top of page
Keiunna Thompson

Review: "tokyo." - Julz West


Julz West tokyo. Cover Art.


“Late nights in the park. Figuring they never close them.” We’re immediately transported to the park and enjoying a night out with a loved one, Julz has managed to gently place us there and enthrall us in the tone of this song. The song begins on a very peaceful dreamy note. Julz’ voice comes in and the tone is set – fantasy feelings. “Just say the words and there we go.” It’s such an airy, carefree feeling when Julz’ voice is paired with the music and lyrics in “tokyo.” Just imagine, if you could “just say the words” and travel wherever you want to go, especially with a loved one, to simply exist. Just close your eyes and drift away to Tokyo.





Julz sings of the homey and loving atmosphere that he and his love could have if they were in Tokyo. The listener can assume that Julz and his love have previously been to Tokyo and it was a pleasurable experience and Julz wants to get back to that feeling with this person. As a listener, Julz has me wanting to go to Tokyo if it means experiencing the feeling that Julz both sings about and evokes with this song. ““tokyo.” is Julz's 3rd release of the year after a partial 5-year hiatus. It's an acoustic guitar driven ballad with r&b undertones, which ponders on the thoughts of moving somewhere beautiful such as Tokyo with a loved one.” Julz sings of the scenery he’s already been around seeming slightly “magical” and the idea of running away with your love. “Show me where your heart is. It’s where I wanna be.” If one really thinks about it, “tokyo.” could refer to a state of mind rather than a place. A place of sheer vulnerability with someone you love, where your hearts are surrendered and there’s a calm in the feeling of completely knowing each other, with no pretensions or ill intentions, just blissful joy. “Why make it hard when everything is simple here?” also puts me in the mind of a state of mind or being as opposed to an actual place. Love doesn’t have to be hard- you want to be with a person, so be with them. I do believe that we tend to make many things in life harder than they have to be, but we come by it honest. Humans have been overthinking things since the dawn of time, but that’s a different story. Julz’s voice here is so perfect with this track, I can’t express it enough, it’s like a warm hug to your ears and soul. The world needs “tokyo.”, the world needs Julz West’s music.



Julz West is a London-born singer/songwriter. With his beginnings being noted on YouTube, Julz has an ever-growing fan base. With his online following having already garnered hundreds of thousands of followers, it is expected that the numbers will continue to grow. West has a definite connection with Japan, after having sold out shows there in 2017 and 2019 and now creating this masterpiece of a song as an ode to the beautiful land. West is credited with writing and producing for other artists as well as providing background vocals, namely for artists such as Ed Sheeran. West also ventured into the film world, having obtained a part in the Disney live action version of “The Little Mermaid”. West’s musical style is described as contemporary R & B, West is also said to blend his Caribbean heritage into his musical as well. West returns to our ears after a 5 year hiatus from music and has been cooking up some incredible songs. If you want to hear more where “tokyo.” came from, follow Julz at all of his socials below!


Written By Keiunna Thompson



FOLLOW JULZ WEST:



bottom of page