Towa Tei

Towa Tei, born Toru Tei, started making electronic music in the early 1990s. His first album, "Future Listening!" from 1994, mixed jazz and soul with hip-hop beats. He kept working in that space, putting out records like "Sweet Robots Against the Machine" in 1996 and "Sound Museum" two years later.

He often worked with other musicians. Bebel Gilberto sang on his track "Batucada Sunrise," and Mos Def rapped on "Luv Luv Luv." The song "ALPHA" became one of his better-known pieces, built around Brazilian rhythms and electronic production.

Later albums like "Flash" and "Big Fun" leaned more toward house and techno. He kept collaborating, too, working with Japanese pop singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu at one point.