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Steve Albini

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited April 2011 in Strut Central
The Nirvana thread piqued my interest in recording engineer Steve Albini. I really love the raw basement like quality he adds to recordings. Recommend some Albini faves?

  Comments

  • jdeezjdeez 638 Posts



  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I like him for bringing back "having drums sound like drums" after the horrid rock drum sounds of the 80s. I always liked the production on "surfer Rosa" and the aforementioned Jesus Lizard records.
  • SnagglepusSnagglepus 1,756 Posts


    Some friends of mine in a band called Ferocious Fucking Teeth just recorded with him recently (they've yet to release the recordings). Even after producing countless classics he still keeps his prices low enough so that unknown/unsigned bands can afford to record with him.
  • Mr_Lee_PHDMr_Lee_PHD 2,042 Posts
    This:



    Kim Deal is pretty into the sound side of things too. She records using the All Wave approach, which she and Albini came up with after this was released. So basically, no computers or digital components at any point in the process, even when it comes to post production, mixing and mastering.



    Breeders Digest poast about All Wave recording
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    Always liked this record:

  • neil_somethingneil_something 993 Posts
    The Pixies "Surfer Rosa" is an obvious choice, but still stands up today as a great sounding album.

    More recently, you can't fuck with his work on Joanna Newsom "Ys".
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts






    Also - check out the website for Albini's recording studio http://www.electrical.com/
  • Options
    Unknown
    neil_something said:
    More recently, you can't fuck with his work on Joanna Newsom "Ys".

    That's one of he worst records I've listened to in the last decade.
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
    RAJ said:
    I really love the raw basement like quality he adds to recordings.

    He is especially awesome at recording drums.
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    BobDesperado said:
    neil_something said:
    More recently, you can't fuck with his work on Joanna Newsom "Ys".

    That's one of he worst records I've listened to in the last decade.

    Munchkin Music to be listened to in Mom's basement suroounded by cats....lots of them.

    b/w

    She'd rip out Vashti Bunyan's trachea in a twee gang fight
  • Agent45Agent45 451 Posts
    Lost Albini production (experimental/vanity record related)

    http://www.discogs.com/Steven-Lance-Ledbetter-Organ-Fans/release/2764201

    Recorded and mixed 3 April 2001 at 41?? 56' 22" N, 87?? 41' 36" W
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    I was told by a local guy that recorded at Electrical that Albini actually makes all his money by playing online poker
  • Options
    Unknown
    Rockadelic said:
    BobDesperado said:
    neil_something said:
    More recently, you can't fuck with his work on Joanna Newsom "Ys".

    That's one of he worst records I've listened to in the last decade.

    Munchkin Music to be listened to in Mom's basement suroounded by cats....lots of them.

    b/w

    She'd rip out Vashti Bunyan's trachea in a twee gang fight

    Only because Vashti's about 70 now.
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    pj harvey's "rid of me" really benefitted from his production.

  • JimBeamJimBeam Seattle. 2,012 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:
    pj harvey's "rid of me" really benefitted from his production.

    yes. that is an incredible sounding record.

    all the shellac albums sound great, as does Rapeman's "Two Nuns and a Pack Mule"-- i guess he's pretty picky about how his own bands sound. the guitars he plays are the definition of crunchy sound, imo.

    i was pleasantly surprised by this recently, having never listened to scout niblet before:


    cosign on Pod too. I'm kind of a geek for anything coming out of EA recordings. The stockpile of 2" tape at that studio must be huge.
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    Just don't talk to him about sampling.
  • maldorurrmaldorurr 120 Posts
    Soulhawk said:
    I was told by a local guy that recorded at Electrical that Albini actually makes all his money by playing online poker

    I've heard this, too. He's got a rep as a really difficult collaborator, but everything I've heard just makes him sound kind of like a nice enough shut-in. Someone I've talked to from Guided by Voices said that after every song Steve would say, substituting for particulars, "That sounds like [Cheap Trick, the Kinks, whatever]," in an utter deadpan; the band would say, "Is that good?"; and Steve would say, "It's not bad or good. It's just true."

    Also I saw Naked Raygun years ago and Jeff Pezzati told me that Steve had a problem with fireworks, like a genuine pyrotechnical compulsion. If he has fireworks apparently he cannot, cannot, cannot avoid lighting them. Allegedly.
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