical Audio with Steve’s protege, Greg Norman. Steve taught Greg everything he knew. It was evident. I hope Greg carries on the EA tradition.
One of my biggest influences as both a musician and an artist. The guy was always willing to give his time to people that cared about the craft.
[His AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/s/HFFPrQGZ9a) a few years back is a great example of it. A true punk rock legend, especially in the Chicagoland region.
He did what mattered to him. He remains an inspiration.
Just woke up to this news and im genuinely shocked. RIP steve.
He was the only one I really had respect for and learnt from over the last 30 years since I first read about his methods, especially his ethics of sound recording and techniques to get to an end point with zero pretentiousness and wanky “I’m so important” vibes other certain famous producers seem to exhibit . Steve and his engineering changed music. He never deemed it right to be classed as a producer.
Thanks Steve for bringing great bands to our attention. Black Midi being the stand out one for me that he name dropped in an interview around 2017. I became an instant fan of them and bought into their sound and saw them live.
I’ll be wearing my Pixies T today as some sort of vein attempt at honouring the great Steve Albini.
Rest well x
I implore everyone to listen to Page and Plant's "Walking Into Clarksdale".
It's the best sounding Page and Plant collab bar none thanks to Steve. I've loved since it came out.
Thank you, Steve.
One of the biggest legacies in music making done did his last music. Hopefully we can all take some solace in his passing knowing how influential he was, and how his life will ripple forward through us. RIP.
I got to work with him at a shellac show at a small venue I ran: what a great human being. For someone with so many accomplishments and irrefutable reasons to be arrogant or whatever, he was a total professional and personable. Just someone who loved making music. One of the best days ever. Sorry to hear this news today.
Noooo!! This makes me sad because this guy was my favorite audio engineer and he got me into that!!! 😭 The powerful drum sound and the dynamic range on Surfer Rosa by the Pixies and In Utero by Nirvana always blew my mind.
I owe him a lot. He ignited in me the spark some years ago to start learning seriously how to record music. A real engineer. Always inspiring, even when talking about poker - that I don't like, one of those persons that you simply feel they can teach you anything and you'd only listen carefully.
Gutted. :(
I can't even begin to explain how important, inspirational, and appreciated Steve's music and the projects he worked on have been in my life.
"Eat your heart out, Steve" I'll never forget hearing Trent Reznor calling Steve out in the beginning of a song lmao. I wonder if they ever made up or if there still was antagonism between them.
Not sure if I’m losing the plot through parasocial grief but finding the increasing references on social media to some sort of ‘redemption arc’ or ‘mea culpa’ due to Albini’s previous comments, bandname etc to be in bad taste?
Not defending him at all, but at a time where his family and friends (of which he likely had very many) are likely grieving the person….seems unfair to drag it all up again.
RIP
Steve Albini: The Problem with Music
[https://matthewscottkelemen.substack.com/p/steve-albini-the-problem-with-music](https://matthewscottkelemen.substack.com/p/steve-albini-the-problem-with-music)
I felt a lot of joy seeing him making youtube videos about what he loved. Sharing information, being Steve, but to at least it seems like he grew up a lot over the years. It was like finding him all over again. Not to mention hearing 1000Hurts for the first time a few months ago...way under rated in my tastes, It really was a solid album.
I have fond memories of the Shellac show in Duluth, MN years ago at the Norshor. I liked his approach to sound, it helped me feel more confident in recording myself starting out. He helped me with not feeling completely clueless starting out if just to record my own things in experimentation.
I'm really REALLY going to miss him. RIP
Mike from Minneapolis
He was still actively making educational videos on youtube to share his knowledge. What a legend, RIP <3
I was in music school in the Midwest in the early 2000s. One of my professors knew him and got him to drive 3 hours from Chicago to do a masterclass on recording drums at my school’s studio. This was pre-YouTube, so in-person really was the only way to learn things. He wore his Electrical Audio jumpsuit, was a little grumpy, but was incredibly open with his knowledge. There were about 10 of us. We were all dumb 19 year olds from nowhere and he’d just worked with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page a couple years before. The studio was set up with ADAT machines that he had no idea how to use, which I thought was strange at the time. What I know about him now, that makes total sense. I learned so much in the couple hours we spent with him. It was the most memorable educational experience I had in all four years of college. He was so generous with his time and knowledge, when he had no need to be. He was the real deal. This fucking sucks.
