Embedded Files
23rd November 2025
Words by Lily Heym
What happens when you combine jungle and jazz? At its core, it’s a dialogue initiated by DJs mixing jungle and hardcore vinyl, answered by live musicians whose saxophones, violins, analogue synths and trumpets bring colour, texture, and improvisational agility to the dancefloor. We discovered more during Tokio Station's tour with headliner Takuya Nakamura.
When jungle meets jazz, the result is part club night, part concert. The energy of a soundsystem meets the spontaneity of a jazz ensemble, giving audiences something to watch as much as something to move to. Vocalists and MCs bridge the two traditions, turning the setlist into a live reinterpretation rather than a fixed recording.
When jungle meets jazz, the result is part club night, part concert. The energy of a soundsystem meets the spontaneity of a jazz ensemble, giving audiences something to watch as much as something to move to. Vocalists and MCs bridge the two traditions, turning the setlist into a live reinterpretation rather than a fixed recording.
It’s a setup that naturally encourages crowd engagement more than your regular club night. The musicians respond to the DJ’s selections; the DJ adapts to the musicians’ phrasing; and the audience sits at the centre of that exchange. Jungle jazz, at its best, captures the unpredictability of jazz and the physical impact of dance music.
It’s a setup that naturally encourages crowd engagement more than your regular club night. The musicians respond to the DJ’s selections; the DJ adapts to the musicians’ phrasing; and the audience sits at the centre of that exchange. Jungle jazz, at its best, captures the unpredictability of jazz and the physical impact of dance music.
Origins of Tokio Station
Tokio Station began as a simple idea between friends at BIMM University, Bristol, but has quickly grown into something much bigger, with nationwide tours across Bristol, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool, and Newcastle.
Founded by Blake (BRUK) with a background as a jungle DJ, and Alex, with a deep knowledge of jazz and vinyl culture, the pair started experimenting with what happens when the two worlds collide.
These nights highlight the incredible energy produced when a powerful sound system meets the improvisation of live musicians, all centred around collaboration, openness, and a love for Bristol’s musical community. The pair also draw inspiration from early charity events and underground sessions, including: Brakery, Space Jams, and Analogue Lounge.
The pair also host a regular SWU FM show, an extension of the Tokio Station ethos. Each broadcast opens with around 45 minutes of listening and unpacking jazz inspirations. From there, the show shifts into the Tokio Station fusion zone, where jazz and jungle meet, showcasing exactly how the two musical worlds collide.
The final stretch often features a live interview or spotlight with local musicians, DJs, and producers – such as a recent feature with Bristol’s Collector Cave.
For Blake and Alex, Bristol’s music scene has always felt more like a network of friends than an industry. The pair radiate a calm, confident excitement, supported by a tight team and crew; Tokio Station feels like a collective that has found its rhythm.
Takuya Nakamura: Finding Jungle in Jazz
Today, Tokio Station tours with headliners like Takuya Nakamura, whose decades of experience in jazz and early New York jungle perfectly embody the spirit of the project. Growing up in Tokyo and subsequently moving to New York, Tak found early refuge in the trumpet, an instrument that would shape his entire musical identity.
His formative years coincided with a wave of Jamaican migration to Boston during the 1980s, opening many people’s ears to an abundance of new records, amplifiers, and soundsystem culture. During this time, Tak was introduced to a dub record that he now recognises as a precursor to jungle.
After moving to New York in the mid-90s, Tak then entered a jazz scene he only describes as ‘elitist’ – at a time when audiences for the genre were beginning to dwindle. In consequence, he gravitated more towards the emerging acid-jazz movement, following the beginning of house and electronic music spreading across New York. He formed a trio whose education came not from classrooms, but from clubs.
Tak’s playing evolved into a distinctive horn style that mirrors an MC’s phrasing, slipping into the gaps and dips of a DJ’s mix as well as soloing over it. Now based in New York, yet holding Bristol as one of his favourite cities for music, Tak embraces its post-punk openness and genre-blending spirit.
For many that have seen videos of Tak playing over Jungle online, you might wonder – where did this guy come from? Following the pandemic, he’s watched jungle and drum & bass return to global prominence, a revival he credits to listeners rediscovering the music online.
For Tak, the key to longevity is simple: find the sound you love, follow the obsession, and make the kind of music you’d still play when no one else is listening. Eventually, someone will find, or rediscover you.
Future of Tokio Station
Tokio Station is testament to the fact that the most exciting musical moments happen when scenes converge, rather than compete. What began as a student project has grown into a movement sustained by musical curiosity and a refusal to separate club culture from live improvisation.
With artists embodying the project’s core philosophy, the collective now looks toward a future of multi-room takeovers, focusing on the intricacies of jazz and jungle separately, with a collaborative room combining both. Wider tours and ever-expanding collaborations are also on the cards.
The heart of Tokio Station remains simple: a shared obsession with sound, a commitment to nurturing local talent, and the belief that jungle and jazz still have new stories to tell when given the space to evolve together.
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