Some songs ask you to dream about somewhere better. Gideon Unna’s “Heaven Is Here” asks a more immediate question: what if the beauty we are searching for is already around us?
Released on May 13, 2026, the original single is a warm, reflective piece built around the idea that heaven is not necessarily somewhere we have to reach. It can be found in the simple experience of being alive, paying attention, loving others and becoming more conscious of the world around us.
Written by Unna on guitar at his kibbutz home in Ein Carmel, Israel, the song grew out of his longstanding creative partnership with arranger and producer Lior Medan. Medan developed the arrangement while incorporating AI into the production process, helping transform Unna’s intimate guitar composition into the finished recording.
The search for the right voice eventually led to Naomi Shapira, whose emotive vocal performance gives the song much of its warmth and emotional character. The vocals were recorded at musician and producer Yoav Asif’s home studio in Moshav Tzrufa, where Asif also handled the mixing and mastering.
There is a distinctly nostalgic quality to “Heaven Is Here.” Unna draws heavily from the musical atmosphere of the 1960s, particularly the vocal harmonies of The Mamas & the Papas and the warm melodic sensibility of The Carpenters. Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” was another important influence, particularly its sense of innocence, freedom and optimism.
But the song’s central idea goes beyond nostalgia.
Unna has spent considerable time thinking about heaven, faith and consciousness, and those ideas became the foundation for this release. His interpretation of the biblical Fall is partly about consciousness: perhaps paradise did not simply disappear, but our way of seeing the world changed.
That thought becomes the heart of the song. Instead of imagining heaven as something distant, “Heaven Is Here” encourages listeners to open their eyes and recognize the beauty that already exists in their lives.
It is also deliberately positioned as a counterpoint to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Where Lennon famously asks listeners to imagine a world without heaven, Unna takes the opposite position: perhaps heaven is already here, if we are awake enough to notice it.
That philosophy extends beyond the song itself. Unna describes his music as part of an ongoing journey inward and outward, exploring love, consciousness, truth and human connection. His message is ultimately simple: appreciate your life, care for yourself and others, raise children with love, and continue searching for truth.
“Heaven Is Here” is also connected to Unna’s other songs “Modest Love” and “What Is Love,” which share an interest in love, meaning and human connection. Rather than presenting definitive answers, the songs invite listeners to slow down and consider what might already be present in their lives.
The recording itself reflects that philosophy. Made in the intimate environment of Asif’s home studio rather than a large commercial facility, the track carries an organic, personal quality. Asif’s own reaction says something about the atmosphere the song was aiming for: he reportedly found himself unable to stop listening because of how good it made him feel.
And perhaps that is the simplest way to understand “Heaven Is Here.” It isn’t trying to make paradise sound complicated. It is asking us to pay attention to the ordinary things that can make life feel extraordinary.
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