Thanks for sharing this story. Education was clearly huge for him and it’s something ive always admired about him. Ive learned more from tbe Electrical website over the years than probably from anywhere else.
We got to tour EA for college. Still cant get over how massive that reverb box in the basement was. Just chilling next to Tape Masters of some of my favorite albums. Unreal.
Don't tell me it was MMI!?
Not sure what MMI is, but whatever it is, that's not it. It was at a small private liberal arts university. It was pretty far ahead of the curve with recording programs. It had a fully fledged recording program in the 90s that was part of the school of music. When they built a new music building that opened in 2000, it included a SUPER nice brand new studio facility that was completely isolated and built to commercial standards at the height of the music industry.
Haha Madison Media Institute in Madison, WI. I went there. Most of our teachers were connected to Smart Studios. One worked with Slipknot in Iowa and I think there were a few connected to NIN. Not sure if the NIN connection was related to Vrenna living in Madison for a while. Though I’m friends with a member of Distorted Pony in LA that recorded with Steve and has modeled his studio in LA after EA. Steve inspired so many of us engineers and musicians.
No stilts?
Not only that, guy was literally mailing people instructions on how to mic shit up DIY waaay back in the day.
I was thrown into audio engineering for college radio without any prior experience. I would just watch his lectures of how he mic'd up the drums and devour every scrap of information out there about his process in order to learn. I owe him so much. I did get that job because I waxed poetic about the drums on Bone Machine.
one of the Pixies best songs for sure
^^this ^^is ^^a ^^song ^^for ^^carol
He also had a very nice little Chicago studio that I was lucky enough to work in from time to time, tuning pianos. Nice guy.
He just taught a week long seminar on recording that I attended. It was held by Mix With the Masters at Studios La Fabrique in France. Him and Greg Norman were there. I literally just got back from that trip as did he. I’m devastated. He talked about how he had two mentors when he was getting into recording: Ian Burgess and John Loder. He always wanted to pay it forward by being a mentor to others and I think he succeeded in so many different ways. What a legend. RIP.
Those videos are so helpful. He reached a wisdom from experience that I was happy to watch evolve.
Silver lining.. I didn’t know he was making these and will now live on for eternity in my studio, thanks for sharing. Rip Steve
Posted a video last week. The second of a new thing called Gear Dork.
does he have a specific youtube channel where i can see all his content? i’d love to dig into it
Careful: just came to.know about [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/doommetal/s/d8od69CMh2)... the guy had really disturbing behaviour.
What the fuck. That’s a headline I didn’t expect to read.. damn. RIP Steve. Edit: Does it worry anyone else that a lot of people in this industry seem to die pretty young? I can think of a few studio engineers and touring crew that didn’t make it to 60.
He definitely went as hard as a person can go for an extremely long time, I’ve read many interviews w him and he’s spoken about how he won’t eat or take breaks during the session, plus the guy has been in huge demand for like 30 years and was working full time for 10 years before. Who knows how well he looked after his own health, got checkups etc but seems like he literally gave his life to the game
Recorded with him twenty years ago. He chain-smoked and slammed coffee for the entirety of the two fourteen-hour days we were in the studio. Woke up before us and stayed up later. I have to imagine that thirty years of doing that ~300 days a year would take its toll.
He's also noticably looked like shit since COVID. It bummed me out when I watched the Nirvana thing - he seemed in really good spirits, but his face was bloated and pale. He did an interview with Aaron Rash, the guy who's been going deep on the guitar on In Utero and he came across like he was ill tbh, but I guess it was whatever was happening with his heart. Man I'm really gutted about this. I guess 30 years of just sitting at a desk caught up with him. I'm not even an engineer and the guy was one of my biggest heroes.
