Inspired by those albums, Cobain wanted to utilize Albini's technique of capturing the natural ambiance of a room via the usage and placement of several microphones, something previous Nirvana producers had been averse to trying. Months before the trio had even approached Albini about the recording, rumors circulated that he was slated to record the album. Albini sent a disclaimer to the British music press denying involvement, only to get a call from Nirvana's management a few days later about the project. Although he considered the group to be "R.E.M. with a fuzzbox" and "an unremarkable version of the Seattle sound", Albini told Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad he accepted because he felt sorry for the band members, whom he perceived to be "the same sort of people as all the small-fry bands I deal with", at the mercy of their record company. Before the start of recording sessions, the band sent Albini a tape of the demos it had made in Brazil. In return, Albini sent Cobain a copy of the PJ Harvey album "Rid of Me" to give him an idea of the acoustics at the studio where they would record. The members of Nirvana and Albini decided on a self-imposed two-week deadline for recording the album. Wary of interference by DGC, Albini suggested the band members pay for the sessions with their own money, which they agreed to. Studio fees totaled US$24,000, while Albini took a flat fee of $100,000 for his services. Despite the suggestions of Nirvana's management company Gold Mountain, Albini refused to take percentage points on record sales, even though he stood to earn about $500,000 in royalties. While a common practice among producers in the music industry, Albini refused to take royalties because he considered it to be immoral and "an insult to the artist". In February 1993, Nirvana traveled to Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, to record the album. Albini did not meet the band members until the first day of recording, though he had spoken to them beforehand about the type of album they wanted to make. Albini observed that "they wanted to make precisely the sort of record that I'm comfortable doing". The group stayed in a house located on the studio grounds during the recording sessions. Novoselic compared the isolated conditions to a gulag; he added, "There was snow outside, we couldn't go anywhere. We just worked." For most of the sessions, the only people present were the band members, Albini, and technician Bob Weston.