Only a few months after their debut release, Used Future, Dutch producers/deejays Optimus and Mace are already back with another EP. It continues the fine groundwork they laid on Used Future, and expands their sound even further.

On the first track, “Land Beyond the Forest,” we get a mood that was not readily apparent on Used Future. A lone guitar introduces the EP in a blues/jazz style, before vocal samples add an eeriness to the song, as a discussion of the power of vampires unfolds. Drums and synthesizers then kick in and bring in the boom bap that fans know these two are capable of, which combine for a new mixture of elements that broadens the overall sound of Optimace. “Willo the Wisp” relies on a clean guitar tone mixed with reverb to drive the melody, that when played with complex programmed drums, brings to mind the short-lived and brilliant work of Tiki Obmar. That is to say, it’s what would happen if Explosions in the Sky worked with hip hop producers. “Rosemary’s Prodigal Son” does a brilliant job of contrasting a simple ominous piano line with the drums from Steve Miller Band’s “Swingtown” and adding a bass line that pushes the momentum forward. “Buddy Boulden’s Boulder Dash” finds Mace and Optimus working with saxophonist Erwin Vann from Belgium, a warm and inviting track with some more straight ahead grooves than the rest of the EP. “Invasion of the Letterman” closes things out, and it is the most challenging song on the release. A nine minute song that starts by leading you to believe that it’s going to be a simple blues/jazz guitar number, only by the time we’ve gotten to the end, we’ve gone through frenetic sax solos, scratching, and intense drumming which then explodes into a quiet outro on organ.

Optimace proved themselves capable arrangers/producers/songwriters on their debut, and with This Music Is Not Music, we see that it’s clearly no fluke. This EP expands my previous notion of what Optimace is capable of, and I’m excited to see what they do next.