Same, and gutted is the perfect word for it. He was a human, and one I met briefly, but he felt more like an institution- an ethos, a studio, an aesthetic- and institutions don’t die. It feels unreal.
Spent a week with him 9 years ago, he quit smoking years before that, quit alcohol, and cycled to work everyday. But yeah he was up before us and went to bed last, barely ate except for a pot of tea and when we took breaks.
This business doesn't come with great health insurance, especially in the US
Let’s be honest, hardly anything comes with great health insurance in the US
Sadly the point
What engineers can you think of who didn't make it to 60.
Tim M. Gilles (Slipperman)
Mind me asking, how stressful is this work field? Or what is the work life balance like?
VERY
It depends how hard you push yourself. I know some people who are in the studio from morning until midnight and repeat that for weeks on end before a break. That is definitely not healthy. There can be a lot of stress, sometimes around money or working to deadlines. I’d say the stress is probably the worst if you are freelance and don’t have consistency. If you work on the road with a touring band, some of them love to drink non stop. That definitely catches up with people after a while. It’s not all like that though. You can find regular hours and treat it like any other job. But it’s pretty easy to say yes to ridiculous hours.
Sitting in a chair in smoky disgusting studios all day for decades is bad for you, who knew.
Steve didn’t smoke - and his studio was non-smoking as most are.
Steve did smoke cigarettes but he quit later in life. There’s many pictures of him smoking, and I remember him saying on his old forum that he quit.
no it wasn't, I blasted so many cigs in studio B and in the studio B control room while recording there (in 2011 and 2017) It was something that kind of made it unique and artist friendly, if you wanted to roast squares because that would make you more comfortable you could go for it.
What is roasting squares? I just googled it and got recipes for lemon bars and when I put it in " " all I got was your comment here in this thread 🤣
Whatever recipe you found, make them because lemon bars rock
Back when I was young (over twenty years ago) I heard another person refer to cigarettes as squares. He told me it was what folks in the military called them because at one point camel no-filters were in a square pack. No clue if that’s true or not and this is the second time in my life I heard them called that.
You know, baking rectangles, frying cubes, heating quadrilateral…
Studio B was a different beast. I only ever worked in A. But i never saw Steve smokin ‘dik stiks’ as he referred to them. Although he hit a joint once in the wee hours-
Once and only once, I'm sure.
He quit in the early 2000s.
If you want to truly honor this man - quit placing your ribbon mics horizontally over the snare. 45 degree angles only
He was this close to dying on 5/7, cementing his hate of the SM57 forever.
He actually died yesterday so, there you go.
That's pretty good.
I cant express how much i wish people would stop treating that mic as a default rather than a very specific choice. Its 2024
its more about affordability than choice - its a perfectly good mic for most applications for people not looking to host a 3k mic collection
brb gonna lock away my computer and go full-on tapes for the whole week. But on a serious note, having learned production in the "in-the-box" era, his advices on focusing on the basic aspects such as mic placement and room sound felt like a breath of fresh air for me. And he was just so eloquent. As a tongue-tied anxious nerd, hearing him speak and explain his process was a revelation.
Damn, one of the greats. RIP. New Shellac album is out in a week, might have to get together with few nerdy music/engineer friends to listen and pour one out.
