Mexican DJ and producer Lex Valverde is pushing beyond the limits of his former Better Than Lex alias with Interference, released through David Tort’s MotL Records.
Built around the nostalgic static once generated by mobile-phone signals, the track turns an accidental studio discovery into a high-pressure meeting point between tech house and techno.
Its stripped-back construction reflects Valverde’s focus on stronger peak-time material as he works towards performing sets increasingly driven by his own catalogue.
In this FM PRO 10Q, Valverde discusses changing his artistic identity, building effective grooves, testing unreleased music on dancefloors and why instinct matters more than production tools when developing a recognisable sound.
An artist’s identity comes less from any single sound or plugin and more from instinct and decision-making. It’s how you choose to use the tools—and what you choose not to do—that matters.
Q1. Interference has a very immediate identity. What was the starting point for the track, and how did it develop from there?
Actually I was working on another track, called Mah Phone (unreleased) and I wanted to add more sonoric effects that sounded like a phone, then I found this signal interference sound that brought me so many memories, I think only us 30+ people remember that sound so I wanted to incorporate it as a nostalgia hook, it didn’t sound so great on that track so then I build a whole new one around this sound effect particularly in the drop, as I loved how the static sound was complementing the huge kick, and then Interference was born.
Q2. Your sound moves naturally between tech house and techno. What draws you to that space between the two?
Well at this stage of my career I am no longer playing warm up sets, and I want to play more and more my own music in my sets, the goal is to one day do a set with only my own tracks, but for more peak moments of the lineup I was lacking some stronger energy tracks, so I started working on my catalogue to have tracks that fit that time, and place as I am mainly playing in Germany at the moment, where Techno is King.
Q3. You entered 2026 using Lex Valverde rather than Better Than Lex. What did making that change unlock for you creatively?
It basically took me out of a box and allowed me to experiment again. 2025 I was basically producing the same groove, the same patterns, the same sounds, and that got boring but I thought this is the ‘Better Than Lex’ formula, but I wanted more.
I became a producer to express myself, and the more I am experimenting and evolving my sound as ‘Lex Valverde’ the more I want the tracks to express who I am rather than to fit a label or a specific genre, I’m not 100% there, but it is coming ;)
Q4. There is very little excess in Interference. How do you know when a club record has enough going on without adding more just for the sake of movement?
I’m a true believer of less is more, this track as I said, came out of the static sound of interference in a signal, I knew I wanted that to be the main element, so I focused on what to complement the sound instead of just randomly adding things.
So this track is quite simple, a GREAT kick, bass line, some stabs, FXs and atmos pads, the drums to make the groove and the Phone related sound effects with a very simple vocal, that’s it.
A pro-tip I have for this is to mute certain elements as you are working with the track, if the song sounds the same or better without them, then delete those elements because they’re obviously not needed, that’s how I normally produce.
Q5. FM PRO TECH Q: The track relies heavily on low-end pressure, drum weight, and controlled tension. What production decisions were most important in making it hit properly on a club system?
For me, the biggest priority was making the low end feel powerful but controlled. One key thing here is phase and mono compatibility, a bass can sound huge in headphones but lose a lot of its power on a club system if the sub frequencies aren’t behaving properly in mono.
I also use harmonics rather than just more sub to make the bass feel bigger. Adding some saturation and upper harmonics means you can actually hear the bass on smaller systems while still keeping the true sub clear for the club system.
And probably the most important trick is to play with contrast. A drop feels much heavier when you create space before it, silence matters here, I’m not shy to remove frequencies or simplify the groove for a moment to make the return hit harder.
Q6. David Tort has described you as an artist capable of exploring deeper and more underground instincts. What does “underground” mean to you now, when club music can move globally almost instantly?
Means a lot coming from David, an artist I admire so much and I have listened and played since my first years in the electronic music world, so having his backup it’s such an honor for me. Now, going to the question, it’s a great question because nowadays things move so fast so what is underground today can be mainstream tomorrow, we see that a lot today.
I think the first thing that matters is to stop “demonizing” mainstream, I see a lot of artists saying mainstream is bad, is not, it’s a trend for a reason. What I think matters is where does music come from, in my case, I make music to make people dance, if that’s 1 or 1000 doesn’t matter, I want people to feel something that I want to express, so I am not thinking of fame, and money, that comes later.
For me being able to make underground music is exactly that, to make music that matters to you without thinking of the global hit, of course if my track becomes a huge hit and it’s mainstream, I’m not going to say no to that haha :)
Q7. Interference feels functional for DJs but still has a very obvious central identity. How do you balance dancefloor utility with making sure a track still sounds unmistakably yours?
Well, this is quite simple, Lex Valverde (and before Better Than Lex, and before Lex Impact) was born in the dancefloor, I have been clubbing since I was 15 years old, so who I am and the dancefloor are the same. I just do music that will make me dance at a club or a pool party or a festival and that is translated into tracks that work in the dancefloor, easy as that.
Q8. You have carried the foundations of Better Than Lex into this new chapter while making the project more personal. What parts of your earlier sound were essential to keep?
The groove. I talked before about the ‘Better Than Lex’ formula. One thing I learned to do really good (if I can say that myself) during the Better Than Lex project, is the groove, by studying the labels I wanted to release music and referencing tracks from HoTL, Toolroom, Defected, Alleanza, and others, I got better and better in building grooves and I carry that with pride.
Q9. When you are testing unreleased music in your sets, what reaction tells you that a record is actually finished rather than simply working in the moment?
People dancing, shouting, jumping, having a good time. That’s the best indicator the track is doing its job. Even better when I see someone pulling out their phones to use Shazam, that means people want this so it has to be released!
Q10. FM PRO TECH Q: With increasingly powerful production tools making it easier to build polished electronic records, where do you think an artist’s individual fingerprint comes from now: sound design, arrangement, workflow, instinct, or something else?
I think an artist’s identity comes less from any single sound or plugin and more from instinct and decision-making. Plugins and even hardware are becoming more accessible, so having a certain synth, drum machine or production technique isn’t necessarily what makes you unique anymore.
It’s how you choose to use them and, maybe even more importantly, what you choose not to do with them, that matters nowadays. For example Serum is mainly used for Synths right? but do you know you can also make vocals? A tool is just a tool, the artist’s creativity is what makes it unique.
My advice here is to develop your own habits and trust them. Your limitations, weird choices and recurring obsessions can actually become part of your identity. Experiment, yes, but because of you, not because of someone else.
©fm