The Buddha Machine

UK online music shop Boomkat has an interesting interview with the creators of The Buddha Machine. The device, which has developed a cult following, is described as follows:

Reduced to it's core components, the Buddha Machine is little more than an AM radio - permanently tuned to a distant loop-emitting signal that encourages the listener to project their own interpretations on a series of diffused ambient compositions.

Here's an interesting excerpt from the full interview.

Q: Where did the idea for the Buddha Machine come from?

A: We took the inspiration from a similar device used in Buddhist temples. The device is used to play constant chants to the Buddha and some say it was developed because of the shortage of monks in modern times. I picked up my first one more than 10 years ago and it was a permanent fixture in my bathroom. For years, Zhang and I mused about how cool it would be to make an FM3 release "inside that little box" and then in 2004 we got serious and really did it.

Q: How does it make you feel when you hear that people like Brian Eno and Alan Bishop are bulk buying them?

A: Funnily enough, Eno was my very first paying customer! He bought six based on a prototype I showed him at dinner in Beijing last year. Our second customer was Thomas Felhmann from the Orb. He took about a dozen. And then shortly after that Alan Bishop ordered 24, based on a photo and an email description I gave him! Monolake and the crew at the Ableton software office bought something like 30... So from the very beginning we had great support from some quality musicians and naturally, as two guys sitting way out in Beijing, it's mind-boggling.
More:http://www.boomkat.com/article.cfm?id=3 and athttp://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/fm3.html