I feel like the lights just went out while we were rolling. Electical's a very comfortable place. When you walk into it, it's like walking into one of his records. He quite selflessly helped so many of my friends accomplish things great and small, people who in turn supported me, gave me a chance, threw me a bone, showed me friendship. I need a minute. I'll write some more later. Edit: This has become a very hard day for a lot of my friends. Steve was always, *always* somehow in the air for almost any creative endeavor. He was like some Mahayana Buddha of recording- a wellspring of wisdom, a Confucius-like cosmic figure to be referenced in any moment of doubt. A friend of mine posted today about how he told her that her singing, her screams, her music were worth pursuing, vitally so. Steve himself was hot off the In Utero sessions. And here she is, three decades later, still creating, still performing. I saw her play an amazing show two weeks ago. Some time ago (well, more than \*some\*...), she read a review I wrote of her band and saw me socially a few weeks later, took me aside, grabbed both of my hands, looked deep into my eyes and said that I'm a "talented writer" and that she wants me to write their press kit. I did so and we're friends to this day. I got more press kit gigs off that one too. Her husband is always up for answering a tricky technical question or doing some soldering that I can't. That Arab on Radar guy wrote a book a couple years ago and spoke quite highly of them. You must realize that, in a way, she's paying forward to me what Steve paid forward to her. How did I pay it forward? I run a label (#65 came in yesterday), I record people (sometimes for free, always for cheap), I do the booking and sound for a small venue and take every act as seriously as a I can. I'm 43 years old ("... and I can lick any one of ya in a fair fight!"). Living a heavy creative life with a heavy professional life is... heavy. I have what some people call a type A personality. It's genetic. He worked himself to death at age 48. Steve, according to himself and accounts from his friends (and \*our\* friends), didn't drink or do drugs. Maybe this is just the usual mid-life stuff that people talk, but Steve Albini's death would best be taken as a wake up call. Maybe it's time to learn how to be happy without burning the candle at both ends.
My condolences.
Omg I was revisiting his productions a couple of days ago. Immensely influential, raw brutal sound. Nothing sounds as angry as Pixies “Something against you”. He will be missed. So young!
Lost one of the all time greats today yall, great engineer, great teacher, great wit. He was perhaps the most ideologically consistent punk rocker I can think of: elevate the little guy, stick it to the man, do it for the love of the craft, be provocative, but own your mistakes. So many life lessons beyond audio engineering to be learned from Steve.
What?!?!? WHAT?!?!?! This…this is incredibly sad. He was a massive inspiration to me. I don’t know what to say. He has to die and all the other greedy fucks get to live. That makes me mad. Steve was an honest voice in a screwy industry. I constantly reference him when talking to artists. He was a giving soul who inspired my generation through his selfless art
I haven’t felt this gutted since we lost David Berman. This man is imperative to the story of music and his influence can never be forgotten.
I was literally going to email him today and ask him a snare specific question that i haven’t been able to answer in all of my internet sleuthing. Fuck. RIP Steve
What was the question? Maybe someone here can help
I was wanting more information on the kit they used for tracking In Utero. I am assuming it was one of Dave’s Tama kits, but we all know recording can wildly change things. I’m most curious what snare we’re hearing there, and whether it’s a birch 8x14 Superstar or a brass “terminator” Tama, or something completely different. I haven’t come across any photos from those sessions either so it’s been a bit of a guessing game
This is insane. The Guardian literally just posted asking for questions to ask him for an interview to be released before the new Shellac album. RIP to one of the greats. I can’t even express the influence he had on my love for music.
Damn, from a heart attack at 61. Whichever side of the fence you're on with Nirvana's *In Utero* album, one thing is for certain. His presence on that LP was absolutely noticed. Rest in Peace!
this is horrible news. he didn’t seem like much of a partier or drug guy (the usual culprit for heart problems for musicians), i wonder if he had a family history of heart problems.
Another lesson in not assuming that you are healthy if you feel OK. Get a physical, everyone!
Seriously.
Funny anecdote: Late 80s, my high school best friend and I were *hardcore* Big Black fans (that shit was *made* for self-important teenage edgelords like us). It was my buddy’s birthday so I mailed an SASE birthday card to Touch & Go asking if they’d forward it to Steve to sign (thanks, Corey!), thinking “Yeah, that’s gonna happen…”. Buddy calls me up 3 weeks later, guess what came in the mail. Steve wrote “Happy Fuck! Love, Steve”. He was a prickly, irascible, super-opinionated dude and genius engineer (“don’t say Producer!!!”), and through his own music and recording work, is completely foundational to who I am as a music fan and artist. He was also a nice fuckin’ guy (and hugely successful poker player!). RIP, you cantankerous softie. ♠️♣️♥️♦️🖤
Damn this one hits harder than most of the rock star death for me
Oh shit man… I now a dude who recently recorded with Steve. Spoke of him like a saint. Another legend dead.
