Three Questions for Musical Duo FM3

Beijing-based FM3 are bringing their meditative music to Yugong Yishan on Wednesday night for the launch of their upcoming release, Ting Shuo. Perhaps best known for the low-tech Buddha Machine, which The Wall Street Journal called the "anti-iPod," their performance promises to be the anti-rock show. We asked FM3's Christiaan Virant three questions about this week's gig:

What's special about Wednesday evening's show?
Wednesday will be the live debut of all six songs on our forthcoming CD release Ting Shuo. We've been working on these tunes for a few months now, honing them in bits and pieces at live gigs in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. At Yugong we will put them all together for the first time.

Why is the set only 50 minutes?
Six tunes, each about eight minutes ... With lovely visual accompaniment.

You've played quite a bit in Beijing this year, but not at Yugong Yishan for a while. Why there, why now?
We've played in Beijing nearly ten times since June, some were big gigs like the one we did for Audi in 798, but most were small, intimate affairs at Zajia or School Bar.

The Yugong Yishan gig is special for us. We haven't played there since 2007. Back then FM3 was just coming off a few years of solid touring in Europe and we played an ear-splitting drone rock set with Johnny from PK-14 assisting on drums. We even rented a machine to create artificial snow inside the venue. This time around, the music is much softer, more classical in nature and we don't plan to make it snow, but we promise an immersive, engaging aural and visual experience.

FM3 plays Yugong Yishan Wednesday, Nov 6 at 9pm. The Beijinger has three pairs of tickets to give away for Wednesday night's FM3 show. Answer the following question correctly by noon Wednesday, and send your name and contact information to editor@thebeijinger.com: How many tracks does the Japan-only, limited edition Ghost in the Machine Buddha Machine play?

Email: s.schwankert@truerun.com
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Photo: FM3/Wu Quan