One of the Dial label's most prominent artists, Phillip Sollmann a.k.a. Efdemin has just released his highly anticipated second album, 'Chicago'. Following up on the success of his self-titled debut album from 2007, he once again works loosely within the framework of house and techno, applying elements of jazz and experimental music to 'Chicago's ten tracks.

For Efdemin the Windy City is quite an abstract theme for an album, since it is a place he has never been to. 'Chicago' is therefore less a tribute to the city itself or its well-documented history of house music, but rather about the concept of building an urban utopia. Berlin based design crew Jutojo illustrate this distance nicely in their video for 'There Will Be Singing', which features footage of Chicago's cityscape - filmed from a black-and-white photo book.

'Chicago' perfectly displays the subtlety that Efdemin's productions are famous for, this time foregoing the minimalistic melodic style of tracks like 'Bergwein' for a more subdued approach, expressed through self-recorded percussions, harmonies leaning towards jazz and surprising, abstract breakdowns.

For zero" Efdemin has selected five tracks which have been influential to his production work, and considering the man's background in electro-acoustic composition, classical music and jazz, it is of course a diverse and highly recommendable selection.