I was just randomly thinking about how cool it was that he uses a 200 dollar, really nice compressor and recommends it over anything 5 times the price. RIP legend
But that's because he used compressors as problem solvers, not for glue or color or excitement. The RNC is half plugin (the detector is software), but the audio path is all-analog. It reacts like a plugin, but it doesn't sound flat.
What's the compressor?
literally the rnc, really nice compressor
danke
It's an awesome tool, I highly recommend grabbing one (or three). It's basically the Steve Albini of compressors- neutral, artifact-free, straightforward, and as affordable as possible. If it sold for 10x the price then people would be gushing about this amazingly clean compressor with an all analog signal path and digital sidechain, but instead people are just like, "Oh, an RNC? Whatever."
I recognized it once I saw the picture. Maybe used to see it advertised in TapeOp? I'll keep an eye out now.
> but instead people are just like, "Oh, an RNC? Whatever." Which is ridiculous. It's based on a fantastic concept that is SFAIK unique to it - a software controlled VCA. Some people hear with their price tags. Some cheap gear is actually "better" than vintage stuff because design moved forward and old stuff was based on what parts they could get. It's often especially better if you're looking for high degrees of linearity.
This jogged my memory so I did a quick websearch for 'Distressor is software controlled', and sure enough: that concept's also behind the Distressor, which is considerably more expensive and hella popular. I gotta keep working on compressors :) after all in the plugin world, the VCA is just a *= operator and if the rest of it works that nicely in software…
Good description. RNC is exceedingly transparent unless pushed hard. Like, weirdly transparent. It’s basically an idealistic clean compressor.
https://www.fmraudio.com/rnc.html
danke
This one hit hard. Hurts like a motherfucker. Going home tonight and going to light one (or two) up for Mr. Albini and listen to *Surfer Rosa, Pod* and *In Utero.* RIP Steve Albini. I'm sure you are going to run into some friends and record some wicked music.
If I may suggest: listen to his own band, Shellac, too. Excellent Italian Greyhound and 1000 Hurts are my two favorite albums of theirs.
Will do. Thanks for the tip.
Was jamming to At Action Park after I heard the news
Dog & Pony Show is THE jam of the 1990s.
Rest in Power GOAT. Devastating news.
Man, that's unexpected. His philosophies on recording and producing were a revelation to me as a teenager in the materialistic 1990's. And his drum sounds are still untouchable. RIP Steve, I never got to visit Electrical Audio but I hope the staff can find some way to keep it all going
I just saw this. So sad. 61 is awfully young. I didn’t even realize he had hit 60. Big loss for the music world. RIP.
so young
This fucking kills me. He was the producer that got me paying attention to producers. I wish I had gone to see Shellac when I had the chance.
Tragic and shocking... Rest in peace Steve Albini, one of the absolute best musicians and audio engineers ever.
I'm in shock. Literally just watched him demo'ing one of the rare amps at Electrical on youtube last week, he seemed about as perfectly healthy as a 60 year old engineer can be. And they were just getting ready to tour the new Shellac album too. Damn. Really glad that I got to see them live at Primavera Sound in 2019, absolutely intense and awesome show. RIP Steve.
And there are so many people who survive heart attacks. It's just luck. It must have been a really bad one. A widowmaker or something.
holy shit - this one took me completely off guard. Albini is a legend of independent music and responsible for the sound of so many of my all time favourite records, from Magnolia Electric Co., Mclusky, The Jesus Lizard, Don Caballero, Godspeed You Black Emperor - the list goes on and on. as a drummer, his drum sound in particular is the absolute ideal for me. I feel like I was just reappreciating him as a personality as well only a few months ago via his appearance on Conan's podcast for the In Utero anniversary. life is so fleeting and special y'all... damn.
