What an Ocean Between Two Studios Does to a Record: High by A Deeper Heaven
Marc Wheeler Built a Six-Track Shoegaze EP in Utah and Finished It in Denmark
High by A Deeper Heaven is mostly the work of one person. Marc Wheeler wrote it and produced it at Peak Effect Productions in Utah. Wheeler also played the bass, guitars and vocals and programmed the drums. Three songs then went to Factory Sound Recordings in Denmark, where Casper Iskov added guitars, co-produced and mixed them. Shore Dive Records released the six tracks on 25 April 2025, including a reimagining of Future Fear by The Julies.
A Deeper Heaven’s title track sits in the playlist below, alongside other shoegaze picks from this desk. Each feature on the project is collected on A Deeper Heaven’s artist profile. High reached BestRock.News through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news desks. Press play, then keep reading for what the two-studio split did to it.
Washed-Out Guitars and Programmed Drums Carry the Shoegaze Hook on High by A Deeper Heaven
Start with the title track, because the EP does. SLUG Magazine, Utah’s long-running independent music magazine, heard a techno intro at the top of High. Then the guitars arrive, washed out and layered, over energetic bass, synths and a raspy vocal.
The hook sits in that contrast. Italian site WhiteLight/WhiteHeat heard the title track gliding on “shimmering, atmospheric guitar chords”, over shuffling drums and a warm, humming bass. Meanwhile, Argentina’s Rock Fueguino called the basslines punchy, the anchor of the song’s momentum.
Most of it came from one person. The drum parts across the record are Wheeler’s own concepts and programming. That choice shapes the sound, because the groove stays steady while the guitars do the blurring.
The credits also carry an instruction: the music was mixed to be played loud. On a shoegaze record, that is worth taking literally.
Grief, Isolation and the Search for a Place to Belong
The words come from somewhere specific. Wheeler drew the themes of High from the experience of processing grief. Isolation, fear and mental health run through it, along with the challenge of finding a path of your own. The EP is dedicated to the short life of Symphonie Newton Wheeler.
SLUG noticed the tension between the two halves. The music runs at high energy, while the lyrics carry a depressing feeling. That gap reads as deliberate craft rather than a mismatch. The bright guitars do not cancel the sadness. Instead, they give a listener a way to stay with it for four minutes at a time.
Four Originals and Two Reimaginings Shape High by A Deeper Heaven Across Two Studios
The structure of the EP is simple to state. There are four originals: High, Foreseer, Future Fear and Stay. Two reworkings follow, Future Fear (The Julies Reimagined) and Foreseer (Hypno Remix). So the running order puts the new songs first and lets the remixes answer them.
The studio split follows the same lines. Wheeler mixed High and the Foreseer remix, on which Iskov shares the artist credit. Iskov mixed Foreseer, Stay and Future Fear, played additional guitars on all three and mastered all six tracks. The Julies mixed their own reimagining of Future Fear.
Stay is the only song credited with a recorded drum performance. Alex Ericksen arranged its drums, and Cuervita sings backing vocals. It also has its own official video.
The credits note that no publisher was involved. For an independent record split across two countries, the consistency of the sound is the achievement. Dark Globe in France heard the classic shoegaze ingredients in place: walls of guitar, floating vocals and hard-hitting drums.
Ride, Slowdive and DIIV as Reference Points
Ride is the obvious first comparison, and WhiteLight/WhiteHeat made it, calling High a Ride-esque love song to the sun and life. On Nowhere (1990), Andy Bell and Mark Gardener built that band’s sound from the interplay of two guitars. Wheeler gets a similar effect by layering the parts alone.
Slowdive is the reference for mood. Souvlaki (1993) pushed guitars further into texture, and Brian Eno joined the band for two of its songs. High borrows that idea of guitar as colour rather than riff.
DIIV is the modern link, and the clearest one on subject matter. Deceiver (2019) came after Zachary Cole Smith’s time in treatment and used heavy, layered guitars to work through recovery. Likewise, High uses the same tools to work through grief.
Who It Is For
High is for alternative and indie listeners who move between the 80s and 90s shoegaze records and the current revival. It also suits listeners who want songs that are about something. Many of them find music through Bandcamp, specialist blogs and playlists rather than an algorithm, and this EP lives in exactly those places.
From the BestRock.News Curator Team: “Most of High was played and programmed by one person, and the drums are the giveaway. They hold the tempo so firmly that the guitars can smear as much as they like without the songs losing their shape.”
Where to Hear High by A Deeper Heaven and Follow the Salt Lake City Shoegaze Project
Stream High on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and SoundCloud. The full catalogue sits on the band’s Bandcamp page, and the label release is on Shore Dive Records. Follow A Deeper Heaven on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X and Facebook, or visit the official site.
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