Jazztronik - SAMURAI Remixes Jazztronik

Brownswood Recordings presents Brownswood Remix Editions 010: SAMURAI Edits, a new 12-inch/digital release that reboots a much-loved classic from the early 2000s for a new generation of dancefloors.
At the centre of the release is “Samurai”, originally released on 12-inch in 2003 as the B-side to Jazztronik’s ‘Dance With Me’. More than two decades later, the track remains a cult favourite within the jazz, broken beat and dance music continuum, it’s a record that helped bridge the worlds of Japanese nu jazz and the bruk scene emerging from West London in the early noughties.
Led by Japanese pianist, composer and arranger Ryota Nozaki, Jazztronik is a fluid music project without a fixed lineup. Nozaki’s musical vision moves freely between classical, jazz and club music, and has seen him compose for film and television as well as produce for a wide range of artists. Jazztronik’s music has found an audience far beyond Japan, with Nozaki continuing to perform both as a DJ and with his live band across Japan, Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
When Samurai first appeared, its potential was perhaps not immediately obvious. Sitting on the B-side of ‘Dance With Me’, the second release on Especial Distribution, the track gradually found its way into the hands of adventurous DJs and tastemakers. Its hypnotic piano melody, fractured percussion and unmistakable dancefloor energy caught the attention of Gilles Peterson and others, becoming a fixture in the jazz-meets-dance underground.
The record’s journey was also part of a wider exchange between Japan and the UK. Especial Records, the Osaka-based label connected to Kyoto Jazz Massive’s Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino, played a crucial role in bringing Japanese sounds to international ears. UK distributor, A&R and label figure Nik Weston, through Mukatsuku, was instrumental in promoting and distributing Japanese records across the UK and Europe. Without this network, Samurai may never have reached the European tastemakers who helped turn it into a dancefloor favourite.
While coming from the other side of the world, Samurai seemed to anticipate, and slot seamlessly into, the musical language developing around West London’s Co-op nights and the emerging bruk scene. With its dub sirens, loose rhythmic feel and jazz-inflected musicianship, it demonstrates how new musical movements can emerge through unexpected connections: outlier records from different places suddenly speaking the same language.
Brownswood Remix Editions 010 revisits that connection, with new edits that re-boot a classic without losing what made the original so special. The remixes bring Samurai back into focus as a contemporary club record, while underlining just how forward-thinking Nozaki’s original composition and production were.
For collectors, the timing is particularly apt: the original 2003 12-inch has become increasingly sought after, with copies commanding significant prices on the secondary market. SAMURAI Edits offers a new way into a record that has long circulated among DJs and collectors, and a chance for a new generation to discover these incredible edits as well as the iconic originals.