Here In Heaven arrives like refreshing nectar to quench a world thirsty for some much-needed grace. Donna De Lory is known for her etheric, angelic vocals that envelop listeners in a dreamy, heart-centering haze, and her latest offering provides another opportunity to get wrapped in her mystical warmth. Whether the lush and layered “Heaven” or more pared-down and raw remake of her original song, “Go Talk To Mary” from her 1993 release Bliss, Donna’s new album is restorative ambrosia.
At its core, Here In Heaven is about authentic connection in all forms: Family, Spirit, Love, Divinity, Truth. A fusion of pop and world (Indian and Latin) grooves, this album is a masterfully crafted, performed, and produced mix of English, Spanish, Sanskrit and Gurmukhi songs on love, nature, and reverence. It’s at once poignantly personal and easily relatable with broad-based appeal.
Standout Songs on Here in Heaven
Other standout tracks include “Amor Amor,” co-written by Donna and her late, Grammy award-winning father (featured on piano); “Listen,” co-written with Avasa and Matty Love, which includes a playful chorus sung by Donna’s daughter Luci and her third-grade class; and “Sat Siri,” the only outright chant-titled track on the album. For fans of Donna’s signature mantra music, you’ll find sacred sweetness with the Buddhist verses “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” on two songs and the Gurmukhi “Ra Ma Da Sa” at the end of “Go Talk to Mary.”
Donna De Lory and the Magic of Performance
Donna’s voice is a divine gift she’s perfected and honed through a life devoted to her artistry. There’s an intimacy on Here In Heaven that’s different than her previous releases. I feel like I’m being allowed special access to a private performance, and she completely sweeps me up and away with her pure presence throughout. Donna has an uncanny ability to project an air of mystery while also transmitting a vulnerable sensitivity. This is true whether you’re tuning into her music via recordings or partaking in her magic live. Her path traverses the world of pop and sacred Eastern chant, bringing her sizable talent and behemoth musical chops to a devotional world that requires raw and real if one is to touch the hearts of the spiritual community at large. And she does. Every. Single. Time.
Here in Heaven Musicians
The musicianship on this album is stellar, with guitarists James Harrah (Jewel, Madonna, Ray Charles) and Gerry Leonard (David Bowie); percussionists Dave Allen (Michelle Branch), and Luis Conte (Phil Collins, Madonna, James Taylor). Musicians on strings include Stevie Blacke (Beck, Rob Thomas, Nelly Furtado), among others. Donna contributes keyboards and harmonium. The album was mixed by studio wiz Kevin Killen (U2, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello).
Elixir for the Spirit
Uplifting and evocative, Here In Heaven is a soothing and healing musical elixir for the mind, body, and spirit.
Reviewed by Leanne Wood; Yoga Music Aficionada at Bliss Bubble Radio and Bliss-Chasing Blogger at www.BlissBubble.com. Prior to this, Leanne was the founding manager of the mantra rock band, Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe, the founder and director of the non-profit project The Shakti Tribe Foundation which offered empowering peace concert programs in jails, prison and halfway houses and was the co-founder of the ground-breaking “Yoga for your Ears” internet radio station Sacred Sounds Radio. She is currently working on her Eat, Pray, Love meets Almost Famous memoir, which chronicles her often surreal life on the road with a yoga band on the rise and the lessons learned in the bargain.