Dick Johnson Delivers Euphoric New Club Anthem ‘Heartbeat Away’
The legendary Dick Johnson has taken a moment out from his role as music director of the wildly popular phenomenon that is Synthony, to release a new single, Heartbeat Away. The disco-fuelled banger sees him teaming up with Kiwi music stalwart Jeremy Redmore and up-and-comer Ethan Jupe.
Last year, Dick – who has been a central figure in the monumental success of Synthony since 2021 – began teasing tracks from his full-length album, which celebrates his 20+ year reign at the heart of Aotearoa’s electronic music and club scene.
The album sees the UK-born, Auckland-based DJ and producer teaming up with some of the biggest names in New Zealand music. This includes the already released club anthems In My Arms ft. The Peacekeepers and Always ft Goldman Sax.
And now comes Heartbeat Away, in which Dick draws on the talents of one of the most recognisable voices of the mid 2010’s, Jeremy Redmore (Midnight Youth, and Auckland’s rapidly rising artist, producer and DJ Ethan Jupe.
Effortlessly cool, with a disco-meets-dance-pop beat, Heartbeat Away is about the moment in time between a look, a smile, a touch of hands and something more. It’s about how that moment can seem both instance and endless, even if the next step feels like fate.
Dick explains that Jeremy has long been on his collab wish-list:
“I did a remix for Midnight Youth years ago and of course Jeremy was the frontman for the band and ever since then, I’ve wanted to do a track with him. So 20 years later here we are.”
Dick adds that the making of Heartbeat Away was a process of true collaboration.
“I put the basic track together and Ethan came in and played the bass. I really wanted a French touch feel to the bass and he really nailed it. Jeremy wrote the song with us in New Zealand and then went back to Amsterdam and recorded it over there.”
The video for Heartbeat Away is created by Kit Lawrence and nods to the track’s disco influences. “It’s very much an ode to some of the vintage disco clubs,” says Dick.
