Hailed for combining the latest electronic sounds with ancient Japanese music, the recording synthesized East and West in their own inimitable style. Kitajima, and Mancinelli continue to present us with a truly fresh, unique sound that remains wildly popular today. Both halves of the duo loved music from their early years.

Chris Mancinelli born in Illinois was the son of two classically trained musicians. Though he was a child star in opera and studied classical piano and cello, Mancinelli was enchanted by the sounds of rock and roll. By the time Mancinelli was in junior high, he was jamming with every band he could find in the city's vibrant music scene. He decided to relocate to Boston, Massachusetts and was accepted at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Following four years of intense musical studies Mancinelli moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s.

In LA, Mancinelli worked steadily in the vital local club scene and toured with Blues Goddess Bonnie Bramlett (of Delaney and Bonnie) and Cajun legend Jo-El Sonnier and Garth Hudson of The Band. He formed the highly lauded band BLOC with Nels Cline (of WILCO) and was soon signed to A and M Records. Mancinelli was also recruited to score the music for many visual artist documentaries in collaboration with the Long Beach Museum of Art Video Annex.

Osamu Kitajima was born in Chigasaki Japan. His first musical love was American pop and rock from Elvis to "The Ventures". His college band "The Launchers" became one of the most successful bands in Japanese music history. In the 1970's Kitajima produced and wrote hundreds of jingles for TV commercials, receiving a Hollywood Radio and TV Award, ACC and a CLIO Award. He then moved moved to London, England and worked with British bands.

Kitajima then returned to Japan, and established his original sound through 3 years study of Japanese traditional music. Kitajima relocated to California and was quickly signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records as a solo artist. He then captured the imagination of Clive Davis and was signed to Arista Records. In the 1980's he moved to CBS/Sony Records and also worked on many TV and film projects as well as working as an independent producer in the US and Japan.

The duo initiated a partnership in the 1990s producing and arranging the albums of many artists in the Asian markets for Warner Bros, Sony Music, Toshiba-EMI, and Pony Canyon Records. These collaborations lead to signing with the Virgin/CyberOctave label and the ground breaking release of "Beyond the Circle." The guys also found time to create the underground smash Fabulous Breaker Boys techno/surf release which was a #1 seller on the infamous Napster and mp3.com websites. Following this was a project recorded for Miles Copeland's Ark21/mondorhythmica label entitled "Two Bridges Crossing." This music was also featured on the label's acclaimed compilation series "Zen and the Art of Chilling Vol.2".

"Beyond the Circle" has been lauded for it's combination of the latest electronic sounds with ancient music. Kitajima and Mancinelli fuse the Far East and the Western world in their own inimitable way. They have gifted us with a truly fresh and unique sound that stands the test of time.

"Christmas through the Gateway" is an effort to combine the timeless classics of the holiday season with the ancient magic of Asian instrumental and vocal history. The result is a unique connection between the West and the East spanning the primordial to the modern.

Beyond the Circle

Christmas Through the Gateway

Two Bridges Crossing