Big Black’s Santiago Durango: “Steve Albini was a much better friend than I deserved”
Santiago Durango, guitarist of Big Black, has paid tribute to his late bandmate Steve Albini – see what Durango had to say below.
Earlier this week, the music world was shaken by the news of iconic rock engineer, producer and musician Steve Albini dying from a heart attack at the age of 61. Besides recording and producing some of rock’s biggest albums including Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero’ and Pixies‘ ‘Surfer Rosa’, Albini was also in several bands – one of which was Big Black.
Now, Big Black guitarist Santiago Durango has shared a statement with Rolling Stone about his former bandmate, in which he called Albini a “caring and giving person”. Describing Albini’s death as a “total gut punch”, Durango said to the publication: “I always believed Steve would outlive me. It makes me happy to know Steve lived a full life doing what he wanted to do.”
Durango continued: “What gets overlooked about Steve is that, when everything else is stripped away, he was simply a decent man. Everything makes sense when Steve is viewed through that lens.”
“He was a loyal and lifelong friend because he was a decent man. He was a much better friend than I deserved. He had a long marriage to Heather because he was a decent man. My heart aches for Heather. He never screwed anyone over because he was a decent man. He was a caring and giving person because he was a decent man. His unexpected passing has left a huge hole in my life.”
Albini started Big Black as a solo project in 1981 before Durango and Jeff Pezzati joined in 1983. The band released a collection of EPs, singles and two studio albums – ‘Atomizer’ and ‘Songs About Fucking’ – before breaking up in 1987.
Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was a fan of Big Black, having watched them perform before their split. This would eventually lead to Albini recording and producing ‘In Utero’ for the band. Yesterday (May 9), Nirvana’s social media accounts shared the four-page letter Albini sent to them, proposing that he produce the record for them.
Dave Grohl said of Albini in his own tribute: “He was the smartest, most cynical producer/music critic/band leader/pundit, everyone was scared of him. Then you see pictures of him and he just looks like this skinny little guy. He’s just smarter and funnier and better at everything than everyone else in the world.”
Following the news of Albini’s death, Pixies, Benefits and more have paid tribute to the late producer – you can read them here. Jarvis Cocker also recalled the impact that working with the producer during ‘Further Complications’ had on him, and The Cribs shared their fond memories of the icon. PJ Harvey also said he “changed the course of my life” during sessions for her 1993 LP ‘Rid Of Me’.
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Surej Singh
NME
