Buddha Machine Sunday NY Times Magazine 07/29/07
Category: Music

Click the Buddha Machine

Visit and become friends with FM3 and the Buddha Machine

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FM3 and Rolling Stone

Two page feature on the FM3 Buddha Machine in Chinese-language edition of Rolling Stone magazine.




Inside the magazine is also a review of Jukebox Buddha. And FM3 makes it into the magazine's "2006 Hot List."

A hi-res scan of the FM3 Rolling Stone feature.

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Jukebox / Layering Buddha reviews!

A slew of new reviews for the Staubgold Jukebox Buddha compilation and Robert Henke's Layering Buddha CD and 7" vinyl box set.

Mark Teppo at Igloo starts us off with a threesome!

Test your language level with info about the FM3 Buddha Machine and Jukebox Buddha in Chinese AND Japanese

Then go deep as Paper Thin Walls decodes sunnO)))'s genre-busting take on the Buddha Machine.

And finish firmly in the mainstream with a scan from the December issue of Rolling Stone magazine...Chinese stylee!

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Goth Girls, Pitchfork and FM3!

It's true. The Buddha Machine has a serious soft spot for goth and rock chicks. Naturally, we were more than happy to see a nice news item about the Staubgold Jukebox Buddha compilation at the Suicide Girls website.

Equally sexy, depending on which circles you move in, Pitchfork have this news report on the comp.

And a Brainwashed review calls Jukebox Buddha "a bright yet unflashy record worth returning to."

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Jukebox Buddha due Nov. 7th
Category: Music

Fifteen tracks made with the FM3 Buddha Machine. Featuring exclusive contributions by Adrian Sherwood and Doug Wimbish, Blixa Bargeld, SunnO))), Thomas Fehlmann, Sun City Girls, Gudrun Gut, Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Jan Jelinek/Andrew Pekler/Hanno Leichtmann, Mapstation, Aki Onda, Robert Henke, Es, Alog, Minit and Wang Fan. It was about three years ago whilst loafing in one of Beijing's finer foot massage joints that Christiaan Virant, the other half of Chinese duo FM3 to Zhang Jian, began to riff mutation fantasies as applied to the Buddha Machine. The Buddha Machine is a literal translation from Mandarin for the small plastic box, driven by two double 'A' batteries, that grinds out low-fi looped sutra variants across the whole of China and South East Asia. The original concept was to locate the nest, infect the breeding process with the new strain of meditative sonics developed by FM3 over the previous couple of years, lop off a hundred or so clones for promotion purposes and bounce off the impact with a few European gigs. That idea died as soon as the little babies fell into the hands of Brian Eno, a rare musical expeditionary from the far West visiting China, and the notorious Alan Bishop of the Sun City Girls. Only just over twelve months later the little beggar polls 88 thousand pages on Google (the number 8 is the luckiest number in China) and has a dedicated My Space page almost as amusing as the soundbox itself when only the Pope is missing from its fanbase! On Jukebox Buddha, the first chapter of Buddha version, disciples of many levels stretch, compress, reconfigure, rub and dust, and generally fuck around with the nine floating loops clipped out from FM3's confrontational world of quiet. Moving straight to level four, the entry from Einsturzende Neubauten's Blixa Bargeld finds the Beijing resident submitting to sweeter harmonies than those with which he is traditionally associated, even eschewing voice in a move that could free him from the eternal cycle of rebirth. Level two devotee Wang Fan, longtime associate of FM3, builds environmentally-friendly filigrees of sound while new initiates Sherwood and Wimbish immediately recognize the key importance of bass to the Buddha. A true Zen moment is struck by the shameless humor of Jan Jelinek, Andrew Pekler and Hanno Leichtmann's commercial but Robert Henke (Monolake) takes a more devotional approach with a lift from his new album of droneage based entirely on loops from the Buddha Machine. Although Mapstation sound like Mapstation, in an act of submission Thomas Fehlmann bucks the beat and builds floating layers of naked vocal. The Sun City Girls prove they have visited more temples in the East than any other Westerner, and SunnO))) arrive from a different dimension with incomparable restraint. In fact, the absence of self indulgence pervades many of these contributions, as with Minit whose contribution is the only one to actually sound like FM3 but none more so than Gudrun Gut's analysis of the creative process employed in producing the track she has offered here.

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Robert Henke: Layering Buddha CD due Nov 7th
Category: Music

Berlin-based Robert Henke is best known for his work as Monolake, and as the software technology developer for the pioneering Ableton music software. This is his fourth full-length solo release for his own label, Imbalance Computer Music. The new ambient work Layering Buddha  is a dark, shimmering, epic journey, solely created with sounds taken from the famous FM3 Buddha Machine. By transforming, filtering and massively layering the thin buzzing audio sound from this device he has achieved intrusive and dense soundscapes with strong cinematic associations, slowly travelling into deeper and deeper sonic layers, opening spaces where the perception of time is extended, where microscopic details become visible, and where slight changes in color and timbre create sensations of giant structures moving slowly in the distance. The sound of the original Buddha Machine player was captured using state of the art recording equipment, capable of collecting artifacts far beyond the frequency response of the human ear. This made it possible to reveal hidden and usually inaudible aspects of the material during the processing, leading to sonically rich results full of incredible, almost organic detail. During the project, long permutating sequences were set up, using numerous independent layers of processed sound, all oscillating with their own frequency and breath. In a later production step, these long sequences were rearranged and cut down to obtain more closed works of different color. Finally, the most fascinating structures were chosen and assembled to form the Layering Buddha CD and limited edition vinyl. The CD has been compiled to work best as one long audio piece where the order of the tracks, and the way they interleave, guides the listener through different moods and places. Part of the fascination of the original FM3 Buddha Machine comes from the fact that it is a toy-like tool where one can experience each built-in loop as a solitary thing. But it's also a source of experimentation -- turning on more than one player at a time is highly satisfying. The limited edition vinyl box is a reference to this. Each work on the five record set can be played at any speed but, just like the original Buddha Machines, playing back two or more records simultaneously allows the creation of an infinite number of variations. The artwork for the CD and the limited vinyl edition is based on a work by Australian photographer Justine Lera.

