Squire is an artist who’s productions really do stand out from the crowd. We caught up with him last week to talk more on his production methods, his hometown Barcelona, and his views on social media…

Squire is a quintessential English word used in a complimentary fashion, which ones of it definitions best describes you and why? 

a. a man of high social standing who owns and lives on an estate in a rural area, especially the chief landowner in such an area.

b. a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself.

B would be more or less the meaning. It all started because I didn’t want to identify my real name with my music so I had to find something that was connected with my name but that you could never tell…

My second last name is Escudero which in English means a knight’s apprentice and yes I thought it could be the best match and definition of myself and my music.

We always need to focus on learning to develop into something, to become stronger, faster and smarter without forgetting the fact of knowing where we come from!!

You have over 11,000 fans on Facebook, 34 fans on Mixcloud, with little engagement with fans; where’s the secret to your networking success or did your DJ reputation proceed you?

To be honest social network is a big question mark to myself, an unknown matter that I personally think is something bigger and something out of my range to focus on. It looks like nowadays an artist has to be a great DJ, great producer, great influencer on the internet, has to be handsome, has to dress correctly, has to do this and that …and a large following etc.. I am what I feel and I think artists around the world should follow their instinct and by this I mean like if they feel comfortable making podcasts and sharing them professionally with their fans and the whole world go and do it. I can’t pretend to be a model or a great photographer and post pictures on Instagram to make a bigger impact on something which I don’t really feel. Don’t try to be an ‘influencer’ on social networks if you dont really feel it…

As I say, for me this is something out of my reach and therefore I can thankfully have someone who helps me with that and can give me a hand with the social stuff as I can concentrate on WHAT I KNOW and do BEST which is making music in my studio.

Your recent contribution to Acka/3000grad is infused in tribal rhythms, ethnic influences and African levels of ethereal vibes, what were your inspirations during the making of the original tracks?

This release was actually a challenge, and for me this is what it’s all about when heading to the studio and beginning a new project…you have to challenge yourself! You have to take your comfort zone and leave it out the door, of course not forgetting where you come from and what is your vibe and your sound. What you want to communicate and project but to go out of the window and do something different! It might not work for a while but when you get something that you think there is potential on working on, the feeling is beautiful! So that’s what really happened with 3000 grad.

I wanted to go ethnic, to feel I was in the forest, in the jungle, with a tribe, to sound as pure and organic as I could. So I think this EP represents a wilder side of Squire which I would like to keep of course and turn it into something easy to understand with the atmospheres and deep touches that I do like to bring to the music.

Within your DJ sets, there’s a distinct, yet balanced relationship between organic and electronic elements in your sets? How long did it take for you to define your sound and become a professionally acclaimed performer and get the bookings you currently have?

Well, thank you so much for the compliments! I still feel I have a lot to show and to do, there’s a very long but interesting road ahead and I’m really looking forward to keep on developing my sound and my music.

I’d like to create atmospheres like a soundtrack. I feel playing or making music is something that goes along a certain situation. Every situation could be different, that is the pursuit of music. Performing in a certain place with a specific crowd and a certain sound system could give you a thought on what to play and when to play. I work with emotions, state of consciousness… I try to replicate my feelings and my personality on my sound and therefore if you describe my music you describe who I am as a person and I do my best to replicate that to your ears.

The vocal contributors on your tracks continue to add the human element into your music; how did you build a bridge to the vocal artists like Vette and Larde Darde?

Vocals are a big organic element in music. Both Vette and Larde Darde have very different backgrounds and both of them nothing to do with electronic music and for me that’s the point! I really enjoy working with people that are into something completely different than what I do. Larde Darde is known as Ala.NI, she’s an incredible artist that performs in big room spaces in monasteries and churches and works with natural reverberations alongside a harp. Her music is magic and since I first listened to her I really wanted to make something together so we managed to record 2 songs. We’ll do something new soon I’m sure!

Hailing from Barcelona must have certainly given you access to some amazing electronic music culture; everyone seems to focus on Berlin and Ibiza, tell us why we should consider your home town a definitive place to experience music? 

Barcelona for me is the most balanced city I’ve ever found. It doesn’t sound right as I was born there and I’m Catalan but I’ve been living in different cities around the world and I feel most comfortable living here for various reasons. First of all, it’s not too crowded, only 3 million people which makes the centre and the surroundings very close. Traffic is not a drama and the centre is only 20 mins away from the airport! Secondly the weather and for me that’s one of the most important things when it comes to making music. As I said music is a state of mind, is pure emotion and weather changes your emotions, changes your state, changes how you feel… I need to live  in a city where I see colours around me, it has a big impact on everything. And to resume it all the people, the sea, the food…it’s just a very easy flowing city to fall in love as soon as you experience it!

As a whole, your music has an awesome, natural flow, inconsistent with convention. Are your tracks well thought out in a sense of composition or are they instantly expressed in a single take or live jam?

Nothing is planned. Nothing at all. As I said earlier I try to look for chaos, to make something not work correctly or in a different way than it should normally work. With a melody, with a certain sound with a certain fx…jamming to have fun to experience and most of all above everything…to learn! I don’t feel I’m special, I don’t really feel I have achieved anything at all, I just feel I’m in a consistent learning process as an artist and I’m really enjoying myself in this adventure which I hope it will never ever end…

In the space of an hour of listening to your Soundcloud tracks snippets, I have gone from “never heard of Squire” to “someone I seriously need to listen out for”. What do you think captivates people about your music?

Thanks again! I don’t really have a straight answer to that actually, I can only say that I make music with my heart and love could be the answer to it. Whenever you see something that is made with love you can perceive it straight away and even if I do not pretend to like everyone, I make my music from the deepest end of my heart and there’s a soul and a magic message behind it which I think you can somehow perceive it!

Squire’s ‘Breaking Points’ is out on June 22nd on Earthly Delights