As far as collaborations go, this work shared between "Cyberpunk Terrorist" Kenji Siratori and Italian Experimental genius D.B.P.I.T. entitled "Mandala" has to be one of the best I've ever had the privilege to listen to. This is one of those extremely rare works that doesn't give you what you want, but the textures are so unique, the structures so simple, and the moods so effective that you don't really care. Things jet off in different directions, and the sonic combinations almost always seem strange, but are more often then not brilliant because they are so innovative and sometimes almost unheard-of. The vocal and abstractly poetic prose work put in by the undeniably gifted Mr. Siratori really pulls everything together, knowing exactly what kind of delivery warrants the integrity of the multi-dimensional qualities structured by D.B.P.I.T., AKA Flavio Rivabella. The actual physical nature of the mix is something else, conveying a feeling of being surrounded, even engulfed, by all the different sounds coming at you, fading out, and interweaving. "Acid Nightmare", which starts the EP, is creepy, but also very subdued. Here, there is Kenji throwing in a delay-soaked vocal passage that sounds like Sopor Aeternus on Opium, but at the lower parts of the spectrum there is a quicker and more aggressive spoken word set. Flavio's sedate trumpets make unexpected, but pleasant appearances throughout the work, like in "Dust Nirvana" which also has what sounds like a low-frequency sawtooth, panning back and forth. There is a guest appearance by Mushy, who provides backing vocals on the quiet "Hetero Syndrome", a track that is somewhat bass-heavy, but smooth. "Cyber Larva" features an appearance by Wertham on back up as well, but the best contribution came from Pusio, who laid down a sadistic, twisted sounding piano passage on "Mutated Paradise" that sounds like it emanated from an ancient RCA acetate player in a Gestapo officer's study. The strange thing is that it sounds effectively Asian at the same time. Here, howling wolves and ghostly sounds are the backbone of the track. My absolute favorite. This is one of those tracks that will never leave you after first listening to it the entire way through. "Dust Nirvana II" seals the work quite nicely with a sped-up and reverberating Kenji in front of a pulsing warble and bass drum as D.B.P.I.T.'s trumpet floats around, conjuring something like Miles Davis playing on a cliff overlooking a post-apocalyptic world. This is some unforgettable stuff. If you can manage to get your hands on one of the only one hundred copies that exist from Deserted Factory, don't let go... This is Experimental in one of its purest, and most respectable forms. TraXteR / Heathen Harvest

The ubiquitous, omnipresent Kenji Siratori delivers another of his collaboration releases, this time sharing the stage with D.B.P.I.T., the notorious post-industrial trumpeter from Rome. "Mandala" is a limited-edition CDr featuring spoken words, stream of consciousness and deliria by Japan's no. 1 cyberpunk presentialist, floating and crawling between sounds and noises stitched together by Flavio. The album is quite short, 30 minutes only, making the listening sliding and interesting along nearly all the tracks. The best results in this joint effort are surely achieved by "Cyber Larva", a technological nightmare featuring Wertham's backing vocals, where the sentence "you are no one, you are a server" is repeated obsessively, the dissonant and hallucinatory "Dust Nirvana", with D.B.P.I.T.'s reverberated trumpet hissing between cutting rhythms and Kenji's endless talking, and the fantastic "Mutated Paradise", the most disturbing and possibly best track, revolving around vampiric spoken words, distant noise horrors and a crazy, maniacal piano played by Pusio. The only disappointing moment is "Hetero Syndrome", which could get on the listener's nerves because of its repetitiveness and excessive duration. "Mandala" is, in the end, to be appreciated for its not-of-this-earth atmospheres and the very nice construction of a few tracks, even if it doesn't add much to both artists' discographies. D.B.P.I.T.'s individual releases, for example, are far more interesting if you want to enjoy this mad surgeon's sound experiments, whereas Kenji Siratori's vocals might sound annoying for the listener who doesn't understand Japanese and tries to concentrate on the music. For cultists and completists. Simon V. / Filth Forge

'Mandala' is the result of the collaboration between D.B.P.I.T. and Kenji Siratori and both have managed to break with usual musical conventions and to explore the world of avantgardistic experimental music, influenced by early Industrial music. While D.B.P.I.T. create very obscure and mystical sounds with the help of varied instruments, what sometimes reminds me to early electronic music from Germany, Kenji Siratori is responsible for the spoken words and both were supported by guest musicians on two tracks. I would love to understand all the lyrics, but on the other hand the Japanese language increases the exotic quality of the music. 'Mandala' is a damn intensive album, and everyone who will listen to it in the night with headphones on can't resist against its effect. The trumpet in 'Dust Nirvana' or 'Hetero Syndrome' adds a jazzy touch to the bizarre sound and some loops cause a rhythmic background so that it helps not to lose the orientation within the songs. 'Cyber Larva' is just eerie and surreal sonic art, that is definitely not made for timid people, but actually this album is like a thrilling ride through the tunnel of horror . 'Mutated Paradise' confuses the listener with additional piano sounds, but they don't bring any kind of relaxation but more scary feelings. I think, it will be very nice to take some LSD before listening to this album, but to be honest here you don't need an mind-expanding subtances because 'Mandala' has the same effect. It delivers fried minds and black aesthetics in equal measure and the Japanese label Deserted Factory have shown their unwillingness to conform. Highly recommendable! KK / Cosmic Lava

I believe one must be both blind and deaf to have avoided the name of Kenji Siratori in industrial circles of late. This Japanese cyberpunk-poet seems to send out collaboration invitations very actively to different artists of the scene, and during the past year or two, these Kenji Siratori collaboration albums seem to have started popping up all over. On this particular one, Siratori's poetic recitations have been recycled by his (what I believe to be) his countrymen of d.b.p.i.t. The project is not familiar to me from before, but they seem to use a pretty traditional industrial soundpalette with throbbing machinery loops and ritual sounds. There are also some trumpet melodies thrown in, and of course Siratori's raspy voice reading out lyrics in Japanese. All in all the record utilises some very good industrial sounds as elements. Unfortunately d.b.p.i.t. uses them in a very incoherent and chaotic way and most of the album is plagued by what I would call the "plink-plonk"-syndrome common to much contemporary experimental classical music. In the end, this makes Mandala a very difficult record to like. John Björkman / Kuolleen Musiikin Yhdistys

Tinnitus Music Webzine (in German)

Sands-zine (in Italian)

back