Albini has recorded, mixed engineered some mega-selling albums. But he charges a flat fee, does not demand the common royalties/points. How many people can say they declined millions 💰💰💰on principle, because they consider common practice unethical? Very few.

RIP Steve. You really were one of my heroes. Gonna miss you much.

props to the cameraman for persevering thru a severe bout of parkinsons

Steve should teach art ethics. His are impeccable.

“If you have a any further questions feel free to send me an email or whatever, I’m always around” RIP Steve 😢

RIP to one of the best to ever do it, music today simply would not be the same without him

a room full of sound engineers and no mic for the audience

Man….he was something truly special.

This is terribly a huge fucking loss....I'm not musician or any sort, but I have utmost respect for him. The fact that I will not hear anything from him ever again is unimaginably hard to swallow.

There is a great juxtaposition between Steve and the moderator in this video: Steve is humble and makes a solid argument in favor of not passing judgment upon tastes whereas the moderator often makes condescending comments similar to many industry snobs I’ve met in my career (the space echo USB joke, correcting grammar in the questions segment). Steve really sticks out to me because he’s always extricated himself from the norm, in this case, the professional engineer who belittles in order to counteract their insecurity. Steve is comfortable and confident and never arrogant. I’ve learned so much from listening to him talk about the philosophy of music production, as opposed the the onslaught of gear marketing content disguised as informative/inspirational production advice. Stay golden, Albini-boy.

Rip Steve, Thank you for all your amazing work

When Steve talks it becomes clear that he was a student of history and philosophy - loads of perspective, beyond your typical modern person.

Humble as it gets. Cheerio Mr.Real One

Steve - we miss you so much already. ❤

Maybe they should think about a Masterclass for video production!

I met Steve back in 1986 at a BIG BLACK/HEAD OF DAVID gig at Manchester's Archway club (across the road from the Haçienda) that I was bootlegging. He was out front in the crowd waiting for HEAD OF DAVID to come on and I struck up a conversation and asked him if it was okay if I taped BIG BLACK and he said go ahead! He even introduced HEAD OF DAVID on my tape recorder just as they came on stage! What a no bullshit artist. I still have those recordings on the TDK SA 90 cassettes they were recorded on (with a Sony Pro Walkman) and they sound the same today as they did back then. Those tapes are bulletproof!

goodbye, sir. rest in peace.

steve is such an eloquent speaker, it's a joy to listen to him speak.

31:55 Such an awesome thing to hear an engineer say. A lot of engineers I think get caught up in knowing what is best for the people they work with. Very refreshing to hear of someone who is not afraid to allow people to be creative even in ways the engineer doesn't like the sound of.

this is incredible content. this interview made me a fan of steve albini solely because of his ideas.

I absolutely love the way Steve expresses his thoughts and stuff, he's right on the money about physical copies and stuff will stay around forever. This man is a gem.... a legend of the highest standard (not to sound corny)

1:05:33 "I think it's a mistake to presume things need to be made better all the time. I think a lot of things are fine just the way they are." This pretty much encapsulates his philosophy (as I understand it), and applies to much more than just recorded music

I love how Steve is both a ruthless pragmatist about the nature of his industry, and a total romantic about analog recording.

"It's always worth a listen," Steve is a true master of capturing the true sound of an artist

This is an amazing interview I have a Big Black album in my record collection but was never a huge fan. Nor am I a big Nirvana fan but I still have a huge amount of respect for the way he thinks and works. I'm always amazed at all the 'how to build a studio' channels on youtube. It's always these sterile environments with sound proofing everywhere and bass traps with giant mixing boards going into a DAW. Those giant mixing boards are essentially a glorified mouse. Also think about all the pictures you've ever seen of The Beatles at Abbey Road or Hendrix at Electric Lady. You don't see people in glass boxes. You see people hanging out on couches in living rooms or big open rooms with pianos. Use your space for its unique character. Blood Sugar Sex Magik was recorded in a rented house. Led Zep in a haunted castle. Lou Reed recorded the original vocals to The Velvet's self titled album in a closet. So anyone out there who is interested in music production and home studio recording don't let these social media influencers make you think that you need thousands of dollars worth of gear you can't afford. They are being paid to sell a product. Your living room, bedroom, bathroom or garage might sound amazing. Especially right now. Lo-fi is all the rage. There are tons of pedals and plug-ins that try to emulate the sounds of older, less than state of the art gear. I also found out recently that Steve Albini doesn't earn royalties on albums that he's produced. I was stunned when i heard that and it gave me even more respect for the man. I also like his transparency as a producer. Like he says he's very hands off as far as the band and it's sound. I love Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails but every album of another artist that he's produced has his fingerprints all over it. I happen to like that but not all bands would sound good with NIN DNA inserted into it.

