8. Taana GardnerHeartbeat
It was also around that time working in Record City and hearing things like Ornette Coleman and The Art Ensemble of Chicago that I fell in love with disco. If you wanted to dance and you were at all serious about music, you ended up at the same four or five clubs. One of my favourites was Paradise Garage. I fell hard and completely; gut punched; dazed on the dance floor. I floated, those first few nights, above the floor. From a back corner I ventured out to be amongst the heaving. Summoned by those minor keyed strings. Losing myself. Eyes closed, arms high, feet swivelling. The way you can in the dark, amongst strangers, in a new city.
In the mornings, walking back across the city, I considered myself changed. I went over and catalogued what I’d heard; ‘Is It All Over My Face’ by Loose Joints, ‘You’re The One For Me’ by D-Train, and this one ‘Heartbeat’ by Taana Gardner. The next day after the club I’d dig through the remainders and the 12 inches until my section behind the counter at Record City started to fill up with downtown disco.
