Stockholm based producer Lex Lilt is the name we encountered when searching the proper techno sound. As an artist you should keep an eye on, Lex always delivers serious and darker techno, both in his live sets and his music. Recently he released a new EP on Fervence Records, imprint his co-runs with Steven Fine. You can grab your copy here.
Now we had the pleasure of speaking with Lex Lilt about his music, recent release and his label, find out more below.
Hi Lex, how are you?
I’m good, thank you! Excited and a bit stressed but good.
How has the start of 2018 been for you so far?
It’s been quick. These two months went by like an airliner. Planning lots of releases on my label and for my self along with negotiating gigs with promoters.
Introduce yourself for this who don’t know. Where you always musical growing up? What inspired you to make techno?
I was born and raised in the suburban outskirts of Stockholm and later moved to Uppsala when I was eight years old. My musical interest began when I got my first guitar when I was 11 years old. I took guitar lessons for a year or two. When I was about 12, my friend introduced me to DAWs. We found it interesting that we could create and compose whole tracks by ourselves. The first music we put out was of course not good, but it was my first foot on the ground in a long corridor with doors.
Years passed and I improved. I was at the time producing Progressive House under the alias Alex Bastian and released tracks on several labels including Armada and gained support from many big acts such as Armin Van Buuren and Ruben De Ronde. However, it was at this time that I felt like I didn’t belong in this scene. People and labels had certain expectations of my sound and I found that it was choking me and my inspiration. I eventually stopped producing Progressive House and got more and more into Techno.
Now I’ve been producing techno for a couple of years and I started my own label called Fervence with Steven Fine. It’s been a ride but I have no plans of stopping any time soon and hope to have the energy to keep on giving until the day I pass away.
What is the scene like in Stockholm?
It’s been growing a lot lately. I feel like we have a lot of secret parties but not too many official events for techno. However, I start hearing more and more techno in bars and clubs so it seems like it’s getting interesting for people. We have a lot of techno exports such as Adam Beyer, Dold & Kuf and Pleasurekraft.
What is your style, what are your aims in the studio?
Dark, industrial, rhythmic. I’d rather take my time that to release something quickly.
We’re digging the new EP ‘Moratus Est’ on your label. Tells us about your release and the creative process behind EP?
Well, the process was actually pretty interesting. Me and Leon live pretty close to each other and we are good friends. We spend time together outside music too. I was at his place one day and we were producing in his studio. It went pretty quick and we made the basics of Numb in just one night. A week later he came over to my studio and we started on a new track and produced the beginning of Cobble.
We visited each other from time to time to work on these tracks and eventually finished them after a couple of weeks.
On the EP you collaborated with Leon Valkass. Do you each have certain skills in the studio that you bring to the table?
Leon is really good with arpeggios and variety. I’m good with build ups, arrangement.
Tell us about your label Fervence, what made you set it up, what inspired or influenced it?
I wanted label where I can release my own music and my friends music. At first it was not meant to be anything more than a website and releases every now and then. Now we have a merchandise store, widely supported releases and demos every day, thanks to Steven. Steven has made sure that Fervence is never left behind and I am super excited about what it will become in the future.
Proper techno fans, here's a name you should know! Watch Lex Lilt live!
Posted by ONLY TECHNO on Freitag, 19. Januar 2018
What are the best and worst things about running a label in 2018? What are the easiest and hardest things?
I hate when people send me demos personally. That must be the worst thing. We have put up text on all of our platforms that we only want demos through label e-mail but people still send us demos straight to our inboxes. It’s gone so far that I’ve stopped listening and answering to those emails.
Also, when people have an attitude when they are sending demos. They act like they are the biggest artist and we are begging to get them on board. I’ve made clear many times before that it’s not tolerated at Fervence because we are a family, not a hierarchy of important people and less important people.
The best thing is all the happy artists we get to work with. Grateful people who support us and what we do.
The hardest thing is definitely time and planning. Running a label is more than just pressing buttons and writing stuff on social media. It’s about connections and contacts most of the time.
The easiest thing is when a track is released and you can sit back and take your time on promo send outs, marketing and posting.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a label?
Make sure you have the time and money to do it. It is possible to run a label at no cost but that means more time and no handy services. While it’s not costly to run a small label, even the smallest fees add up.
Plan ahead and write down your goals monthly and keep track of your progress.
What gear do you use in the studio? Hardware or software? And what is your goal when you make music?
Software wise I use Ableton Live along with VSTs like Arturia Analog Lab 3, Spire, Serum plus more.
The hardware I use are two Yamaha HS80Ms, a Focusrite Interface and Arturia Keylab 49.
How do you balance gigging, producing and managing a label?
It’s hard. Really hard. Time is valuable and unfortunately sleep tends to be prioritized less. With the power of laptops and mobile hotspots you can make a workstation anywhere though.
What have you got coming up this year/are you working on?
I have a few gigs being negotiated right now including a few secret parties around Sweden. More productions like an EP that I hope will be ready in March. I aim to start working on my Podcast Lilt Sessions this year too which has been prioritized less last year. I hope that my planning will be more effective.
What are you going to do immediately after this interview?
Grab myself a cup of coffee, sit down and go through the mix of my upcoming EP and then go through emails.