FM 3 Live @ Dissonanze 2007
FM3 is an electronic act based in China, an act known primarily for its minimalist bent and their tendency to subdue live crowds into absolute silence. As such, it only makes sense that they be the act to introduce Staalplaat's Buddha Machine series. The Buddha Machine, then, is a little plastic box that plays music. Specifically, FM3 constructed nine drones, varying from 2 to 42 seconds, which repeat endlessly in the listener's ear until the "track" is switched to the next drone.
The machine has its own built-in speaker, in case one would like to fill a room with the drones, but there is also a headphone jack for more personal meditative experiences. There's a switch on the side that allows for traversal of the tracks, and a DC jack (though an adapter is not included) for those who would like the Buddha Machine experience be truly endless. In a way, it's like the cheapest pre-loaded IPod you'll ever be able to buy. At its heart, however, the Buddha Machine is actually a counterargument to the onset of the downloading age. For one, the entire point of the release is to have the little box. Sure, you could theoretically download each of the drones (which are actually available in mp3 from FM3's website), push "repeat" in your media player of choice, and have something close to the original effect, but you lose much of the aura of the work that way.
Sure, the Buddha Machine is more than a little bit of a novelty. But what's truly special about it is what FM3 has done with a tiny bit of recording space on a shitty little speaker. It's mesmerizing. It's portable relaxation.
www.fm3.com.cn