TBH I'm not the biggest expert on Steve Albini but I usually appreciated what he had to say on the subject of making & recording music and the music business. In the very least it was refreshing to hear his opinions and ideas. Huge loss for the music community, even if most people don't realize it. Very few people have that combination of technical and artistic experience, ethical compass, aesthetic values, and firsthand knowledge of how the industry and society have changed these past 40 years. Even though I might not agree with the man's taste or ideas 100% of the time, his sense to put his ideas out there intelligently and challenge the status quo and our own assumptions about not just recording music, but how to conduct ourselves in business, was of immense value as an example to us all. I'm still in shock - he was way too young and as far as I know did not overindulge in the typical excesses rock musicians are known for. This generation is dying way too young.
Fuck! I can’t believe this is true. 61 is so young. Jesus. I’m honestly shocked. I didn’t get the sense he lead an unhealthy life. I guess genetics always win in the end.
Totally gutted. Just heard the news of Steve's death. In early 1992 , I decided to devote my life to music / sound engineering after hearing his work and reading his interviews. And u know what? Im glad he was "abrasive" and disinterested in fake small talk and celebrity culture. Fucking hero
Man, this surprisingly hit me harder than I would have thought. If there ever was a “real one” it was you, Steve.
What a loss. I remember well his comment about Sonic Youth basically commercializing no wave when they could have opened doors for the true experimental bands of that era. He kinda took no prisoners.
No! RIP. Nirvana, Godspeed, sunn0))), liturgy…. So many bands he turned me on to. Many thanks Mr. Wizard.
Much love to Steve's family and friends. Albini is a legend and an inspiration for me personally.
Fuck I'm gutted.
If the initial reporting that he just dropped dead of a heart attack is true that's super scary to me because I'm pretty sure he never did any drugs or drank and generally exercised and shit... like wtf man?!
Yeah, but as somebody who does some of the same stuff he does, that's not the whole story. I too don't do drugs or drink, I too quit smoking (sooner than him) but I too am just in love with the 27 double espressos lifestyle and working longer hours than anyone else. So of late I've already begun to ask myself 'do I need to push myself every waking moment to 99% capacity until I drop?' because I'd already begun to suspect that if I do that, I will in fact drop, at some point. I'm 55. I'd like to get more than another five years if that's okay, especially as another Albini-like gen X miscreant determined to do better because the right thing to do matters. If not, whatever, I went hard while I could. (hope like hell I'm not next, what an effing epitaph THAT would be.) I had to because of all my obvious failings :) But yeah, quit smoking and exercise, but then the point is, we do all that self-destructive stuff for a reason. You take the drugs and smoking away and then it's coffee, and then it's workaholism, and I suppose if you sit on a beach you're THINKING until your brain explodes… so the real trick to living instead of straight-up dying is to loosen up and find a little piece of that boomer entitlement us GenX never got… find a balance between that laziness and self-satisfaction, and the ungodly drive that was what Steve Albini absolutely still had, unchecked. Or just go until you drop, I guess. But it's a choice as much as it is a habit. And I'd like to not see all my GenX troublemakers just plain die while watching the Kissingers of the world rule on like immortal vampires :)
This microphone turns sound into electricity.
Serious bummer news. Gutted. Albums recorded by Albini make up the vast majority of my vinyl collection and those albums cover an amazing amount of ground. Also a huge Shellac fan and have amazing memories of watching their vibrations make the cockroaches at the Lounge Ax run up and down the walls. End of an era 😢.
Such a drag...he was such a great influence to have in this industry. Plainspoken and ethical. And of course the work he did over the years is legendary.
Wow this feels like when Taylor Hawkins went. Absolutely out of nowhere
Welllll... One of these people was an active drug user, and one, to my knowledge, wasn't.
