Hi everyone! This week, I had the absolute pleasure to speak with legendary audio genius Steve Albini. He is the producer and recording engineer of famous records like Surfer Rosa by the Pixies and In Utero by Nirvana. Albini got his start in music as a teenager working with many different punk bands, and continued with his own bands like Big Black and Shellac throughout the 80s. While Big Black has since disbanded, Albini has stayed involved with Shellac and continues to make records for a variety of bands. Over his three-decade career, he has recorded music for other artists such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Joanna Newsom, and past bazzreviews interview subject Cloud Nothings. He is currently based out of Chicago and runs his own recording studio, Electrical Audio. I was incredibly grateful that Steve gave me his time for an interview
bazzreviews: Which albums or artists had an influence on you to start a music career?
Steve Albini: I have to say, I wasn’t really influenced by extent bands and musicians. I started playing music because my peer group as a teenager gravitated towards punk rock. In that case, I would say hearing the Ramones was pretty influential for me. We decided amongst ourselves to try and play music. It wasn’t really that I was inspired by specific music to play music, it was just the whole of the punk rock scene changing to allow me and my friends to make music. Sure, there were bands that I emulated and admired, but the decision to make music was basically getting involved with the punk scene.
br: For a time in the 80s, you were the founding member of Big Black. I know you’re still involved with your other band, Shellac, but was there any reason why you chose to shift primarily to audio engineering?
S.A.: My relationship with me being in bands was that it was always a hobby. When I was a teenager and in school, my band was a hobby. As an adult, I have my occupation, and the band is still my hobby. My principal relationship with music hasn’t changed. I wanted to have a job so that I could have a sustainable existence and still be able to play music on the side. I think that was essentially true of all the musicians I knew in music at that time. It never occurred to me that we would ever be professional musicians. It still wouldn’t cross my mind today. It sounds strange, considering I make a living by making records. However, being in a band has always seemed like a single enterprise, completely separate from my job. You have to make a living, but being a band depends on whether you’re able or unable to do it.
br: Can you describe your process of recording and engineering a song for bands?
S.A.: The first step in the process is sitting down and talking with the band. I do this to find out what kind of record they want to make and what things they want to do while they’re in the studio. Sometimes, you know the band because you’ve worked with them before or have done background research on them. A lot of times, bands might just want to come in to make a record without me speaking to them beforehand. You will typically organize a session around the information that is gathered from speaking with the band. Typically, a session will be recording several songs, not just one. You’ll set up to do the basic recording by doing a live take of the band with either guide vocals or final vocals. I’ll press on with singing and move on to other overdubs. Sometimes, you’ll have tracks that are finished and some that still have a few things that need to be fixed. At that point, your time is very flexible. You can mix, do a vocal, whatever is required to do at the moment. At this point, you’ll have a finished record and all the master tapes get sent out.
br: I’ve heard that you’re known for a very forthright recording process and allow artists to figure things out on their own- what is the significance behind this methodology?
S.A.: It comes from a position of respect for the people that are there to make an album because it’s their album. I feel like if I start voicing opinions and direct the process, it moves farther away from being a vehicle of communication between the band and their audience. I get uncomfortable trying to make it partly my project and partly theirs. My preference, as always, is that the record should reflect what the band does. I’m denying the band and their audience the communion that I have experienced as a listener. The albums that have meant the most to me have been straight drafts of their music. It’s like they were almost communication to me directly. Insofar as I can, I try to provide that for my clients I have at Electrical Audio. I want them to be able to say and do whatever they want.
br: Over your career, which albums have been your favorite to make?
S.A.: I get asked that question a lot, but I never have an answer for it. Out of all the sessions I’ve done, it was when I got to meet and work with the Stooges. They were a really formative band for me, and I listened to them when I started making music myself. Getting the chance to meet them, work with them, and the fact that they treated me like a peer, it was all a very rewarding experience. More than any one particular record, what has been the most rewarding for me is developing a long term relationship with an artist so that I can work with them in the future. For example, I did eleven albums with a band called Silkworm. I’ve also done half a dozen records with a band called Neurosis. Just the fact that we’ve established that rapport as friends, it means more than any record I’ve ever made. There’s this singer from New York named Nina Nastasia, and I’ve done a bunch of her records. At this point, I consider her a dear friend, almost family.
br: You’ve worked with so many bands over the years, but are there any others that you would want to work with?
S.A.: Sure, I’ve had a short list for upwards of thirty years now. I haven’t taken any of the names off yet, but a lot of groups have started to end their careers. I don’t know if it will be a very fruitful exercise for me to list all of these names off. I really admire the work of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. They’re very unique and incredibly durable talents. On the other side of the spectrum, there’s Neil Young and Crazy Horse, whose records have meant the world to me. I would be immensely gratified if I had a shot of working with him. Neil has a very specific approach to making music, and I wouldn’t want him to do things the way he wants them just because he’s working with me. I could make a good record with bands like AC/DC and ZZ Top, but their careers are winding down.
br: I know that Kurt Cobain discovered you because of your work on Surfer Rosa and Pod, and you ended up producing In Utero for Nirvana. What was it like working with them?
S.A.: Bear in mind where they had come from. They were from the underground, indie scene before they hit it big. I didn’t know them personally, but I would consider them peers because we were both from the same network of underground music that I was a part of. We had friends in common, and they were also social with other bands that I knew from Seattle that had been associated with Sub Pop Records. Because of this, we could communicate very easily and very comfortably. They were very much like bands that I had worked with before. It was a very straightforward session. The band was very well-prepared and rehearsed, all of the organizational aspects of the session had been organized. Kurt had a comprehensive set of notes with what he wanted to do with his vocals and guitars on each of the songs. All the sessions were very productive and efficient, as we were done and dusted in twelve days. Given that it was a record of very high status, people who were banking on it seemed worried. However, the band was very comfortable working in this manner.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
S.A.: This sounds like I’m ducking the question, but I don’t tend to have goals. The problem with having goals is that you are perpetually frustrated. You’re frustrated when you haven’t achieved your goal. On the other hand, once you've achieved the goal, you don’t have a real focus or direction in life. I tend to concentrate on the process, and make sure my work is rewarding an honorable. The only goal, really, is to carry on doing it. I’m perfectly comfortable with operating in this manner. We’ve built this studio, and I’m making records every day. I want to be able to do that until I’m no longer able. Most importantly, I hope that my work here at Electrical Audio will matter for the people I work for in the same way that records by bands I admire have influenced me.
I would like to thank Steve again for his time, as it means so much to have spoken to a respected figure in the music community. His production on these famous albums have not only inspired me, but so many people around the world. Also, a huge thanks to all my readers. Wherever and whenever you're reading this, thanks for continuing your support for my website. More amazing content is coming your way soon!
To learn more about recording with Steve Albini go to https://www.electricalaudio.com/
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