Panther God

Touch and Feel Digital 12”
Remixes by Wake and Mindelixir
Release Date: March 21, 2010
CIRC020

1. Touch and Feel (Panther God Original)
2. Touch and Feel (Wake Remix)
3. Touch and Feel (Mindelixir Remix)

________________________________

“Touch and Feel” is the new dystopian dance banger from Paul Gaeta, aka Panther God. This is an uncharacteristically (for PG) four to the floor club anthem designed to make people move. The track’s focal point is the repeating female vocal line, “there’s no one, I can touch, I can feel...” The lusty vocal is a testament to the modern isolation of a digitally interconnected world, in which couples, even in the same room, may communicate over AIM more frequently than they even talk to each other. That skewed sense of human relationships is the uniting force here. There’s a healthy portion of lasers and arppeggiated synth lines that splash neon all over the sonic canvas while the narrative builds, each layer coming in and out at the ideal moment for maximum impact. Panther God has taken bits and pieces of the UK dance scene, so hot right now, and fused it with Chicago House and Techno, to give us this smashing hybrid that could very well land him in sold out nightclubs across the globe.

Over the last year, PG has been dropping this track and reworking it to maximum effect, opening for Lorn in the UK, and some of the top producers in the US including Daedelus, Bonobo, and the Glitch Mob. His stylistic range has opened up in the meantime, going from straight up futuristic hip hop to, in this case, more of a UK Funky or Detroit House influence, and everything in between. He’s has two well received eps on his own Circuitree imprint, and has releases due out this year on Tokyo Dawn (Germany), and the Japanese label Made In Glitch. Panther God is a rising star in the world of bass music, look for him in a club or theater near you.

Wake’s remix of “Touch and Feel” is a more aggressive analog version, which is set to drive people over their tipping point and into a total frenzy. The best thing about this remix is how entirely different it feels, until you hear the little snippets and traces of the original vocal line. The synths growl and moan in a gutteral, yet seductive way, and the beats crash in like unexpected dinner guess armed with bitcrushers and DMT.

Gaining his traction as a gifted producer in the beat world, Wake has some notable achievements to date, having been featuring on compilations with Jimmy Edgar, Take, Caural, Lorn, as well as having remixed Machine Drum and most most recently, Tokimonsta, which led to him being featured in the LA Times with glowing reviews. His signing with Proximal has only further increased his musical stature and confidence. Wake’s more recent tracks show a new found polish and hit new engineering heights, while his musical sensibilites, range of pallete and technique all continue to steadily improve. Quite possibly Tadd Mullinax’s son, and certainly his predecessor, his mutual use of the Tracker production software gives him that sense of tight rhythmic control and microscopic refinement found in both Dabrye and Venetian Snares productions.

Mindelixir brings his futuristic bass heavy approach to “Touch and Feel,” and takes it in a whole new direction, eschewing the four to the floor kicks and sensual vocals, instead focusing on the ideas in the track. He brings the breaks to the fore, straddling the line between straight up Drum and Bass and the half step spacings of what we Americans know as Dubstep. This is a melodic tune that has a certain virtuosity about it. The synth lines ascend scales, climbing for the sky, or plumetting towards the earth. There’s a funkiness about it too, the glide and portamento are cranked up a bit, giving it that electric bass feel so common in jazz and fusion. This remix spreads it’s wing across genres, casting a shadow over the entire landscape of dance music.

Having opened from basically every who’s who in the industry including the Glitch Mob and Joker, Mindelixir has built his name up steadily, having dropped podcasts for XLR8R, and curated his Mindelixir Presents compilations (new on coming on Made In Glitch) He’s also the originator of his hometown monthly, “Bass Church” which regularly brings in a thousand plus fans with little or no advertising for a night of glow sticks and dance routines. With a horde of passionate fans behind him, and having recently signed with the heavyweight booking agency, Madison House, Mindelixir is destined for big things in 2011 and beyond.