- Transparent Sound were an English electro act operating primarily in the late '90s and early '00s. Much of their best material is fairly compatible with house and techno, perfect for creating twisted but memorable moments in the dance. After Nicolas Lutz played the collective's "Punk Mother Fucker" in his RA podcast last year, its price jumped from under a Euro to over 100, which goes some way towards explaining this timely Pressure Traxx reissue. It'd be wrong, however, to say this single-sided 12-inch is purely about hype and speculation—it's a perfect example of the time-old process of injecting under-appreciated music with new life and an exciting reminder that one person's trash is another's modern classic.
"Punk Mother Fucker" is underpinned by patterns of dry 808 toms, hi-hats and claps, while a stabbing semiquaver bassline emphasises the downbeat in typical electro fashion. The entrance of a cutting snare and an insectoid chirp hints at a stranger atmosphere, but a chord progression of synthetic pads and a 4/4 kick keep things grounded. A sampled male voice from a hip-hop track links the production back to electro's roots in B-boy culture, before another set of sweeping pads makes for a borderline sentimental moment in the middle third. Things progress with a minimum of fuss. It's hard to pin down exactly what makes "Punk Mother Fucker" so effective, which is precisely its strength. Tracks like this become special when they're contextualised in a certain way, so while this is a forgotten gem and a great reissue, hopefully it inspires DJs to search for their own neglected classics.
TracklistA Punk Mother Fucker