buddha machine

Early today and half asleep I slumped down to the delivery office to pick up the Buddha Machine that wasn't delivered yesterday. Then opened the package on the way home put batteries in and gave it a listen. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First impressions were it's a lot smaller than I thought. Sure it's thicker than an iPod but more satisfying to hold. Plus instead of the mass of packaging that's my major bugbear with most electronic kit there was just padding round the unit in a padded envelope and then the box you see below. I like it, it's simple and mysterious it doesn't explain anything about the machine. It has I have to admit a certain exotic attraction - if you saw this on a stall or in a supermarket you'd want to buy it or at least know what the devil it was.

So you get the box open and it's even better. No instruction manual no schematic no description. Just the Buddha Machine itself - you know that much because it's written on the box and on the machine. In this case it's the Buddha Machine 2.0 and it's burgundy although it could be grey or brown (or blue lime green come summer).

So there's the speaker in the front - as others have said kind of a cheeky reference to the iPod clickwheel. On top there are two wheels and a headphone socket. The left wheel is the on/off/volume control. The right wheel is... Well I knew there were two remaining functions. Because the Buddha Machine plays nine short loops there has to be a way of selecting those and new for the model 2.0 is a pitch-bend function. So I set it playing and span the wheel. That's your pitch-bend. Barely visible in my second out of focus picture is a button on the side. You may be able to make it out almost level with the bottom of the speaker. That clicks you through the loops. And that's it.

Except of course for the listening experience which will have to wait until I update later on since I have to rush out. And a photo I accidentally deleted and can't currently load back into the post - Safari is utter shit sometimes. Sorry.

So photo restored below and on to the listening experience. This is going to vary depending on how and where you listen the Buddha Machine. I've listened to it a few different ways. Walking around I've had it playing just from the speaker in one of my pockets or via headphones each of which is a completely different experience from the other. I've also listened to it in the flat sitting next to me doing its thing.

Most of the time when you listen without headphones the sound is fairly quiet especially if you happen to be walking around the city. In those circumstances only the odd note reaches you almost like a memory or auditory hallucination. The more familiar you are with the loop playing the more you listen for what cues you can and try to reconstruct the rest of the music for yourself. It's an uncanny ghostly sort of way to listen. On headphones it's much more immersive, even at relatively low volumes in a way that an mp3 player never really manages to be. In part that's due to the sound never stopping just ebbing and flowing but always being there in a predictable loop. Of course as with any music on headphones in a city there's a considerable bleed in of noises from around you. But as with any drone and some noise music the ambient sounds become incorporated into the texture and structure of what you're listening to and so don't interfere with your listening experience. What's different is that you can listen to this for a very long time and it doesn't change at all so that when you eventually take your headphones off there's a moment of exhilarating disorientation when the sounds from outside become clearer and louder no longer have an organising superstructure and fall into chaos.

Inside it's similar although at times the loops can seem very loud in comparison to other sounds that are going on. Time of day is a factor as is whether you're alone or with other people or whether you're trying to do something from which the loops might distract you.

Then there's the physical aspect of it. The Buddha Machine vibrates if you play the loops through the speaker and it becomes like a living thing. The size and weight are of course determined by what goes into the machine to make it work but are handily satisfactory to hold.

The only thing you need to know is does the Buddha Machine sound interesting? If you find it intriguing or desirable then it's your kind of thing. If you can't see the point or don't understand what the fuss is then you should probably avoid. You already know whether you want one or not. Listen to yourself and not to me.