Learn the Uncompromising Letter That Steve Albini (RIP) Wrote to Nirvana Earlier than Generating In Utero (1993)

Lately, Steve Albini, the musician and professionalducer of important albums by way of Nirvana, PJ Harvey, the Pixies and lots of others, kicked the bucket in Chicapass, on the all-too-early age of 61. In tribute, we’re delivering you this classic 2013 put up from our archive.

Journeyguy report professionalducer Steve Albini (he prefers to be known as a “reporting engineer”) is in keeping withhaps the crankiest guy in rock. This isn’t an impact of age. He’s all the time been that method, for the reason that emergence of his frightening, no-frills post-punk band Large Black and later tasks Rapeguy and Shellac. In his curhire function as elder statesguy of indie rock and extra, Chicago’s Albini has developed a reputation as roughly a hardass. He’s additionally a consummate professionalfessional who musicians need to know and paintings with. From the sound of the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa to Joanna Newsom’s Ys, Albini has had a hand in one of the vital defining albums of the ultimate thirty plus years, and there’s excellent reason for that: nothing appears like an Albini report. His means is all his personal, and his effects—minimalist, dynamic, and uncooked—are impossible to argue with.

So when Nirvana launched into reporting their ultimate, painful (in hindsight) album In Utero, they requested Albini to persuade them clear of the extra major-label sound of the damageout Neverthoughts, professionalduced by way of Butch Vig. True to shape, the typically verbose Albini despatched a four-page typed letter in reaction. The letter (first web page above—see the remaining right here) is a testament to in keeping withhaps essentially the most ideaful professionalducer since Quincy Jones and lays out Albini’s philosophy in very positive element. Two sample paragraphs function a thesis:

I’m best interested in paintingsing on information that professionalimately replicate the band’s personal in keeping withception in their tune and existence. If you’ll commit yourselves to that as a guiding principle of the reporting meansology, then I can bust my ass for you. I’ll paintings circles round you. I’ll rap your head with a ratchet…

I’ve labored on hundreds of information (some nice, some excellent, some horrible, so much within the courtroombackyard), and I’ve noticed an immediate correlos angelestion between the quality of the outcome and the temper of the band viaout the method. If the report takes a very long time, and eachone will get bummed and scrutinizes each step, then the reportings undergo little resemblance to the are living band, and the outcome is seldom flattering. Making punk information is definitely a case the place extra “paintings” does no longer suggest a gambleter finish outcome. Transparently you could have discovered this yourselves and appreciate the logic.

Albini decries any interference from the “entrance place of work bulletheads,” or report compathe big apple pros (his feuds with such people are legendary), and makes it slightly transparent that he’s there to serve the interests of the band and their sound, no longer the product of a marketing campaign. Whilst Albini has issued many a surly guyifesto through the years, this statement of his craft is possibly essentially the most compreroostersive. He’s driven by way of what he calls a “familysend” with the bands he works with. And his passionate commitment to musicians and to quality sound makes him one of the vital artistically virtuous people paintingsing in popular tune nowadays. For extra on In Utero, learn Dave Grohl’s Rolling Stone interview right here. Underneath, see Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Steve Albini discuss the now-famous letter to Nirvana.