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FM3 and Friends in Wire 273

An FM3 triple play in the new issue of WIRE magazine.

Staubgold compilation "Jukebox Buddha," Robert Henke's Layering Buddha and the FM3 Buddha Machine all make it into the WIRE charts this month.

Also, a full review of Jukebox Buddha in The Compiler section.

David Toop calls the release "one of my favourite new CDs." Sam Davies is not as excited. Read his full review below.

Also, a shout out to Geert-Jan Hobijn from Staalplaat Soundsystem. His discourse on CD sleeve artwork appears on Page 73. Unfortunately, the text is credited to that "other" Geert-Jan, the MEGO recording artist and MIMEO member Geert-Jan Prins.

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Layering Buddha BOOTLEG!

While we were away in Korea, the Robert Henke album Layering Buddha was uploaded to Soulseek. Three weeks before release date.

The only people who received pre-release copies of the album were music journalists.

Robert is upset. Understandably. Read his post about the issue here

Join the discussion about industry insiders who fuel downloads at the Ableton Live Forum

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Read what David Toop has to say about Jukebox Buddha and the Buddha Machine.
Category: Writing and Poetry

Friday, September 29, 2006

confusion, clarity, the Buddha machine
Category: Music

One of my favourite new CDs is Jukebox Buddha, 15 tracks by various artists .. Aki Onda, Thomas Fehlman, Blixa Bargeld, SunO))), Adrian Sherwood, etc. .. reacting to the FM3 Buddha Machine. FM3 Buddha machines are adaptations of small plastic boxes manufactured in China for devotional purposes. Each one plays a selection of loops of Buddhist chant stored on chips, so the sound has that whistling upper frequency feel typical of the technology. They come in different colours: I have two minis in playschool blue and a bigger deluxe model in 1970s brown. The cardboard boxes in which they are packaged are beautifully kitsch, lurid paintings of lotus flowers and psychedelic Buddhas, and the machines are embossed, again either with plastic lotus or Buddha images, so the general aesthetic is reminiscent of a romantic paperback novel. They have a compact functionality, combining an on-off and volume wheel, a button to select from seven or more choices of chant (monks and nuns, mostly singing arrangements of the sutras), a headphone socket and another socket for a power transformer. Last year in Beijing I was given directions to a supplier in Jingshan Park by my old friend, dubmaster radio DJ Steve Barker, now resident in China. Jignshan Park lies at the north end of the Forbidden City but I entered by the opposite gate, passing through an avenue of bonsai trees that cast weird shadows in the morning sun. A spiral path climbs the central hill, originally constructed from earth dug from the palace moat and intended as an imperial barrier against bad spirits from the north. Just after the outdoor concession where young couples can dress up in historic costumes for a souvenir photo, looking like extras in a King Hu movie, the summit is topped by a small temple and that..s where you buy the boxes. The temple was busy with people gazing down at the spectacular view of Beihai lake and the interior of the Forbidden City. Walking down I heard a quiet disturbance in the undergrowth and the slight movement of turning in that direction disturbed a flock of sparrows which rose as one, their wings stirring the air like a wooden spoon beating at mud. On level ground, a group of accordion players was practicing in duos and trios on either side of the path, each one playing a different melody. I stood at the middle point for 10 minutes, recording the gentle cacophony, struck by the fact that they seemed untroubled by their strange heterophonic mix. This seemed very Chinese: how to live in close proximity to neighbours without being too bothered by the overlap. Near to the bonsai exit two groups of elderly ballroom dancers illustrated the same tolerance, each one dancing tangos to different tunes played on adjacent cassette machines. The mix was bizarre, as if Astor Piazzolla had collaborated with John Cage to invent dysfunctional muzak, but then the dancing was peculiar also, an elegantly militant hybrid of tango and Tai Ji movements. As I recorded this audio scene, a lawnmower filled out the tinny sound with deep turbulent bass yet none of the dancing couples missed a step. Later that day, my bag containing the MD recorder, camera and notebook was stolen at Beijing airport, so my only recall of the morning lies in my memory and the three Buddha boxes. Sometimes I play them all simultaneously, and through the confusion I can remember the feeling of this walk with more clarity.

Jukebox Buddha, various artists, Staubgold 72.

Read more of David's writting http://www.myspace.com/davidtoop

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FM3 ROCK TORONTO!

Saturday. Sept 30. 10pm. Night Swim
With Sarah Peebles, Raz Mesinai, Sandro Perri, Tim Hecker and other top acts!

Thursday. Oct 05. 6pm. Soundscapes. 572 College Street.
Buddha Boxing instore gig!

Sunday. Oct 08. Mercer Union. 37 Lisgar Street.
With the very wonderful Polmo Polpo!!

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