Featuring a soulful alt-pop soundscape and sating vocal build, “Heaven So Close” is a recent single from Kalpee. The Trinidad and Tobago artist embraces a New Calypso sound that melds Afrobeat, pop, alternative, and soul on this magnetic production, which came to life with a spontaneous creativity, after Kalpee read and was inspired by Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act.
“The book was sitting right there on my desk, and it sparked something,” Kalpee recounts. “I lit a stick of palo santo, gave thanks for the blessing of being able to create music, and prayed for guidance. Almost instantly, the words began to pour out. I wrote what I was truly feeling in that moment. No boxes, no filter, just honesty, and where the journey had brought me so far.”
A spacey synth arpeggio briefly flashes before more solemn keys envelop. Kalpee’s riveting vocals ease in cohesively alongside, beckoning to “take me to the other side” and exuding a heartfelt vulnerability in its overall lyrical prowess. “Call me a heathen, I’m fighting my demons, I’m drowning my deepest thoughts,” the vocals continue, then expanding into a gorgeous chorus, bolstered by click-clacking rhythms and touches of strings. “I wanna let go, but I don’t wanna lose control,” that section stirs.
The track consistently enthralls in its variety between moodier introspections and a cathartic “wanna let go” yearning. “Heaven So Close” is a thoroughly consuming success from Kalpee, representing the second release from from his upcoming EP, Dougla Boi.
