| Steve Albini |
Article Index for Steve |
Website Links For Steve |
Information AboutSteve Albini |
|
Steve Albini (born July 22 , 1962 , Pasadena, California ) is an influential singer, songwriter, Guitarist , Audio Engineer and music journalist. He is a former member of Big Black and Rapeman , and is currently a member of Shellac . He is founder and owner of the company Electrical Audio , which operates two recording studios in Chicago . EARLY LIFE Albini moved from his home in Missoula, Montana in 1980 to Chicago, to attend college. He was active as a writer in local Zine s such as Matter and Forced Exposure, covering the then nacent Punk Rock scene, gaining a reputation for iconoclasm and outspokeness that continues to this day. Around this time he began his work as a recorder of groups. AS AN ARTIST Big Black (1982-1987) In 1982 Albini formed Big Black with former members of Naked Raygun , releasing a numbers of EPs and two sparse albums, Atomizer (1986) and Songs About Fucking (1987). Heavely influenced by PiL , Wire and Gang Of Four they gained a reputation for confrontation, sarcasm and abrasiveness, breaking up in 1987 on the eve of the release of their second album. Rapeman (1987-1988) Albini went on to form the controversially titled (speciously after the titular character in a Japanese comic book) Rapeman in 1988, with former members of Scratch Acid ; Rey Washam (formerly of Didjits ), and David Wm. Sims (later of The Jesus Lizard ). They broke up after release of a single EP (Budd) and album (Two Nuns and a Pack Mule). Shellac (1992 -present) Albini formed (1994), Terraform (1998), 1000 Hurts (2000). All were released, as before, on Vinyl , as well as CD . As a lyricist As a lyricist, Albini demonstrates an interest in the seamier side of life, writing lyrics describing inter-personal injustice, dehumanization and personal crises, often written from the perspective of a central character, although his Gravitas is often brought down by comparison to contemporary nihilistic punks such as Black Flag and Dead Kennedys . RECORDING WORK See List Of Steve Albini's Recording Projects for a chronological list of Albini's recording work He is currently most active as a , Nirvana , Low , Mclusky , Mogwai , Bush , Godspeed You Black Emperor! , and The Auteurs . In Albini's opinion, putting producers in charge of recording sessions often destroys records, while the role of the recording engineer is to solve problems in capturing the sound of the musicians, not to threaten the artists' control over their product. In 2004, Albini summarized his opinions regarding record producers: "It always offended me when I was in the studio and the engineer or the assumed producer for the session would start bossing the band around. That always seemed like a horrible insult to me. The band was paying money for the privilege of being in a recording studio, and normally when you pay for something, you get to say how it's done. So, I made up my mind when I started engineering professionally that I wasn't going to behave like that." (Young 2004). Albums recorded by Albini bear a distinctive sonic signature. In ''; got an aggressive, often violent Guitar sound; and made sure the Rhythm Section slammed as one." (Azerrad, 344) Another Albini trademark is his habit of generally keeping vocals "low in the mix," or much less prominent than is usual in rock music. On Nirvana 's '' In Utero '' one can find a typical example of Albini's recording practices. Rather than recording each instrument on a separate track in the manner common in recording Popular Music , Albini positions a variety of microphones of differing ambience at certain points around a room in which the whole band plays simultaneously. Albini places paticular importance on the selection and use of microphones in achieving a desired sound and as such prefers to avoid Overdubbing . OTHER Additionally, he is famous (or notorious) in the indie world as an opinionated Pundit on the music industry and on trends in indie music, beginning with his earliest writing for Zine s such as Matter and Forced Exposure , to his commentary on the Poor Ethics Of Big Record Labels , and how their practices filter through to the independent labels. He has been a strong supporter of labels who have tried to break the mold, especially Touch And Go Records , with whom all of his bands have released recordings. In addition to his music and recording expertise, Albini is a huge Baseball fan, currently supporting the Chicago White Sox , having previously rooted for the Minnesota Twins . He is a journalism graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|