#71: Avvenir / Safety Records

Joel Ebner won’t compare himself to Brian Eno, but we will. As a friend, artist, and visionary, Ebner’s work easily measures up to that of his idols. Thanks to his prolific and determined spirit, he is also among the first guests who have returned to Inside the Machine.

Marking his second appearance on the show, Joel returns to premier new tracks from Avvenir, one of his myriad solo projects, plus work from the past year, including Contretemps and Modal Voices. Each project — one for every major form of electronic music — represents an artist at the pinnacle of their craft, something you only see exemplified by Eno, O’Rourke, and other greats.

In addition to his flawless execution of noise, electronic-rock, and techno, Joel is also the founder of Safety Records, a boutique record label here in Chicago. For now, Safety only distributes records that are created by Joel himself, but in the future, that could change. We cover everything that’s changed since our last conversation on the air, including how Joel learned to edit himself, and only pick the best tracks for a specific album. There’s lots to be learned from this episode, so press play now.