CHICAGO (CBS) -- The music industry is mourning the loss of Steve Albini, a legendary alt-rock musician, audio engineer, and producer known for his work with bands like Nirvana and Pixies. Albini, who also founded the renowned Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio, passed away at the age of 61.
Brian Fox, a fellow producer and engineer at Electrical Audio, confirmed Albini's death, stating that he passed away on Tuesday night from a heart attack.
"We are not ready to make any other statements yet. Maybe in the next few days, we could talk about his impact, which was immense," Fox said in an email.
Albini's death comes just days before his band Shellac was scheduled to release a new album, titled To All Trains, on May 17. This album marks the band's first release since 2014.
Albini's passion for punk music began when he was introduced to the Ramones as a teenager. Growing up in Missoula, Montana, he delved into the punk scene, eventually moving to Evanston, Illinois, to study journalism at Northwestern University. He immersed himself in the music scene, becoming a fan and writing for local music magazines.
Albini embarked on his musical journey back in 1981 by founding the punk rock group Big Black during his time as a student at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Subsequently, he went on to establish two other bands, the provocatively named Rapeman and Shellac, with the latter being the most enduring and arguably the most significant band of his career as a musician. In Shellac, he contributed as a vocalist and guitarist alongside bassist Bob Weston and drummer Todd Trainer.
Furthermore, Albini played a pivotal role in producing and engineering some of the most influential albums of the alternative rock scene in the 1980s and 1990s, including Nirvana's "In Utero," Pixies' "Surfer Rosa," PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me," Veruca Salt's EP "Blow It Out Your A** It's Veruca Salt," as well as multiple albums for Urge Overkill and The Jesus Lizard.
He also worked on music for iconic acts like Cheap Trick, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and the Foo Fighters, who recorded their popular track "Something from Nothing" at his renowned Electrical Audio studio in Chicago.
