{"id":1762,"date":"2026-03-25T18:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wavs.com\/blog\/?p=1762"},"modified":"2026-03-27T20:47:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:47:28","slug":"swisher-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wavs.com\/blog\/swisher-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Swisher: Through Frankfurt, Berlin, and Everything That Happened in Between"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Swisher doesn’t believe in hiding things behind effects. Saturation, EQ, maybe some reverb, and that’s about it. It’s a philosophy that runs through everything he does, and it’s probably part of why his samples connect the way they do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Berlin-based producer was listening to Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon<\/em> as a fan when track 7 came on, and the sample that came through was one of his. No one had told him. He heard it when the rest of the world did. The album was Pop Smoke’s first posthumous release, dropping in 2020, about a year after Swisher had decided to take producing seriously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, he’s worked with Chris Brown, Ken Carson, Reezy, Ufo361, and others, all while keeping sample creation at the center of his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We caught up with him on his process, his tools, and where he’s headed next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Swisher’s WAVS profile<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q: A brief introduction: Who is Swisher, both personally and as a producer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Swisher:<\/strong> Swisher, also known as Philipp Riebenstahl, is a producer based in Berlin, Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I originally come from the Frankfurt am Main area. I\u2019ve been playing guitar since I was six, and thanks to my dad, I was always surrounded by music growing up. Early influences ranged from bands like Radiohead and Nirvana to artists like Dr. Dre and Eminem. Music was always a big part of my life, even though becoming a producer wasn\u2019t something I had consciously planned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the age of 16, I got into FL Studio through gaming. I randomly came across it on a very trustworthy website (where you could definitely download everything 100% for free legally) and decided to try it out, without really knowing what it was or what you could do with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got hooked instantly. From that point on, I was making beats almost every day, and that hasn\u2019t really changed since. FL Studio became my way of expressing and channeling my fascination with music. I started out focusing on drums, but quickly realized that melodies and the vibes behind them were what really pulled me in. At the same time, I saw it as a way to get into the industry, especially since the feedback I was getting from other producers made me feel like I was on the right path. In
2019, I started sending out my first sample pack to other producers. For about six years, I focused almost exclusively on making samples. Today, I\u2019m active both in sessions with artists as a producer for full instrumentals, as well as a mixing and recording engineer, but creating new samples is still what I\u2019m most passionate about at heart.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Q: You’re a Grammy winning producer and you have a bunch of records under your belt: Pop Smoke, Swae Lee, Polo G, Chris Brown, AJ Tracey, Luciano, Coi Leray, Roy Woods, Ufo361 and Ken Carson… You even have a Lil Wayne record that many people might not know about. Which one of your records is your favorite one and why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Swisher:<\/strong> My favorite song out of the ones I\u2019ve worked on, that\u2019s a really tough question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emotionally, it\u2019s the obvious choice: Pop Smoke ft. Swae Lee \u2013 Creature. The song came out in 2020, about a year after I decided to really take producing seriously. Hearing music I created on an album by such a huge artist and one of my personal favorites. Was an unreal feeling. That song was my entry point into the industry, so it will always hold a lot of emotional value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a purely musical standpoint, I\u2019d say \u201cLICHTER AUS\u201d by makko & Miksu\/Macloud. It\u2019s a German track that touches on a very important and heavy topic, while also using one of my all-time favorite samples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRICK OWENS\u201d by Ufo361 & Ken Carson is also very high on the list. I think the sample I contributed to that song is really special. Ufo361 had a big influence on my sound between 2016 and 2020, so hearing him on something like that, together with Ken Carson, was another crazy moment for me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Swisher (@prodbyswisher)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n