Famed producer and indie rock icon Steve Albini died on Tuesday (May 7) at the age of 61. Employees at his Chicago studio Electronic Audio confirmed the sad news to Pitchfork, sharing that his cause of death was a heart attack.
Albini was known for fronting the bands Shellac and Big Black, and was also a storied producer (though he preferred to be called an engineer). He was at the helm of Pixies' 1988 hit Surfer Rosa, Nirvana's 1993 classic In Utero, and PJ Harvey's brilliant sophomore album Rid of Me, which was also released in 1993, among many others. His impressive discography spans past the late '80s and '90s, too. In more recent years, Albini worked on albums by bands like Mogwai, Mclusky, Cloud Nothings, Mono, Ty Segall, and Sunn O)))
As TMZ points out, he was known for rejecting royalties and preferred to get paid a flat fee, often claiming musicians were only in it for the money. He also tried to keep studio costs low.
At the time of Albini's death, Shellac was prepping their sixth studio album—and first in a decade—To All Trains, which is slated to come out next week. They were also planning a tour in support of the album.