Bleep

Originally released on Rephlex back in 1999 — a time where Ed DMX was evidently posing as a bizarro world/electro pop version of Hanson — We Are DMX is a remarkably diverse record showcasing the breadth of exactly what a DMX Krew album can sound like. He would later fling himself head-first into a weirdo acid pedigree, but the pieces are present here, each with a sly wink and a nod to sickly-sweet synth pop, Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra.

The through-line of We Are DMX is its sense of humour, as Ed finds unique ways of lampooning synth pop tropes. The likes of ‘Street Boys’, ‘Good Time Girl’ and ‘Hard Times’ toy with love songs with the finesse of Pet Shop Boys and the industrial nous of Throbbing Gristle, making the romantic hero and the obsessive creep one and the same. DMX Krew’s propulsive, thick 1980s synth ingenuity gives off the air that these songs — particularly the Orientalist-takedown ‘Konnichi Wa!’ and the sordid slow jam ‘Twenty Minute Affair’ — could’ve been chart smashes in their day, if Ed seemed bothered about that kind of thing.

Remastered and reissued with a host of extras — including the beloved non-album track ‘Denki No Merodi’ — We Are DMX is an all-time classic synth album, which is as rip-roaringly fun as it is technically marvellous.