Fremdtunes is a relatively new label based in the Netherlands, but in the past year that I’ve been aware of their work, they’ve released two of the strongest instrumental albums I’ve heard from Coco Bryce and Optimace. On the heels of the Optimace album, they’ve come right back with the second in series of label samplers. It’s only six tracks long, but it still manages to cover a lot of ground and give us a very fulfilling listening experience.

The EP opens with DJ Optimus, who will be releasing his solo debut in the near future. The aggressive track, “Pound for Pound,” features Prince Po on the mic (when do we get another album from him?). The instrumentation is minimal, mostly just giving Po a driving drum beat and pulsing bass line to rhyme over, but scratches and a melody line in between verses provide just the right amount of flavor. Following that is “Pluto,” a frantic jazzy number from French artists Boulaone and Jahmyloudie, which builds tension and energy as the track unfolds. Jameszoo is a Dutch artist who on the song “Morangueiro” constructs an interesting drugged-out, dub-inspired track that incorporates Brazilian music samples, saxophone, and tabla drumming. DJ Devestate from Sweden lays down a beautiful down tempo track with “Inside the Silence” featuring Segerfalk on vocals that recalls a Bonobo/Andreya Triana collaboration. On “Hendrick the Funky Rocka,” Dutch producer DJ Vindictiv provides a fun dance number based on some old New Orleans jazz samples mixed with synths and drums that oscillate between a jazz shuffle and some jungle programmed beats. The series is closed out with “This Side of Paradise” by Fremdkunst, the project from DJ Mace that helped launch the label, balancing chilled-out grooves with frantic drumbeats.

Fremdtunes – Series 2 does everything it needs to do. It gives us a taste of the music on the horizon for the label and ramps interest for some artists you might not have known about. Most importantly, it’s a coherent compilation that considers a wide range of music.