“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 in Neural Magazine #34