Watchmaker MB&F has made something apparently crazy. Its the first kinetic machine that isn’t a timepiece. The MB&F MusicMachine is the collaboration between REUGE and Maximilian Busser & Friends (MB&F). The tabletop music box play six beautiful and eclectic tunes.
The MusicMachine’s dual propellers are turned to wind up it up. The twin silver cylinders sit atop a fuselage, which extends to slender outrigger “landing gear.” The wood lacquered body stands to absorb vibrations while the aluminum legs distribute any movement away from the body to eliminate any chance of noise. Even the circular fans on each end help regulate air flow to steady the rate at which each spring unwinds, aiding in the seamless listening experience. It contains all the traditional, time-honoured elements of a superlative high-end music box, but designed and configured in a totally unconventional way.
A press of the button near each cylinder plays a song, and each cylinder plays three tunes—the left riffs off of the player’s space ship heritage and plays Star Wars’ theme “may the Force be with you,” “Imperial March” from The Empire Strikes Back, and the theme from Star Trek.
The right cylinder takes a less celestial approach by playing three songs central to Büsser’s early years, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Pressing the button plays the next song by moving the tube just enough to hit the next set of “tracks.” Each song is a full rotation on the tube, and there are three sets of adjacent teeth on each tube, each corresponding to one of the 72 keys for each tune.
Only 66 MusicMachines by Reuge for MB&F will be produced (33 in black lacquer and 33 in white lacquer). Price is about $13,000.
