CHICAGO — Steve Albini, an artist known for recording some of the best indie and underground music ever, died at the age of 61 Tuesday night.
Electrical Audio, his recording studio located in Avondale, told WGN News Albini passed away from a heart attack.
After starting the punk band Big Black in 1981 while a student at Northwestern, Albini began producing and engineering in the mid-80s.
He produced the Pixies debut “Surfer Rosa” in 1988 — which is known as one of the most iconic albums in the history of alternative music. That led to several projects per year as Albini cemented himself as an engineer in addition to a frontman.
1993 was a big year for Albini. Kurt Cobain chose him to produced Nirvana’s final album “In Utero.” Albini also produced PJ Harvey’s second album “Rid of Me” that year.
He founded the Chicago band Shellac in 1992, which has their sixth album due out May 17.
WGN News will update this story.