I thought analog was campy and outdated until I got into Steve's work. His expertise and genius work educated me and changed the very foundation of my understanding of audio recording. Steve is a legend

A real eye-opener when it comes to digital archiving. It was so obvious and yet I didn't realize it.

if he had only ever worked with the Pixies & Nirvana he'd still be a legend

Steve is generous for sharing so much. I appreciate SAE for documenting this event.

This has been a fantastic interview. Great job by the host for getting Steve talking and just letting him go. Such great information from such an experienced guy.

one of the ironies of this is that he is in one hell of a band, Shellac. He doesn’t reference his musical career in the beginning (and throughout) which is of mega cultural importance. Yet he describes himself in the beginning as a guy who didn’t go broke recording bands. He is a true artist and craftsman.

Spot on. This man knows exactly what is important. Great interview.

Wonderful interview. I love Steve's ballsy, sometimes-iconoclastic view of things.

Drum kit advice was pure gold

this guy is really really smart.

This is an incredibly enlightening look into Steve Albini's process! I've been both a fan of his music as well as many of the artists and recordings he's worked with. Thank You!!

If Noam Chomski was a recording engineer, he'd be Steve Albini

I’ve watched it again , as much as possible in the past few days ! So sad , such a loss ! R.I.P Rocker ❤

I love his recording of The Breeders record. Partly, it's the band. But his bass and drums are so rich on certain sounds, and it was so different from a lot of the dryer, thinner recordings I was hearing at the time. It feels so present and alive, and those cymbals and guitar pop just right in their contrast. I'm still trying to accept that he's gone. He brought recordings to life. Neat guy.

Steve is DA MAN! Instant legend and enjoyable personality. Real deal!

I love listening to him! So intelligent & interesting.

This is excellent!

Steve is the Fugazi of audio engineers.

This was incredibly insightful. Great content.

I wish he could have recorded Maurizio Pollini playing Chopin. It would have been great. What a brilliant humane man.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Albini is smart with a lot of great ideas and knowledge.

"The mobile phone would be farting some mp3 at you" LOL

This is just great stuff. Priceless.

"We were all very high on...... the way things were going" 😂 we all were expecting that to go a different direction. Fantastic talk. Thoroughly inspired as a musician and someone who loves the tech side of recording.

great interview.

Wow thanks for this great interview!

A very well articulated man.

great interview and great information Steve. I hope to work with you one day!

Genius/ legit human.

I could listen to him talk forever

He has perfectly articulated so many things I have thought and felt for years now. I'd love to do a record with him someday. If only in a dream.

1:51:30 He's referring to Chris Ott, ex-Pitchfork writer who threatened DMCA takedowns on his content hosted on Pitchfork after they were acquired by Conde Nast

Such a brilliant mind. We used to discuss how Big Black recorded their early music and tried to emulate that. Or otherwise attempt to use their technique as a justification for our lack of technological prowess, whether it was a lack of financial means or simply the fact that we were devoid of any recording knowledge. His talks are fascinating

Long live Steve Albini!!!

Obviously a great human being. Respect 🙏🏻

Never gets old this session. I have to say though that I absolutely love tape saturation and compression, but y'know...

I love synthesis. But this talk helped me place a firm line between using it to add something and using it to replace something. I really am getting more into using acoustic properties for effects.

So much wisdom in this video

I could listen to Steve talk about a paper bag all day long !!! Love this guy

Great speaker

this is pure gold...

Great interview

Steve is one of the best! Totally understand the attitude.

Se fue un grande!!!!

In 09, I think, I was AES prez at SAE Nashville and hosted a battle of the bands to raise money to bring Steve to town for a seminar. Now, the fact that I had to raise funds in a for profit institution to bring a speaker to town aside... Steve was extremely down to earth and a great inspiration to several/many students. That being said, years later, get a *good* apprenticeship and save your damn money.

love this guy

Guys, you don't really get Steve, do you? He's talking about the physicality of tape. That it is an object and it's always there for you. It exists and it carries history. Digital files are not objects, they are easily removed from memory, just like 99% of the popular music of today, which in a few months is gone completely from our collective memory, cause it's made to be consumed and not to be appreciated as a piece of art that defies time. Steve's approach is a philosophical one, but also a pragmatic one.