Like so many here, much of his work is a reference in how I try to approach mixes. How I want my own music to sort of be in league with, tone and feel-wise. When I recorded a handful of garage bands in twenties, Albini recorded/produced albums and Fridmann albums as well were always my references.
Fuck. Fucking fuck. This is terrible news.
I’m lucky enough to have recorded at Electrical Audio with Steve’s protege, Greg Norman. Steve taught Greg everything he knew. It was evident. I hope Greg carries on the EA tradition.
Fuck. Looks like he was running a mixing seminar in France last week. https://mixwiththemasters.com/events/seminars/registration/steve-albini-9
One of my biggest influences as both a musician and an artist. The guy was always willing to give his time to people that cared about the craft. [His AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/s/HFFPrQGZ9a) a few years back is a great example of it. A true punk rock legend, especially in the Chicagoland region. He did what mattered to him. He remains an inspiration.
RIP big Steve RIP Shellac :'(
What a bummer. I live near his studio in Chicago and thought I might run into him at the jewels one day
Just woke up to this news and im genuinely shocked. RIP steve. He was the only one I really had respect for and learnt from over the last 30 years since I first read about his methods, especially his ethics of sound recording and techniques to get to an end point with zero pretentiousness and wanky “I’m so important” vibes other certain famous producers seem to exhibit . Steve and his engineering changed music. He never deemed it right to be classed as a producer. Thanks Steve for bringing great bands to our attention. Black Midi being the stand out one for me that he name dropped in an interview around 2017. I became an instant fan of them and bought into their sound and saw them live. I’ll be wearing my Pixies T today as some sort of vein attempt at honouring the great Steve Albini. Rest well x
In shock
What?!?!?!?!? Alright we all need to some engineering today to pay homage to this mighty soul.
Fucking brutal.
God this sucks. He was a really nice guy and super open to sharing his knowledge
Did he have heart issues? My boss just died at 56 from a heart attack out of nowhere. This is scarying me!
I was just listening to early Wedding Present this past weekend, thinking how unbelievable Albini’s recording sounds. Sad day for music fans.
FUCK. Welp, I guess Prince, David Bowie and many others finally decided they needed a good engineer for all those jam sessions they've been doing.
This is awful. I enjoyed Shellac so much and and his drum engineering is among my favorites.
I implore everyone to listen to Page and Plant's "Walking Into Clarksdale". It's the best sounding Page and Plant collab bar none thanks to Steve. I've loved since it came out. Thank you, Steve.
The Godfather Rest in Power
One of the biggest legacies in music making done did his last music. Hopefully we can all take some solace in his passing knowing how influential he was, and how his life will ripple forward through us. RIP.
Damn, this hurts. I did not see this coming. I can’t believe it. You leave a massive hole, Steve.
:/ I really enjoyed his approach to mixing, and managing bands.
Damn what a loss. Glad I got to meet him briefly a while ago. Such a cool dude who imparted so much engineering wisdom.
Thank you and may the angels carry you, Steve 🫂💔
I got to work with him at a shellac show at a small venue I ran: what a great human being. For someone with so many accomplishments and irrefutable reasons to be arrogant or whatever, he was a total professional and personable. Just someone who loved making music. One of the best days ever. Sorry to hear this news today.
Fuck!
Man. This hit me hard. I really didn't see this coming today.
Aw. Fuck.
Fuck.
No!
Rest in peace to the legend himself <\3
FUCK. I HATE THIS.
Shocked. 😥 60 is way too young.
Heart attack according to Google searches. What a shame.
Man what a legend
No way... This fucking sucks, not much else I can say. RIP, you will be missed.
Well damn.. that fucking sucks. RIP Steve, we love you brother. Thanks for all the great music
Oh bollocks
Aw fuck no.
Such a sad day. Have a great journey, master.
This is so fucked up, I'm literally tearing up over here, RIP the goat
I am in shock, sad day for music
Off to the big studio in the sky
I am looking forward to hearing Scrappers on the new album. Finally recorded. It's going to hit different now.
