- Audio Werner has been getting a lot of attention lately and justifiably so. His previous releases on Trapez and Hartchef, in particular last year’s 'Zwrtshak Drive', have been very popular among DJs playing the percussive end of minimal such as Guido Schneider and Ricardo Villalobos.
Audio Werner wears his '90s deep house and Chicago influences fairly openly and 'Trust' is no exception. It’s built around a synthesised conga pattern that would be slightly redolent of mid-period Kenny Dope if it weren’t so clean sounding and overlaid with scratchy snares that would be pure New Jersey garage if they were actual snares rather than clicks. But this is in no way a retro-sounding production – it’s pure Cologne minimalism, just with a healthy injection of vintage US shuffle and shake.
That jiggly shuffle and shake propels the initial half of the track as subtle variations on the conga pattern gradually increase the intensity. Halfway through it kicks up a gear with elegant use of bass drops and windy synths, eventually building up to a nagging little oriental riff. But these elements never feel like the focus of the track, rather they’re the icing on the percussion cake. And a spicy little cake it is, one that will make shoulders shake and hips wiggle.
The flip-side, 'Shiers' doesn’t make such an immediate impression but displays the same rhythmic nous only with a less insistent groove and more of those Eulberg-style off-axis stutters and tics. It’s nice, but strictly a builder or a tool rather than an attention-grabber.
Honestly speaking this record probably isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for hands-in-the-air euphoria as opposed to heads-down grooving you should probably look elsewhere. But if, like me, it’s drums that get you excited then ‘Trust’ is one of the best tracks you’ll hear all year.