This little soundbox has quickly achieved cult classic status in the electronic music community. A fellow record store dude told me that they moved a couple thousand over the holidays (Brian Eno bought 8!). The creators, FM3, are the duo of Christiaan Virant and Chinese keyboardist and computer musician Zhang Jian, both based in Beijing. Their simple box plays 8 ambient loops (buddhist type tones to melodic guitar) and fits in the size of your palm. It includes a built-in speaker, a headphone output, volume control, and a switch that rotates the loops. Plug in your headphones and veg out, or put it by your desk for stress relief. You know pretty soon that people are going start integrating the colorful, lo-fi sound into productions too. Available in 6 different colors (shipped randomly). Comes in kitschy Chinese packaging too

reviewed by the mgmnt