Buddha Machine

The Buddha Machine is nothing more or less than a little plastic ambient music generator that looks like a transitor radio. It can play nine digitally encoded music loops, created by experimental music duo FM3.

Apart from the volume dial, the Buddha Machine has just one button, that allows the listener to switch from one loop to another – but that’s the extent of user control over the experience.

The New York Times dubbed this the ‘anti-iPod factor‘: the relief of not having to make a choice in a world awash with entertainment and self-expression options. I dig that.