This was one of his best talks

I would love to see Rick Beato interview Steve Albini. Their personalities would be very fun to watch interact

Steve's band was in the always play rotation for most of my post-high school drinking music. We partied and got hammered to the 'Hammer Party' and 'Jordan MN' was just north of us.

This truly is a Master Class. This is golden information! So glad this showed up in my YT feed.

He is one articulate dude! 👍

One might think the the people recording this master class by a renowned recording engineer could have somehow mustered up the foresight and ability to make the questions being asked at the end somehow magically be able to have been heard on the video recording. Maybe I am asking for too much.

Steve Albini: No need to have 30 layers of the guitar part to add some sense of massiveness Butch Vig: Challenge accepted

Agree with virtually everything he says but didn't know I did until I heard him speak. And specifically to the ADAT part. Had a hell of a time finding someone to transfer our 24 track album masters on ADAT from 1996, last year. Got it done at a place called AVAST in Seattle.

Get you a significant other that talks about you the way Steve Albini talks about his job.

He is talking about all the digital devices that were introduced and faded out for example the mini disc 8 tracks. I have a few mini discs i recorded that i cant listen to.

Steve has so much knowledge...

Hi Mr. Albini, (if you ever read this), I'm a huge fan of dozens of your recordings, from early Urge Overkill and The Pixies, to The Jesus Lizard and Nirvana. Likewise, I'm a fan of many of your musical projects, including Big Black, and especially Shellac. That being said, I'd like to offer, to you and to all of KZfaq's readership, my own arguments in the age-old battle of "what's better... analog or digital?" My background: I have an electrical engineering degree with specific applications to pro audio, from the College of Engineering and the School of Music at the University of Miami, in Florida. I worked for several years as a digital signal processing (DSP) engineer in Silicon Valley and later co-founded the Rhapsody Digital Music System. As you can surely guess, I'll be arguing on the side of digital audio being superior, and here's why. Yes, in the first 40 years of commercially available digital audio technologies, many physical media formats have already become obsolete. But PCM data is the straight sampled audio, which will never become obsolete. Today, there is no need for physical media when you can put pure PCM digital data up into any big-name "cloud storage" service and keep it indefinitely. If you insist on putting your PCM data on some physical medium, you can always do so, and the fidelity of the recording will be perfect even if the machine that reads that digital data is very low quality, while analog information suffers greatly when using sub-par equipment. Even in the hypothetical apocalyptic scenario, building a D/A converter to turn that PCM data back into an electrical signal that can be sent to loudspeakers is actually not that complex. Both A/D and D/A converters can essentially be built using nothing much more than a voltage divider made by a bunch of resistors in series. Hypothetically, one could even write down the entire series of zeros and ones onto paper, and their audio is perfectly stored and retrievable; try doing that with an analog signal. Digital will always be played back at the correct speed, with only extremely small amounts of time variance (jitter). All of the major cloud services have very robust backup regimens, with backups, and backups of the backups, stored on SSD's and physical tapes at multiple physical locations in different geographic regions. For extra security, go ahead and put it up in a couple of cloud services. Your data will be available for download at any time, to anywhere. It will still be available long after we're all dead, and it will sound as perfect as the day it first came through the A/D converters. You can record and save as many tracks as you want, tracks of your entire recording session, all studio talkback, all submixes, all "final" mixes, all masters, EVERYTHING, indefinitely, at a miniscule cost. You can make as many copies of any and all of this audio with ZERO loss of fidelity, even after a billion (or more) copies. ZERO loss of fidelity means no new noise, no harmonic distortion, no lessening of dynamic range, no compression... perfect. Digital recording technologies do not add appreciable (i.e. audible) compression or dynamic distortion all the way up until the very point of clipping. Nobody needs to learn every setting, every option, every feature of digital recording software or systems. One can be considered an "expert" as long as they create excellent recordings, mixes, masters or whatever they specialize in. Yes, digital processing of effects and other manipulations CAN introduce mathematical errors, but if the processing is done at a modestly higher bit-rate than the final product will be released at, then the accumulation of errors is simply trimmed off during bit-rate reduction. 6 or even 4 additional bits is usually more than adequate. Analog tapes are saved on reels. They can be permanently destroyed by a magnet or one single fire in the place they are stored. Even if backups exist, the quality of them suffers on each replication. Tapes are typically saved "tails-out", and even with the best quality tape, over time, there will always be SOME magnetic bleed-through which will create some degree of ghost images. No matter how faint they might be, they're there. The images effectively add echoes to the recording, and the time between echoes doesn't even remain constant, because the time between them is a function of the diameters of the tape on the reels at each moment in time. Each reel of analog tape is expensive and will only record a finite set of tracks, typically 16 or 24 on the professional 1" or 2" tapes. Recording and playing the tapes require large and very expensive machines that require skilled maintenance over time to keep the biasing and the gauss levels going to and coming off of tape consistent over the life of the machines. The machines attempt to maintain the same tape speeds, typically 15 or 30 ips, over the life of the machines, but there is always "wow" and "flutter". Capstans, tape guides and heads all wear over time and replacement parts aren't always identical to originals. Audio signal paths are often compromised by poor design in the use of switches, pots and fader sliders. As every engineer knows, tapes will also add natural compression as you push the levels up closer and closer to saturation. When this happens, the dynamic range is reduced, effectively pulling the noise floor up, and the clipping of signal adds harmonic distortion. Even the subtlest rounding off of peak levels adds harmonic distortion. Vinyl media and the equipment to create and use them, have limitations that are even more serious. No matter how perfect vinyl recordings are created, with direct metal cuts created by the best quality machinery, pressed onto the best media available, etc... the audio will still be recreated by players that vary greatly. Most record players are not particularly good at playing a recording back at the actual correct speed, and most players will also add low frequency noise due to the slightest vertical warping of media. The styluses (needles) used by most players are not high quality, but even the BEST styluses are subject to the tiniest particles of dust, dirt, even fingerprints on the records. Also, the records themselves continually degrade with every playback due to the friction of the stylus, losing the high frequencies first and then working on down to the upper-mid frequencies over time. Whether or not you think analog "sounds better" or "warmer", or more "lively" or "musical", these are subjective judgements. I disagree that noise, saturation, distortion, pops and crackles, etc. is immaterial to one's listening experience, but again, that's a subjective evaluation. However, the concept that the finest analog equipment is somehow "peerless" is ridiculous. The A/D and D/A converters are the ONLY elements of a digital system that are subject to any physical imperfections, and on EVERY possible technical and/or electrical measurement, the qualities of the finest, professional A/D converters FAR exceed their analog counterparts, and consumer D/A converters far exceed the abilities of vinyl. In fact, even many midrange/mid-priced digital converters will typically outperform even the best analog signal path, with the MOST ACCURATE representation of what one's microphones capture. If an individual prefers the results of recording and playing back via analog signal paths, then I certainly cannot argue with them. One likes what one likes. But if you're considering the accuracy/fidelity of a recording with respect to what came down the wire from the microphone... then there is NO question: digital audio systems are superior in every way. And... all of the above is just what came off the top of my head today. I could fill an entire book with more details. :-) Cheers, Steve. I love your work.

