JUNO Award-winning and critically acclaimed Canadian electro-pop artist, Kiesza returns with a new dance floor anthem “Heaven Ain’t Calling” featuring Sugar Jesus, available today on all streaming services. The track is the lead single from a forthcoming collection of songs that Kiesza will be dropping later this year.
“People step onto the dance floor to be themselves, whether they seek to disconnect or are in search of a deeper connection with others. It unlocks a part of ourselves that often lies dormant in our daily lives. The dance floor offers an escape from a world that tries to funnel people down the same cookie-cutter pathways, even though no one is built for the same path,” says Kiesza about the new track. “A friend of mine once said, ‘If none of my friends are going to Heaven, I just want to go where they’re going’. It made me think about the oppression that can come with self-expression and the courage it takes to wake up every day and be completely yourself. In ‘Heaven Ain’t Calling,’ the underlying message I’m conveying is that nothing will stop me from being exactly who and what I was created to be. And if Heaven Ain’t Calling me, I’m going where all the people go!”
The video for “Heaven Ain’t Calling” will debut on February 1st via Kiesza’s YouTube channel. The video was shot in Toronto and will be the first in a series of six that create a continuous narrative.
The new single was one of the early catalysts in a chain of music created with Kiesza’s musical sidekick, Toronto-based producer, songwriter and composer Sugar Jesus, which unlocked a whole new side of Kiesza as a musician.
“Heaven Ain’t Calling” is Kiesza’s first release via ECLYPCE (distribution via Vydia) which is an imprint of the web3 company Cosmic Wire, and Kiesza is the first artist connected to the venture.
Kiesza’s new music treads the line between cutting-edge current dance, house, and electro-pop and the folk styles that have informed her songwriting long before her debut award-winning single, “Hideaway” (and the uniquely compelling one-shot video that accompanied it), launched her career.
Upon its release in 2014, “Hideaway” displayed Calgary, AB-born and bred Kiesza’s talents as a songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and accomplished dancer in equal measure. The track received extensive radio and video play and Top 20 chart placements across North America and Europe, three JUNO Awards, Gold, Platinum, and Double Platinum status in the US, UK, and Canada, respectively, and launched her debut albumSound of a Woman. The video for the track has over 700 million views. “Hideaway” inspired collaborations with artists ranging from Jack Ü (Skrillex and Diplo) to Duran Duran, and Kiesza also began making inroads into the fashion world, serving as the face of campaigns for brands including Fendi and Maison Birks. “Hideaway” has since accrued over a billion streams on DSPs.
Following the success of her debut album, Kiesza faced her life’s “hardest work” – recovering from a traumatic brain injury sustained during a car accident in 2017. During her recovery, which remains ongoing, Kiesza could only hope her journey led her to the future she’d been striving for. That experience influenced “Heaven Ain’t Calling” and her forthcoming work, and also her sophomore album, Crave (2020), which drew critical acclaim, followed by a collaboration with deadmau5 that surpassed over 12 million streams.
Kiesza’s vision for her new music finds her embracing the extremes of her journey while bringing her prodigious talents to bear. 2024 is the next phase in Kiesza’s journey with new music, shows, and other creative ventures on the horizon. Listen to “Heaven Ain’t Calling” here, and visit www.kiesza.com for more information.
