He has admitted, though, that he doesn't enjoy performing and prefers producing and using computers. Flash surfaced in 2005 by which time Towa was DJing regularly in Japan. 2002 brought the album Towa Tei, under the pseudonym Sweet Robots Against the Machine.

Sound Museum followed in 1997, then Last Century Modern in 1999. It featured collaborations with Joi Cardwell, Bebel Gilberto, MC Kinky, Hiroshi Takano, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, Toshihiko Mori, Satoshi Tomiie, Yuichi Oki of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and Pizzicato Five vocalist Maki Nomiya. Towa debuted as a solo act with Future Listening! that same year, incorporating an array of styles, including electronic, bossa nova, house, jazz and pop. While recovering, he began to drift toward other musical styles. Towa sustained a back injury falling from a stage during a performance with Deee-Lite in Brazil. In 1994, Towa returned to Japan after seven years in New York. He also appeared on Sakamoto's follow up album Sweet Revenge. In 1991, Towa collaborated with his idol Ryuichi Sakamoto on Sakamoto's album Heartbeat. to study graphic design and joined house act Deee-Lite, a trio with Supa DJ Dimitry and Lady Miss Kier, enjoying almost instant success after debuting in 1990 with their album World Clique and the single ' Groove Is In the Heart'. While studying at Musashino Art University Junior College of Art and Design, he sent his tape to a radio program of Ryuichi Sakamoto titled 'Sound Street'.

Towa began making demo tapes at the age of 16 having bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10. Towa is a third-generation Korean-Japanese.

Towa tei future listening