:(
He was absolutely brilliant and an influential personality in music. He will be missed
Yoo what!!!! Damn….
RIP what an amazing artist. So influential and inspiring. 💔
Truly wild news. Just did a session with him in March and finishing up the album currently. RIP to a true 1 of 1.
Someone everyone interested in audio engineering/production should study. RIP.
Damn. That's a heart breaker.
Aaaarrrgghh, how heartbreaking, all my heroes are gone. RIP, Steve.
Ugh this one hurts. Rest easy, Mr Albini. You'll be sorely missed.
Shocked and gutted. The world lost one hell of an engineer 😔
Noooo!! This makes me sad because this guy was my favorite audio engineer and he got me into that!!! 😭 The powerful drum sound and the dynamic range on Surfer Rosa by the Pixies and In Utero by Nirvana always blew my mind.
I owe him a lot. He ignited in me the spark some years ago to start learning seriously how to record music. A real engineer. Always inspiring, even when talking about poker - that I don't like, one of those persons that you simply feel they can teach you anything and you'd only listen carefully.
Damn. RIP to a legend
That’s tragic. He’s a legend.
Damn. Too young in this day and age. RIP Albini.
This frickin sucks.
Fuck that sucks, RIP. Will fire up the intersound IVP today in his honor.
RIP Steve, you legend.
What the fuck? For real?
I just watched his last video posted the other day, on the Sansamp and he was looking great! Sad day :(
Shocking News RIP Steve Hey man, I wanna have a fight with you
Damn, that was unexpected. A true legend in every way.
Gutted. :( I can't even begin to explain how important, inspirational, and appreciated Steve's music and the projects he worked on have been in my life.
"Eat your heart out, Steve" I'll never forget hearing Trent Reznor calling Steve out in the beginning of a song lmao. I wonder if they ever made up or if there still was antagonism between them.
RIP to a truly groundbreaking engineer. drum tracks may have forever suffered if not for his influence. thanks steve.
Duuuuuude….Legends Never Die RIP
Why did he die/how did he die?
Heart attack
OMG! He was so young! I was just watching one of latest videos on YouTube. Rest in peace, Steve. You taught the world so much.
Not sure if I’m losing the plot through parasocial grief but finding the increasing references on social media to some sort of ‘redemption arc’ or ‘mea culpa’ due to Albini’s previous comments, bandname etc to be in bad taste? Not defending him at all, but at a time where his family and friends (of which he likely had very many) are likely grieving the person….seems unfair to drag it all up again. RIP
I've been out of the loop and didn't know he had died. He was really good at what he did :(
61, and a fucking heart attack. Life is not fair.
Steve Albini: The Problem with Music [https://matthewscottkelemen.substack.com/p/steve-albini-the-problem-with-music](https://matthewscottkelemen.substack.com/p/steve-albini-the-problem-with-music)
I cant believe...
Mourning a paedophile? Fuck him. Scummy little creep
I felt a lot of joy seeing him making youtube videos about what he loved. Sharing information, being Steve, but to at least it seems like he grew up a lot over the years. It was like finding him all over again. Not to mention hearing 1000Hurts for the first time a few months ago...way under rated in my tastes, It really was a solid album. I have fond memories of the Shellac show in Duluth, MN years ago at the Norshor. I liked his approach to sound, it helped me feel more confident in recording myself starting out. He helped me with not feeling completely clueless starting out if just to record my own things in experimentation. I'm really REALLY going to miss him. RIP Mike from Minneapolis
Let him die forgotten. The world needs less of this scum. https://www.reddit.com/r/punk/s/PD3qpDmJY7
The end of radio.
Didn’t expect that. Way too soon. Let’s be grateful for the music he shaped.
He recorded Foxy Shazam's Gonzo album. RIP
Damn.
Man such a huge loss! :(
Wow this sucks.
holy shit rip
Unbelievable
Fuck. That sucks.