Steve Albini is a mixing engineer whose career has spanned over 4 decades and has created a signature sound. He’s known for his use of exclusively analog equipment, and recording bands as live as possible, minimising overdubs. His production style is associated heavily with grunge, yet ideologically takes from a punk ethos.
Perhaps the most famous record Albini has worked on, the approach on ‘in utero’ was to capture the sound of nirvana in the room, with most of the songs being recorded in a few takes live. On some songs such as “Very Ape” the drums were recorded separately in a kitchen for natural reverb and Grohl’s drum kit had about 30 microphones on it. Albini refused to double track Cobain’s vocals, believing it to sound too polished, and instead recorded vocals with multiple mics in a resonant room. There’s a lot of natural reverb on the record as a whole, in a ‘rough demo’ sort of way. The band chose Albini specifically for this, Cobain stating his love for the pixies. While technically the producer of the record, Albini discusses in Dave Grohl’s sound city documentary that he refused royalties as he believed it was an insult to the artist, and prefers to allow artists to pick their own takes and have ultimate creative control in their work. While not technical, this last part reflects the punk ‘rough and ready’ ethos that Albini stands by while working In the studio.
Albini was also the producer chosen by PJ Harvey for her 1993 album ‘rid of me’. Similar to In Utero (and recorded at the same studio), most of the songs on the album were recorded live in as few takes as possible. Harvey was particularly fond of Albini’s drum sound, saying “He’s the only person I know that can record a drum kit and it sounds like you’re standing in front of a drum kit. It doesn’t sound like it’s gone through a recording process or it’s coming out of speakers.”. Albini discussed his drum sound in one interview, highlighting his use of many room mics in acoustically untreated rooms, prominently mixed in with the close mics on the kit.
This is the sort of approach I would like to take when producing and recording music. While I don’t make punk music, I greatly admire this punk ethos that Albini takes into the studio. The emphasis on capturing the chemistry and energy of a band playing all together is something I appreciate in Albini’s approach as well.
Cameron, Keith. “This Is Pop”. Mojo. May 2001
MWTM Q&A #23 – Steve Albini (2015) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQonl6exhNU (Accessed: 04 May 2024).
Steve Albini’s ‘conditions’ for becoming Nirvana’s producer | Conan O’Brien needs a friend (2023) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGfloIbd7eM (Accessed: 04 May 2024).
Recording Engineer, Steve Albini, on the making of Nirvana’s ‘in utero’ album. (2021) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHcmfzhxSm0 (Accessed: 04 May 2024).
Tracking snares with Steve Albini (2020) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEoCNOdBIDk (Accessed: 04 May 2024).
P.J. Harvey – Interview (1993) (2007) YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhT4Kp828hs (Accessed: 04 May 2024).