Hailing from Frankfurt, Germany, BSIDES is Nico’s alter-ego, the WAVS golden child. Whatever BSIDES touches, performs incredibly well. His WAVS catalog covers an impressive variety – everything from smooth RnB and gritty Memphis-inspired samples to experimental house and UK garage vibes. With notable placements for artists like YK Osiris, Lil Bean, Chikoruss, and SAHXL, BSIDES has certainly become a go-to name for high quality and authentic samples spanning various genres. We caught up with him to talk about his process, favorite production techniques, and what’s next for his music.
Q: You’ve built a solid reputation on WAVS as a Top 50 seller, consistently delivering high-quality packs. Can you tell us who BSIDES is and when did you first realize you had a knack for creating samples that could resonate with the world’s largest producers and artists?
BSIDES: I am a student and sample maker from Frankfurt, Germany mostly focusing on RnB/HipHop but im open to exploring any genre. My catalog on WAVS shows that, as I have made samples in the style of smooth RnB, Aggressive hood stuff, Memphis, Pop, Experimental, House and even some UK Garage. I first started out making beats, sampling all types of songs off of YouTube ranging from spanish folk to 70s soul trying to build my own YouTube Channel. But I started to get bored with „just“ making drums very quickly and wanted to explore the melodic part of music. About two years ago I decided to apply as a creator on WAVS to share my own melodies. The first release back then „Cycles” worked out pretty decent. From one day to another, suddenly I started getting recognized by people that wanted to work with my music. It took just a couple months until I got my first placement and after that I was addicted to not only getting better everyday but also seriously trying to pursuea potential profession in music.
Q: Being from Germany, has your local music scene or culture influenced your sound or creative approach in any way?
BSIDES: I only have very few german artists I really like, but the majority of them you could say don’t sound „German“. So I guess, German music has shaped me in a way that my goal was to not sound like it.
Lovers Forever is slowly building up to becomes BSIDES’ most popular sample pack series on WAVS
Q: You’ve had notable placements with artists like YK Osiris, Lil Bean, Chikoruss, and SAHXL. Which of these placements felt the most meaningful to you personally, and why?
BSIDES: To me the most meaningful out of these songs would be Bonnie and Clyde by YK Osiris because it involved one of my earliest guitar samples and gave me confidence in my own work. After this song I knew that I had the skills to get somewhere. It was also one of my girlfriends most favorite samples of mine. She always supported me, gave advice and even hopped on one or another sample as a secret weapon before. We vibed out just to that specific sample itself long before it got placed a lot of times which made it even more special haha.
Bonnie and Clyde by YK Osiris
Q: Was there a particular moment or record placement that significantly boosted your confidence or changed your approach as a producer?
BSIDES: Every song that I’ve made so far has helped me grow.
model x by Lil Bean is another placement BSIDES has contributed to with his samples
Q: When producers describe your packs as consistently strong performers, what do you think they connect with the most? Is there a signature element in your packs you consciously aim to deliver each time? If so, could you share any extra-secret-tips on the techniques behind this?
BSIDES: I assume most people connect with my work because of the fact that I try to 100% immerse myself into the style or genre I am trying to achieve with each pack. My most recent work, for example, is mostly inspired by artists like Odeal or Isaiah falls. I try to implement chords from their songs, instruments, textures, vocals etc. In the end, I always aim to end up with a perfect emulation of the music I am in love with at the time of making the pack. A “secret technique” would be to try and deconstruct a song you like as good as you can without actually sampling it in order to understand each individual component that makes it interesting. Try to match your chords to the chords of the original song and go from there. In my opinion when aiming for a specific style, deconstructing it first and then creating your own work is a great way to go. Another great way to stay inspired, is to use an A Cappella and build around that, because you will be able to hear whether some components of your sample are necessary and add to the final product or not. In the end I want the listeners to feel something. Don’t be afraid to sing or rap or beatbox your lung out even if it’s not perfect, do what feels good to you and people will understand the vision. I don’t include any music in my packs that I feel nothing about. For me, sometimes that takes 30 samples in total just to end up with a pack of ten I actually want to share.
stunna baby, one of BSIDES’ recent releases alongside collaborator Lucid Beats
Q: Is there a VST/production technique that you feel would instantly improve a producer’s sound? If so, what is it?
BSIDES: Against the claim of many producers out there saying “there are no secret VSTs or secret sauce” I say there definitely is. A good E-Piano VST just sounds better than a bad one. It is as simple as that. I have just recently bought and started implementing real guitars in my samples but there are a few VST/Libraries I want to recommend. For VST guitars so far “Renaxxance” by Indiginus is great when tweaked a little bit. I tend to turn off the reverb and hammer on setting completely to achieve dry and clean sounding acoustic guitars. I recommend rendering out, speeding up, panning and doubling the wav to achieve a fuller sound. For my more recent packs I have used Korg Triton, Uhe DIVA and OB-XD by Disco DSP which is an emulation of the legendary Oberheim synth. My favourite electric bass plugin is the Modo Bass, which can be used for free as well. A very important aspect to make a sample good is the mix – there’s no way around it in my opinion. If your music sounds loud and clean there’s a much higher chance for people to recognize and feel the idea you had behind making it. I recommend getting Tonal Balance Control by iZotope to improve in this aspect. I am not an expert in this but it has helped me make my samples 100% better during the last couple months since I started using it.
The Renaxxance II Nylon String Guitar and the Korg Triton VSTs mentioned by BSIDES
Q: Do you typically start your creative process with a clear vision, or do you rely more on experimentation and improvisation to find something unique? How do you balance creating music that feels authentic to you while still remaining relevant and competitive? Are there any current trends you like a lot, or any you prefer to see less of?
BSIDES: It really depends, but I would say most of the samples I make have some sort of visions or goal to start with as I have talked about before. I usually start by laying down a chord progression or melody using keys or guitar, depending on the vibe. Then I build around that with textures, vocals, and counter-melodies. I often layer sounds from different sources to create something unique – sometimes resampling my own recordings to give it a more organic feel. but there are also days where I just cant come up with an idea or achieve the plan I had in mind. When that happens, I usually just make something completely different and start a new folder to go back to whenever I feel like it. Pursuing an 80s synthpop song and ending up with an aggressive drill sample the same day isn’t rare to me, tbh. Staying competitive and relevant is important to everyone, thats for certain. But I have never made music because it was popular or trendy, because so far that was the route that worked out for me the best. Make the music that you love. Because as I tried to explain before, if you don’t feel the music you make why should anyone else? Trends don’t last, that’s why they are trends.
BSIDES’ WAVS profile
Q: If you could give one key piece of advice to producers just starting out on platforms like WAVS, what would it be?
BSIDES: The only two pieces of advice I can give are to try and be consistent, and also to collaborate with other people on the platform you genuinely vibe with. I have often worked with great people like GLVDE, Yaseer, Gabe Lucas and many others who I all appreciate. It’s not only possible to make good music together that brings you forward career-wise, but also to build connections and potential friendships that could last long.
The CYCLES series by BSIDES on WAVS
Q: What’s next for BSIDES? Are there new sounds, genres, or projects you’re excited to explore in the coming months or years?
BSIDES: I am open to everything that comes. It’s certain that there are more releases to be expected from me on WAVS though. With Love, from BSIDES
Lullabies; a BSides and Gabe Lucas collaborative sample library
