Primavera Sound Barcelona 2024 has dedicated a stage to the late and great record producer Steve Albini.
Albini passed away aged 61 earlier this month due to a heart attack. He was well known for being the producer of major albums such as Nirvana’s ‘In Utero‘, Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’, PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid of Me’, Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’ and more.
The late producer’s band Shellac were fixtures at the Primavera Sound Festival for almost 20 years, performing at every incarnation of Primavera since 2008. Shellac first played the festival in 2006, missed the following year, returned in 2008 and have played every year after that.
Last year, the group played Primavera festivals in Barcelona, Porto, and Madrid, making those performances among the last shows that the band ever played. The band were set to perform during this year’s edition of the festival prior to Albini’s sudden passing.
Now, as per Stereogum, the stage Shellac were set to play, has now been renamed the Steve Albini Stage.
A statement from Primavera reads: “Farewell, Steve. Although it will be the first year since 2007 in which he will not command the inimitable Shellac at his annual date with his favourite festival, the figure of the late Steve Albini will be more present than ever at Primavera Sound.
“The Steve Albini stage, situated opposite the Plenitude stage, will be a tribute to an irreplaceable member of the Primavera family, although he will, in fact, be honoured in every inch of the Parc del Fòrum, during every second of the festival.”
Shellac were set to play on Thursday May 30. Their slot will now be turned into a listening party for the band’s new album ‘To All Trains’. “At that time their stage will become the meeting point for fans who want to say goodbye to Albini while their new album, To All Trains, is playing,” shared the festival in a statement. “Inevitably Primavera Sound has lost a compass, but fortunately Steve Albini has marked the way forward forever.”
‘To All Trains’ marks the band’s first LP in 10 years, and was first announced in March. It follows on from 2014’s ‘Dude Incredible’, and was recorded in four blocks, each spaced several years apart, between November 2017 and March 2022.
Tributes have poured in for the legendary producer since the announcement of his death. Our NME obituary hailed him as “a lone voice of anti-industry punk scene ethics, even as he worked with major labels on some of the biggest names in alternative rock.”
In other news, Albini‘s bands Shellac and Big Black now have their catalogues available for listening on Spotify.
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters dedicated a rendition of ‘My Hero’ to the late producer in Charlotte, North Carolina last week.
“Tonight I’d like to dedicate this song to a friend that we lost the other day, who I’ve known a long, long time,” Foos frontman Dave Grohl told the crowd. “He left us much too soon. He’s touched all of your lives, I’m sure. I’m talking about Steve Albini. For those of you who know, you know. For those of you who don’t know, just remember that name: Steve Albini. Let’s sing this one for him.”
PJ Harvey also said he “changed the course of my life” during sessions for her 1993 LP ‘Rid Of Me’., and Joanna Newsom dedicated a version of her song ‘Cosmia’ to him, who engineered her 2006 album ‘Ys’. See further tributes here.
Elsewhere, Yourcodenameis:milo spoke to NME about how the 20th anniversary of their LP ‘All Roads To Fault’ was made all the more profound by the passing of Albini, who engineered the album.
Remembering their time with the punk and production legend, Lockey said: “We paid attention, saw everything he did, asked questions that he would gladly spend ages answering”.
“He once stopped the session and proceeded to give us a lecture on how the peanut built America. He schooled us in billiards, then showed us his favourite cooking shows that he’d recorded. It was all so natural and encouraging, we could do what the fuck we wanted and he’d capture it. That’s the deal, and we fucking loved it.”
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