I’d read about Buddha Machines and thought they sounded fun but that I’d never actually get near one as they’re a bit difficult to get down here cheaply. So when I was told there was a new version of one in the post for me to review, I was quite excited. All of which made The Black Box all the more disappointing. The Black Box takes the original idea of FM3′s Buddha Machine – a series of loops of sound which can be shuffled through and played around with – and turns it into really lowest common denominator trash. For a start, the second generation Buddha Machine’s main drawcard of interactivity is not present. So rather than being able to play around with speed and pitch-shifting (in themselves not even that remarkable) all the listener is left with on The Black Box is the ability of the first generation Buddha Machine – to turn the volume up and down, and to decide when they’ve had enough of each loop and jump to the next one.
So it’s left to the actual sounds to carry the day. I’m sure they’re probably marvelous somewhere further up the creation chain, but here they come as 2-bit (literally) microchip reproductions and are pretty much unlistenable. The tinny, electronic rendering is painful even when played through the machine’s speaker. Sticking a set of headphones on or trying it through a stereo system is asking for trouble. But it’s not even a lo-fi, reproduction-texture-is-an-intrinsic-layer-of-sound noise, it’s just literally unlistenable. Which is kind of the opposite of the ‘deep, dark and disturbing sound constructs’ the machine is billed as containing and which would actually be good. And to top it all off, the battery compartment (batteries not included) won’t fit the pair of AA batteries needed to run it AND allow the cover to fit on properly, so you’re left with two batteries clinging on to an open battery compartment.
Very disappointing.
Adrian Elmer
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