Buddha Machines proliferate...

When the Buddha Machine first appeared in the autumn of 2005, it seemed like a fascinating new gadget, a clever idea that would make a good Christmas stocking-filler. When stories circulated that Brian Eno had bought one in each of the seven available colours, some people who had been dismissive or cynical sat up and took notice. What they discovered was something that looked rather like a small transistor radio or portable tape player. The brainchild of experimental loop-based music duo FM3 (Christiaan Verant, from Nebraska, and Beijing -based keyboardist Zhang Jian), it was manufactured in China and was based on a device that played loops of Buddhist chanting, hence its name.

It came preprogrammed with nine different loops, each having an ambient quality about it that induced tranquility in the listener. A loop could be played indefinitely until the listened got bored and changed loop, or until the batteries (two AA's) ran down. Fans likened the endless repitition of the loops to locked-groove recordings such as those at the end of Sergeant Pepper or Metal Machine Music. Critics complained that the sound from the machine's speaker was rather thin and tinny. However, it was beautifully simple to operate, with nothing else to buy to make it work. The Buddha Machine developed a cult following and caught on rapidly.

The original Buddha Machine was followed in autumn 2008 (again, you will notice, in time for the stocking-filler market) by Buddha Machine II which added the innovation that the speed - and, hence, the pitch - of loops could be controlled by rotating  a small dial. In other respects, it was not radically different to the original. That had sold tens of thousands - why change a winning formula?

(Left to right: Buddha Machine, Buddha Machine II,  The Black Box, Gristeism.)

In autumn 2009, the picture became murkier as two new contenders using the same technology as the Buddha Machines came on the scene: The Black Box and Gristleism. Both were programmed with loops, but we were no longer in relaxing ambient territory. For instance, when the coffin-shaped Black Box is switched on, the first sound one hears is a flat, emotionless human voice repeatedly intoning the phrase, "Today I will not kill myself."  On another, a different voice repeats, "I don't feel anything."

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

Eddie Prevost's Workshop (Part 1: Some history)

Friday March 26

This was the second time I have attended Eddie Prevost's weekly workshop, the first having been two weeks before on 12th March. If I continue to attend, as is likely, a blog seems to be the ideal format in which to record the experience. That was one of my main reasons for starting this blog.

So, let's start with some background. I play alto saxophone and have done for over twenty-five years, although in that time I've not played much with other people. This used to be because in my head I wanted to sound like Lee Konitz but in my heart I knew I didn't. For a period in the nineties, I attended evening lessons at which I participated in a saxophone quartet. Eventually - my children were young then - I dropped out due to lack of time, not inclination. When my daughter Hannah was in her teens, she took over my sax for several years and attended weekly lessons. Gallingly, she could soon play better than I could!

In 2006, a good friend and colleague Lester Moses (himself an experienced and accomplished player of tenor and soprano saxophones who has had his own band - Moses and the Tablets! - and  played at events such as John Bisset's Relay) tried to get me involved in Andy Sheppard's 200 saxophone spectacular that opened that year's London Jazz Festival. As this coincided with my sax still being under the effective control of Hannah, I didn't get it together to practise the parts and so didn't take part. When I attended the event as an audience member, I kicked myself that I hadn't; I wanted to be part of that.

In 2009, another opportunity arose and I took it - John Harle's Leviathan extravaganza that involved 800 saxophones and was part of the City of London Festival. (It featured 800 saxophones as it marked the 800th anniversary of the first stone London Bridge.) Repaying a favour, I sent details to Lester. This time, I did learn the parts and took part, loving every minute of the event. Playing with that many other saxophonists was thrilling.

As well as scored parts, including a unison grand finale on London Bridge conducted by John Harle, Leviathan had scope for free-blowing sections. In practising for these, I discovered I enjoyed it. I had finally got Lee Konitz out of my head. (No offence, Lee. I still adore your music and would love to interview you one day.)

As I was preparing for Leviathan, one evening at Cafe Oto I mentioned it in conversation with Daichi Yoshikawa. (Daichi works at Cafe Oto, one of London's best venues for live music. He is also a regular at the workshop, playing electronics.) His response was instant, "You ought to come to Eddie's workshop."  That conversation and his suggestion set off a train of events  that ended up on 12th March 2010....

To be continued...

Hairy Bones: Peter Brotzmann and Toshinori Kondo together

Wednesday March 24, Vortex, London

Hairy Bones is the quartet of Peter Brotzmann on reeds, Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, Massimo Pupillo on electric bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. The quartet is named after a CD they released in 2009 on Okka Disk.

The Vortex was full for a rare London concert by the foursome, although it doesn't seem that long ago that Brotzmann was in London, playing his January residency at Cafe Oto, itself a stone's throw from the Vortex.

On arrival, there were warning signs of how the evening would progress, as cotton wool ear plugs were being handed out by Vortex staff. As the staff had been present at the soundcheck, they knew what they were doing...

Once the band took the stage, there was no looking back. Right from the off, they generated a relentless barrage of sound, a barrage that was guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping. This is a loud, electric band. Brotzmann, Kondo and Pupillo all employed amplification. Nilssen-Love didn't, but it was obvious that he was determined not to be outdone; throughout, he maintained an unrelenting onslaught which drove the band forward. The only let-up was during periods when Brotzmann and Kondo played as a duo. If you think that Last Exit was a loud band, you ain't heard nothing yet; try Hairy Bones.

As ever with Brotzmann, he generated a righteous blast that energised the rest of the band. Kondo was always ready to answer in kind. As we know from the Die Like a Dog band, the combination of Brotzmann and Kondo is a pairing made in heaven - so much so that it set me musing on other such sax/trumpet pairs. Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry named an album Twins in recognition of the bond between them. Other similarly close partnerships that come to mind are Bird/Diz, 'Trane/Miles, Mulligan/Baker, Rollins/Brown, Branford/Wynton Marsalis, Evan Parker/KennyWheeler. Any more spring to mind?