American musician and producer Steve Albini (61 years old), the mastermind behind the legendary rock records of the 1990s, has died.

Steve Albini (61) became known as the frontman of the 1980s rock band Big Black, and as a producer, contributed to many legendary rock albums of the 1990s, from Nirvana (‘In Utero’), and PJ Harvey (‘Rid of Me). ‘) and fairies (“Surfer Rosa”).

Albini himself described his behind-the-scenes role as “engineer” rather than as producer. Albini has always been highly critical of the situation in the music industry. He owns two studios in Chicago, and has always encouraged a small-scale, do-it-yourself approach among artists. In his spare time he was a talented poker player.

Many Belgian artists have called upon Albini during their career. Rock bands Dead Man Ray, Raketkanon and Mauro Pawlowski have collaborated with him, among others. According to Albini himself, he has been approached by “thousands” of bands as a producer over the years, especially artists in the alternative and more experimental rock scene. Capturing the raw rock sound as best as possible was his trademark.

Since the early 1990s, Albini has played the frontman of the band Shellac. He recently recorded a new album with that band. He was scheduled to be released next week. It is not yet clear whether this will actually work.