Shocked, sad and speechless...Steve you were a great motherfucker....thank you for everything you have given to us...

It looks like FM scott is still hosting this amazing early archive made by FM bebio back in 2008:


http://toomanyhelicopters.com/freestuff ... 0Audio.pdf

I've really appreciated reading these posts today and yesterday. I sat down to try to process this loss and wrote this:.

There are two people who have had the most monumental influence on the course of my life and my identity as a musician. The first is my good friend Mike who taught me how to play the guitar and introduced me to an entire world of independent music. The second was a stranger and later, fond acquaintance, Steve Albini. Back in the mid 90s, Mike was touring in a band Ritual Device, who had recently recorded at Albini’s home studio. Mike gave me a cassette with Shellac’s At Action Park on one side and a comp of Scratch Acid on the other. I played that tape in my car a million times. What I heard in Albini’s music was vital. There was an integrity to the sound, nothing added, nothing subtracted. I then came to discover Albini was a common force behind so many of the albums that were, and remain, so important to me. It was an immensely formative time that opened my eyes to a world of musicians who did things completely on their own terms; pushing boundaries, while creating a kind of communal subculture of venues, record stores, and DIY recording sessions

Steve might balk at this, but I think integrity was the super power he had as an engineer. He was uncompromising in his ethics and committed to making excellent recordings that will survive as entries into history. Those principles, in a kind of inverse way, do leave a sonic imprint. I’ve heard people say regarding bands they love, “The album they did with Albini was their best one.” I think they’re hearing is the ingenious way Steve stepped out of the way to let the greatness of the band take the spotlight. It’s the negation of ego, that opening of a space for musicians and instruments to breathe, that I hear as both an integrity of sound and integrity of a person.

In 2012 I recorded my album All the Ghosts with Steve at Electrical. It’s not often that your inspirations live up to your expectations. Steve was an exception. Steve was so incredibly good at his job. We made a 12 song album in 3 days and mixed it all on a 4th. This was how Steve was used to working. The fact that a “famous producer” was willing to work that hard and fast on a random, unknown band is again a testament to Steve’s integrity. In the studio, Steve was both sharp and disarming. He told us some great stories and plenty of jokes. It was one of the most important experiences of my life. I can’t believe he’s gone. I have had so many vivid dreams of making another album with him.

Steve’s legacy will be speaking to us for years to come. I’ll derive some comfort in the fact that I will continue to discover music that Steve helped document and fix into the culture. I’m sure there are many “acquaintances” and strangers like me who probably have a similar story about what an impact Steve had on their creativity, career, and life.

Thank you again Steve, for leaving an indelible mark on me and on a culture I hold dear. And thank you for helping me live out the dream of making an album with you. I know that since it’s on analog tape, I will have it always, and my kids and their kids’ kids will also someday be able to hear it. You know what I mean…

In deepest gratitude, with condolences to all your loved ones,

Steve B.

I still can't believe this is real.

I love hearing everyone's stories about Steve. They are all different and unique but share Steve's kindness and generosity. My interactions with Steve aren't different, and like so many people here, it's impossible to overstate how much he influenced and changed my life. I wouldn't be where I am without him, without this message board, without the friends I made through here. He lived like a damn hell ass king, and he went exactly the way he wanted to with a mountain of unfinished shit left, but fuck, 61 is just way too young.

Gramsci wrote: Thu May 09, 2024 6:12 am BBC has done a tribute.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live: ... are-mobile

That's the live feed for 6 music. You can hear the mix here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001zk06

With Mr Albini gone I've only got the sage advice of Glenn Danzig left to guide my decisions.

When we recorded a 7” at Electrical in 2002, Steve gave us an extra day of studio time to do the mixing, we booked only one day and planned on getting it all wrapped up, but he got off to a late start due to the session he recorded the night before going long and by the time he was ready to mix, he said he didn’t trust his ears. So we came back a few weeks later and had a whole day of mixing for free. It meant a lot to us, being in our very early twenties and absolutely not being able to afford it. He was a real mensch.

Seeing all the old heads here

i still cannot believe it.

as many others mentioned before, steve was an integral part of not only my musical life.

when action park came out in 1994 it changed my life forever. i had never heard music like this before, bass player here in austria in the middle oft he 90s, around 25 years old.

music that went directly into my heart, something i could have never imagined before.

so i started to follow the band, joined the prf, asked questions and got replies even for the most stupid questions. and i have learned a lot lot on gear and recording and pasta with apples and onions. always hoping for a new record soon.

shellac changed my holiday plans from then on and their european tours lead me to places i would have never visited in my life. catania, where they have played with uzeda open air in a venue where the sound engineer was surrounded by huge cactus plants, hasselt in belgium together with the ex, istanbul together with soundgarden. a shellac show was always a good reason to book a hotel for a week in a place that never was on your holiday list.

a few years from 2003-2008 i have worked as a booker in a viennese venue called szene wien and after many attemps could convince their european agent carlos to have them play there on 5-7-07. i wore an acoustic amps t-shirt that day when steve went in he said „nice t-shirt! these amps made my guitar sound like a banjo.“ the show was great and all the guys super nice, much nicer as all the 700 bands that have played there in these 5 years. and they drank exactly 1! small beer all together that evening (and i’m sure it was eliot the sound engineer…).

besides shellac i consider „the problem with music“ as one oft he most important articles on cultural industries, not only music, ever written. and everything else steve had to say on this theme. steve’s opinions on fees and royalties, all his gear and recording, advice, so many other things, so many.

my deepest condolences to heather and the whole family, todd and bob, and all of you that knew him personally or anyone that cares. steve will leave a hole that cannot be filled anymore.

best wishes from austria
siegi

Hadn't posted on the forum in many years. Can't believe this is what brought me back, but here for the same reason as everybody else. The term "punch to the gut" doesn't seem like enough. So hard to swallow.

I live around the corner from the studio and decided to walk by last night and saw this. Wanted to share especially for those who aren't local.
Sending love into the ether...

Posting local TV news clips here. Some interviews with PRF(-adjacent) folks. Hopefully it's okay for me to do this.

I still cannot believe it.

https://youtu.be/ZqyilM57-r4?si=ZDocRgTNTgf-Ucit

https://youtu.be/e0tyuPnHbcI?si=T8-7I8Jl1hkosKxy

https://youtu.be/cE5h_SIG9Q0?si=CTCJ8RQO3liuPqeZ

https://youtu.be/k6MQIglGYy0?si=sntMTAl4BwT3EK9C

https://youtu.be/_DtrKJ9aGMA?si=dl1dA9Od-fS8W5Hu

https://youtu.be/9frRvTUN2OI?si=2d32AGuAmGr3_NCU