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Buddha Machine 2

Buddhist temples all over China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong sell or give away small plastic boxes that play a loop of prayer and chanting. A few years ago, Chinese electronic act FM3 hacked into some of these boxes and programmed their own music into them. The band had their own Buddha Machines manufactured in a wide range of colors, and people went nuts over them. Now, the Beijing-based duo is back with Buddha Machine 2.0 with all new music. As with the first box, the haunting, meditative tracks on the new machine play in a constant loop when it is switched on. Users can adjust the volume, bend the pitch of the music, and plug in headphones. The new machines come in new colors — burgundy, grey, brown, and even a limited edition one made out of real Pu’er tea.

Hanggai

Beijing-based band Hanggai write original songs in the traditional folk styles of their Mongolian ancestors — throat-singing, horsehair fiddles, lutes — spearheading an Asian version of the old-time revival. Though it’s only through the digital age that the rest of the world can access this beautiful music, it makes you want to slow down and reflect on what we’ve lost as a species. This stuff makes every flavor of the month indie band seem vapid and meaningless.

Xiao He

One of the quirkiest and memorable bands to come out of the Beijing folk-rock scene was Glorious Pharmacy, an almost too-arty-for-their-own-good avant-jazz acoustic band that were notorious for impromptu puppet shows and ten-minute saxophone freak outs. Read more

Leidy Churchman

I first heard of Leidy Churchman via his pieces at the Funny Games show at the Load of Fun gallery in Baltimore. The New York-based artist makes a wide range of sculptures, paintings, and performances that play with and upend assumptions of gender, material, and function. Churchman is definitely one of the more interesting contemporary artists around, cleverly incorporating concept with form and weaving complex dialogues about sexuality and identity with humor and deceptive simplicity. Read more

Sylvester Anfang II

Sylvester Anfang II, formerly just Sylvester Anfang, is a Belgian ‘funeral folk’ collective that plays meandering, psychedelic, folk-influenced rock that’s a lot less dark than their album covers suggest. With a fuller sound due to the addition of several new members, the group’s latest self-titled album displays some heavy Krautrock and Middle Eastern influences. This will definitely please fans of all things drone.

Juliana Swaney

Juliana Swaney’s drawings look like they’re straight out of an old children’s book of cautionary fairytales. She makes brooches and creepy rabbit dolls with handmade clothes as well. Good stuff. Read more