We previously featured GIDEON UNNA and Kaley Halperin for sharing an intentional message of love and peace with the prophetic and important single, What Is Love, so when we found out that GIDEON UNNA was back with Heaven Is Here, this time featuring Naomi Shapira, we couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Heaven Is Here opens with textured drums and astral, psychedelic guitars with a 60s/70s adjacency as Naomi sings, “Heaven is here and all the birds and the trees singing songs in such a perfect harmony, we are lucky you see that the wind on the sea whispers you belong to me….”
With sublime choral harmonies, Naomi continues, “I love the water falls’ feeling on my head, I see the butterfly’s waving at the sand, because you are near I promise you dear life will never gonna end my love, look at the clouds they are drawing a car, let’s all drive it to never ever land…”
The production is exquisite, tapping into nostalgic notions, whilst the message reminds us of how beautiful our planet truly is, and how heaven is indeed on Earth if you allow yourself to perceive it as such.
There is something wonderfully cinematic about Heaven Is Here. The psychedelic guitars, sun-drenched harmonies and organic percussion could track a road-trip sequence in Almost Famous, or one of the more contemplative moments in Licorice Pizza. There is also something of Across the Universe in its idealism and kaleidoscopic spirituality.
The connection to Scott McKenzie‘s San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) is evident too, as both songs carry notions of open-hearted optimism and collective possibility. Though Gideon isn’t asking us to escape to an imagined paradise, but instead notice the one already surrounding us. The hook functions almost like a mantra – a reminder to pay attention and ground ourselves. It would also be perfect for a shavasana at the end of a yoga class.
There is also a fascinating philosophical counterpoint to John Lennon‘s Imagine. Whilst Lennon famously asks us to imagine a world without heaven, Gideon proposes that perhaps we have misunderstood the concept entirely. Maybe heaven isn’t somewhere else. Maybe it is a state of consciousness. It also makes sense that Gideon cites The Mamas & the Papas and The Carpenters as sonic influences.
Needless to say, we are in awe of the track and its message, and have added Heaven Is Here to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream GIDEON UNNA‘s wider discography, including Modest Love, and What Is Love.