Atau Tanaka has been an active player in the electronic music movement since the mid-80's. In the San Francisco area, as artist in the community of music software developers who were making some of the first MIDI sequencers and digital audio tools for personal computers. Then in Paris in the 90's, he was at IRCAM, the French national computer music facility, then Artistic Ambassador for Apple France in interactive music. Now in Tokyo, he is tapped into the noise music scene. He is bridging these cultures of America, Europe, and Asia in his music. In the U.S., he met and worked with John Cage, in Europe an interactive gallery design for Fred Frith, and in Japan sharing concerts with Merzbow.

Starting in California, Atau has been the preeminent performer on the BioMuse, a biosensor musical instrument. In Europe, he formed Sensorband with Edwin van der Heide and Zbigniew Karkowski - a power trio of sensor virtuosi. In Japan, he has been creating new forms of musical performance on the internet.