Steve Albini, an indie rock icon and engineer behind essential albums by Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey, and The Breeders, has died from a heart attack at the age of 61.
Staff from his recording studio Electrical Audio confirmed his death to Pitchfork.
Based out of Chicago, IL, Albini was a renowned recording engineer, who refused to be described as a producer for the hundreds of recordings he oversaw.
"The cases where I'm credited as a producer are the result of someone at the record company writing that on the back of a record," he told Sound On Sound in 2005. "I don't personally try to exert any influence on my credit."
Aside from his own releases with the bands he fronted - Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac - Albini built an impressive résumé over his years of recording artists, which includes Nirvana's In Utero, Pixies' Surfer Rosa, PJ Harvey's Rid of Me, Bush's Razorblade Suitcase and The Breeders' Pod.
Albini also recorded a number of Canadian releases in his time, including Thrush Hermit's The Great Pacific Ocean, METZ's Strange Peace, Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet's Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, The Luck of the Hook, KEN Mode's Success, and three albums by The Sadies.
Throughout the years, Albini was an advocate for independent music, speaking out against the "predatory and exploitative level of the music industry" and sharing his takes and wisdom through his Twitter account.
In addition to music, he was also a successful professional poker player, winning two World Series of Poker tournaments in 2018 and 2022.
Albini's band Shellac was gearing up to release their new album, To All Trains, on May 17.