Steve Albini’s four-page proposal to produce Nirvana’s groundbreaking album ‘In Utero’ has been revealed on the band’s social media accounts, following news of the legendary musician and producer’s death at the age of 61 due to a heart attack. Speaking about his approach to music, Albini explained how he planned to handle recording the album and declared that “if a record takes more than a week to make, somebody’s fucking up”.
The proposal clearly states that Albini would only be interested in working on records that “legitimately reflect the band’s own perception of their music and existence”, which means that he expects commitment to that tenet of recording methodology. He further noted that he likes to “leave room for accidents and chaos” and prefers to not control every single element of the music and dynamics of a band.
Beside ‘In Utero’, Albini was known for producing several major albums such as Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’, PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid of Me’ and Manic Street Preachers’ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’. Shellac, the band he fronted, recently announced ‘To All Trains’, their first album in 10 years, which is set for release next week and were preparing to embark on a tour.
Several musicians, including Jarvis Cocker and Pixies, have paid tribute to the late musician, producer and engineer. Kurt Cobain, who was a known admirer of Albini’s music before he worked with Nirvana, brought with him a piece of the guitar Albini smashed during his band Big Black’s last ever show in 1987 during the first session. The producer declined royalties for producing and mixing the album, indicating that he only charges for the job he does and that royalties belong to the band
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