Is this the feelgood single of the year? I think it just might be. Norwegian DJ and music producer Matoma teams up with American electronic dance pop trio A R I Z O N A to create the heartwarming, uplifting and infectious single, "Heart So Big."
Written with A R I Z O N A's longtime collaborator PJ Bianco as a love letter to his son with autism, Matoma fell head over heels in love with the song after first hearing the first working demos and describing it as "pure emotion." As the track was released April 1 around Autism Awareness Month, the artists conceptualized a much broader theme to the song, having seen the recent tragedies occuring in Ukraine. "We really felt there is a wider message in this song - a message of celebrating the joys of love and humanity in all shapes and forms. We hope that some of our initiatives around this release will make a positive change and spread love at a time when we all need it."
A R I Z O N A comments, "This song, along with the hopes of raising Autism Awareness, carries a special notion in general that we should remember to cherish and protect the ones we love in our lives. Sometimes we can be all they have, or vice versa."
"You got a heart so big so big
way too big for this world
And you got a smile so bright so bright
that it shatters the night"
To accompany the song, the songwriters decided to commission a music video that incorporates video clip submissions from their fans and followers. "In dark times, it's important to hold on to the light, so we wanted to invite you to remember and share some moments of joy from your lives," the artists wrote on social media. "For the music video, we want to include memories of someone or something you love. Whatever or whoever that is. You or someone you love. If it was yesterday or years ago. No matter how big or small the moment. We want a whole music video of these moments to share with the world."
The band enlisted Tobias Frøystad, director at Expect Studios, to create the music video. After receiving and reviewing over 2,000 submissions that translated to approximately four hours of music video clips, Tobias crafted his masterpiece. "We couldn't imagine a better music video for this special song than this!" the artists comment. "It truly brought us to tears to feel all the love in these incredible videos, thank you ALL. Like the song, it's a reminder to treasure the good that we have in our lives, and that we are all connected by that common joy."
For more information about each artist, visit the following links:
Matoma: official website; social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube); streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud).
A R I Z O N A: official website; social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube); streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud).