REVIEWS

December 11th, 2009
Yutaka Makino - Black

This is not the first project with a black artwork. Here, however, black abounds. In addition to the outer carton which presents the word 'Black' in an impeccably neutral relief, there's also the black inlay card of the CD trailer underneath the transparent plastic trailer, the black booklet, and the black CD itself. Japanese artists - generally speaking- are quite meticulous in conceptualisation and implementation. Yutaka Makino, in this case, confirms the rule, with a design that is purposefully ultra-minimal and very stylised. The structuring of the work into 30 tracks reveals the author's interest in pursing 'extreme' attitudes. The track list includes some very short pieces (one is only 11 seconds long) and others between one and two minutes long. Sounds have a strong 'granular' matrix structure, and they are all recorded in mono and with a limited range of frequencies and timbers. This makes heavy reference to machinic aesthetics, where the author's ability lies precisely in setting parameters and algorithms. It is the scientific background of Yutaka Makino that pushes the artist in this direction, and the result, albeit restrained by so much rigor, reverberates a rare sensibility. So the 'machines are restless tonight' and not even all the black here can calm them down.

- Aurelio Cianciotta (Neutral.it) Link

March 26th, 2009
Can machines make music? Yutaka Makino’s CD “Black”

Can machines make music? I would say no, or at least not for humans. Yutaka Makino’s first solo CD “Black” from his label Strukto arrived at STEIM a couple of weeks ago. It’s ultra minimalistic design and packaging initially confused our office on what to make of it. The album consists of 30 short tracks, some only 11 seconds long. The style is quite a departure from his previous compositions which explored rich textures through granular synthesis or extensive research into sound spacialization. All recorded in mono with limited frequency range and timbre, there is a particular machine like quality to all the tracks, which is a result of a secret process that Makino uses. However, a clear aesthetic is present that distinguishes his music from just sounds of data transmission. Makino’s work always deals with the manifestation of sound in a given situation or environment, whether a concert hall, gallery or in this case through a CD. It makes sense to that he limited himself to such crude sound material for composition, assuming that the listener will probably experience this album through headphones or cheap computer speakers. The whole CD only lasts for 23 minutes, but the division between each track is clear, rejecting any attempt to try to interpret the whole CD as one composition. Today, machines do make music, but based upon intentions, parameters and algorithms that humans give. It’s questionable whether they would be able to arrive to their own aesthetic judgments in a true sense, and even if they did it probably wouldn’t be music for us but for other machines’ pleasure.

- Takuro Mizuta Lippit (STEIM) LINK