INDEX
Collecting more than200different Budda machines from around the world.
Celeina: Hao Hao, how did you get into Buddha Machines in the first place?
Hao Hao: I first encountered Buddha Machine in 2005, when a group of contemporary artists in Beijing called “FM3” released a gadget with their own music under the name “Buddha Machine. It was a big hit among some music lovers, and I was one of the people who bought it, but then I realized that the Buddha Machine was the original source of the gadget. I was more attracted to the original Buddha Machine, which played Buddhist music, and I still collect them.
Celeina: You started out as a music lover, didn’t you?
Hao Hao: Yes, that’s right.
Takano: Like the attraction of Buddhist songs.
Hao Hao: Yes. I was attracted by the pop appearance, the variety of the songs in the album, and the fact that the songs are also used in China.
Takano: Indeed, there are not many others like this.
Celeina: Did you always have a collector’s personality?
Hao Hao: No, I used to collect cassettes, for example, but I found it hard to find Buddha Machine, so I kept buying duplicates of the same thing (laughs).
Celeina: It was like buying several sets for stock. You are a big fan of them (laughs).
Takano: They are worth collecting.
Celeina: By the way, I’m sorry. Are they expensive? (laughs)
Hao Hao: The most expensive one I saw in Australia cost about 15,000 yen, and the cheapest one started at about 500 yen.
Takano: So it varies a lot.
Celeina: Surprisingly, they are affordable.
Takano: But you collected these from all over the world, didn’t you? That’s amazing.
Celeina: Mr. Hao Hao, you are actually selling them now, aren’t you?
Hao Hao: Yes, I do. We had a lot of stock that was dubbed over, so we are releasing some of it and selling it on our mail order site and at events.
Celeina: I see. I am looking at your website, and you have a lot of Buddha machines lined up.
Takano: You can buy them online. How many pieces do you have in your collection now?
Hao Hao: About 200 kinds.
Takano: If you include the ones that are duplicated, you mean more?
Hao Hao: Yes, that’s right.
Celeina: Only the ones you sell are dubbed, but you have a large collection for your own use as well, right?
Hao Hao: Yes, I do. I would definitely buy the same one if it was a different color, or if it looked the same but had a different version of the song inside, which tickles my collector’s soul.
Takano: Are there songs that can only be heard here?
Hao Hao: Yes, there are.
Takano: Nowadays, you can listen to songs on Spotify and various other streaming services, but you dare to do so, don’t you?
Hao Hao: I also feel a great sense of romance in that. It’s like you have to turn on a switch to listen to a song that can only be heard on this machine.
Celeina: I love the process of spending time just for that song.
Takano: I see. Now that we are getting a little deep, I’d like to interrupt with a song. I asked Mr. Hao Hao to choose a song that he would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would it be?
Hao Hao: Yes. Tsubasa Hashimoto, the guitarist of cero, is working on a solo project, and he himself likes Buddha Machine and asked me to put his song on Buddha Machine. I was asked by him to put his songs on the Buddha Machine, and I made a gourd-shaped Buddha Machine in cooperation with him.
Takano: (Looking at the Buddamachine) I see a gourd. It’s a cute palm-sized one.
Hao Hao: This is one of the 19 songs in the album, all of which are newly written songs.
Takano: Let’s listen to it then.
