ARTISTS

Heavenly Beat

John Peña

Years Active: 2011-2017
Genre: Piña Colada Pop / Dream Pop
Home: Austin, Texas / Brooklyn, New York, USA
Associated Acts: Beach Fossils (touring)
For Fans Of: Craft Spells, Beach Fossils, Minks

Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Youtube

Press Photos at bottom of page

Biography

Texas native John Peña, (whom you might also know as the former bassist for Beach Fossils), is the voice and writer of Heavenly Beat. Started in late 2009, Heavenly Beat began as a side project for Peña — he was writing and recording music for it in his bedroom. Heavenly Beat soon developed into a full band whose sound is a blend of dreamy “piña colada pop” and wispy gentle vocals. Pena delivers relaxing and catchy ballads, full of acoustic guitar and synth-pop percussion that contribute to an underlying groovy feel. Heavenly Beat released their album ‘Prominence’ via Brooklyn label Captured Tracks in 2013, which received much attention, especially for the track “Honest.”

“He's true to his nom de plume here, as nylon guitars and steel drums are cut up and looped in the style of the Field, while the drum machine patter recalls the 1990s throwback beats of Elite Gymnastics or the Tough Alliance.”
– Pitchfork, review of “Honest” from second LP ‘Prominence’ (Captured Tracks).

Heavenly Beat’s third full-length album ‘Eucharist’ was self-released digitally in 2014, as well as on limited edition cassette via Furious Hooves on February 14th 2015. It was packaged in two styles specifically for Valentine's Day: "Body" cassette and "Blood" cassette. Peña took the band on tour in support of ‘Eucharist.’

“The record, which he calls the final segment of his "Prelude To Greatness" trilogy, doesn't stray from the Heavenly Beat formula: nylon-string and slide guitar, steel drums, pizzicato strings, hushed vocals and simple, funky beats. (Kings of Convenience covering New Order's Technique? It's kinda like that.)”
– BrooklynVegan, review of ‘Eucharist.’

In 2017 Heavenly Beat self-released his fourth LP entitled ‘John.’ Since then, he has been quiet on the musical front.