My lean, mean, tangerine Buddha Machine
It’s an inexpensive-looking small box, the size of a cigarette package (available in five different colors), that plays nine different loops through the integrated speaker (there's also a headphone jack). A toggle switch allows the user to cycle through the short loops, which will play continuously for hundreds of hours on a single pair of AA batteries. (And if the batteries do run out, the box even has a plug for DC power - not included). The box is totally self-contained, and the onboard RAM cannot be modified. It's is available in a total edition of 800, manufactured by a Buddhist-run factory in southern China.
The musical loops are performed by FM3 [actually it's FM三, pronounced FM san; “san” is three in Chinese], a Beijing based duo [they used to be a trio, hence «san»], composed of American Christiaan Virant and Chinese Zhang Jian. The loops are either of a very Eastern inclination (utilizing traditional instrumentation like the gu zheng) or of a meditative New Age-y nature. In actuality, the Buddha Machine is a modified version of a device used in Buddhist temples throughout Asia, which feature repeating loops of chanting monks or nuns. "Buddha Machine" is a direct translation of the Chinese term for these devices. The drones themselves are largely wonderful, whether carefully studied or relegated to the background. Most of the drones are [...] named after animals and musical instruments, with a couple given the nondescript names of "b1" and "b2", and the final drone named after the verb "To Dance". The first drone, translated "Horse", is particularly lovely, two repeated organ-like tones that last about fifteen seconds each, which after a while create a lovely, moody, minor-key atmosphere. "Sheep" actually features a melody, which when repeated for a couple of minutes, becomes one of the most peaceful of the drones for its simplicity and use of empty space. Even "b1", composed with a single, decaying chord only six seconds in length, could slow your heartbeat with its insistence on never, ever moving.
There's even a graphic showing the machine innards. Of course, the question that is being asked repeatedly on the internet is: is there really a little buddha sitting inside the box? A kind of a Ghost in the Buddha Machine?
Who knows? Who cares? All I know is: I have never slept so well since I keep it on all night on my beside chair. I also take it to work and find myself more relaxed and more patient in my dealings with people around me.
Read all about it:
http://tinyurl.com/h3yeh
http://tinyurl.com/cd4cc
http://www.groovesmag.com/review_item.php?id=00000116
http://www.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=6547215
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