Atau
Tanaka bridges cultures of east and west, of technology
and music. He creates music with sensors and networks - a composer who
is performer, a performer who is instrument builder, finding the voice
in interactive technology. His
first inspirations came in the 80's upon meeting John Cage. He came
up in Silicon Valley in the 90's making music from virtual reality technology.
He moved to Paris in 1992 and played music festivals like Sonar,
Musique Action
and Club Transmediale,
and arts centers like IRCAM, STEIM
and V2, making interactive systems for
Fred Frith and others. He founded Sensorband
with Zbigniew Karkowski and Edwin van der Heide, mythic for their physical
performances and monumental instruments. After
five years in France, he moved in 1997 to Japan for a project at NTT/ICC
and came in contact with the noise music scene, playing with Merzbow,
Otomo, KK Null and others. Back in France since 2001, he has realized
large scale installations with Kasper Toeplitz and network pieces including
a commission from the German radio SWR.
He has curated a collection of Japanese music for the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Atau
is best known for his performances with the BioMuse
- a sensor system that turns his body into a musical instrument. Muscle
tension is captured and modulates digital signal processes in the computer.
Concentrated
gestures, not unsimilar to Tai-chi, create pulsing organic electronic
sounds. He creates layers of pure tones and noise, sculpting and filtering
with broad strokes with his arms. Sweeping through empty space, he creates
virtual sculptures in sound, making the listening experience visceral. Atau's
work has beern recognized by the Ars
Electronica, the Cyberstar
award, and the Daniel
Langlois Foundation for Art, Science and Technology. He has CD releases
on solo, group, and compilation recordings on labels such as Subrosa,
Bip-hop, Caipirinha
Music, Touch/Ash,
Sonoris, Sirr-ecords,
and others. atau
-a- sensorband -.- com