For a bunch of audio nerds you think they would have had a mic for the audience questions. Loved the interview

Great history, great input from Steve, ... but if I shook my head as many times as the interviewer in this vid I'd be a head banger 😛 ... jokes aside, this vid is gold! ... thanks for sharing ... BUT, kudos to the interviewer for letting Steve fully answer whatever he wants to answer ... Even the audience is all ears, meaning: They all know who Albini is and what unimaginable knowledge this man has ...

Gosh darn I wish I joined the wheeler mailing list before he came out. Grrr. I slept on his Melbourne trip.

Six bottles of water

All bow down to the great god Albini!

I still love song you helped make sometime with others in my KZfaq ch. Coloration. Love The Super Maker, Andrew K. Thx A. A1.

Very philosophic

I agree with Steve on not ascribing the sound of old records to the faults of old gear. However, I think that using tape saturation plugins as an effect in the digital paradigm is, to use his terms, a completely valid aesthetic. Trying to capture a band as they sound in the room assumes the only sound they aspire to make is the sound their gear is capable of making. Part of the beauty of recording, for me and a lot of people, is that the studio can become its own source of creativity and almost another instrument the band has at their disposal. If every band were limited to the sounds they could make in their basement with traditional rock instruments, recorded music would be boring as fuck.

R.I.P.

What a cool guy! I would LOVE to learn from him more! Anyone know what punk band he was talking about with the reamping guitar vocals?

I very much appreciate Steve's hands off/non-producer approach to recording. At the same time I also very much like a control freak like Rick Hall of Fame Studios with his extremely hands on, coach/captain/hit-maker style of production. Rick's background as a wannabe hit-maker informs his technique, just as Steve's go for broke punk, originality first esthetic and his self-awareness of it informs his approach.

I hope that somebody out there takes the time to preserve this video on 16mm.

The Bush Song is 'Swallowed' for anyone interested

This gentleman just said "bespoke". Word.

Tape is safe - except for the 2008 Universal fire - check it out

A man of dignity, RIP