Japanese-born DJ
Towa Tei first earned notice for his production work on
the Jungle Brothers' 1989 LP
Done by the Forces of Nature; the following year he shot to fame as a member of the downtown New York club trio
Deee-Lite, scoring an international hit with the classic "Groove Is in the Heart." After two LP's, 1990's
World Clique and 1992's
Infinity Within,
Towa Tei left the group to begin working on solo projects; his debut LP
Future Listening!, a montage of bossa nova, jazz and electronic dance music, appeared in 1995. His second album for Elektra, 1998's
Sound Museum, was followed by
Last Century Modern in 1999.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi