Steven
Albini is a musician, audio engineer, and music innovator – but should also be
known as an extremely successful producer. He was known to insist on “only
receiving engineer or ‘recorded by’ credit,” when working with bands. This
already makes him a unique individual in the music industry – where your name
and your profession makes or breaks you. He is known for heavily miked sound,
with abrasive guitars, and loud drums. Basically, he is known for being a very
raw producer.
Growing
up in Montana, Albini felt bored – apparently this resulted in inspiration for
his own music. He began to play bass and was exposed to punk rock, then forming
a band for a short time. He
enjoyed listening to The Ramones, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and many
others. When moving to college in Illinois, he began to record bands.
Albini
then formed his band Big Black in 1982. They played aggressive punk rock,
however they used a drum machine rather than a drum kit – which looks to be a
beginning of industrial rock. Albini also had extremely open lyrics with the
horrors of society being dominant.
They had a very strong impact on the development of
independent/underground rock, breaking up in 1987. Albini’s band Shellac, formed
in 1992, still is a band today.
In
1987, Albini broke through as a producer (even though he has never received
royalties for anything he records or mixes) with the Pixies’ album Surfer Rosa. This album had the
Albini-touch with abrasive guitars and extremely loud drums and bass. This
album is known for being a bridge between post-punk and 90s alternative rock.
Albini’s next huge project was Nirvana’s famous In Utero. This album used “30
microphones for Dave Grohl’s kit and employed a battered, partially broken
Fender Quad tube amp for distortion.” In
Utero hit number one, yet made Nirvana credible in the independent market
again following Nevermind.
Other
bands that Albini worked with are huge influences on my own musical taste.
These include Bush, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, PJ Harvey, The
Stooges, Veruca Salt, Joanna Newsom, Jawbreaker, etc. As a listener and student
in the music production field, Steve Albini is someone I admire and hope I end
up like. Not only is he extremely humble, he is a master of some really awesome
music (and that even sounds like an understatement). He helped shape the indie
and grunge scene and still has an effect on it today.
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ReplyDeleteThough I've never heard of him Steven Albini is indeed an incredible person and producer. He is also very unique. I love how they used a drum machine to do a show instead of live drums. That is definitely innovative. He also had an album with a mix between 90’s alternative rock and post-punk which is also innovative. He was big in the independent market and definitely left his footprint in the music industry. Great post Kat. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour post made me Google Steve Albini. I was unaware that he was behind so many great rock anthems from the past. I can understand why he is one of your favorite producers. His style has paved the way for more adventurous musicians to follow in his footsteps. I love all kinds of music, so I will definitely add a few of his pieces to my playlist. I love how he went against convention and created his own style of play for widely used instruments. As a fellow musician, I hope to have a similar impact on all styles of music. I continually try to find ways to exploit the unexpected and create a new type of musical journey that will change the way people feel about music. Thank you for introducing me to such an amazing artist.
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