Squire talks new 'Anims' label, future releases, and his goals for this year

Having already reached the pinnacle of motorsport through a multi-year drive for Red Bull’s Toro Rosso outfit, Barcelona-based DJ, producer, and now label owner Squire has set his sights on the upper echelon of club music.

His own productions have previously come via a number of impressive labels, including Selador, Mobilee Records, Get Physical, and Einmusika Recordings, and this month will see him launch a label of his own in Anims.

The first release to arrive on Anims will come from Oriol Calvo, who brings his original title track ‘Love Loud’, alongside two stellar remixes from Kevin di Serna, and Valentin Huedo.

We spoke to Squire about his vision for the new label, which other imprints he might be working with himself in the near future, and what lessons he’s transferred from the track to the studio.

Hey Jaime, we hope you’re well at the moment, tell our readers what you have been up to recently?

Hi there, and thank you for the interview. After the album release last year me and my partner Alex have been pushing hard to get ‘Anims’ up and running for 2022. It’s been challenging in these uncertain times but it’s finally happening. We are very excited to kick off and start!

You’re about to launch your new Anims imprint, what made you want to have a label of your own, and what’s the inspiration behind the name of the label?

The goal for our brand is to give people a reason to wake up in the morning and fight for a challenge. Anims is a catalan word and means “cheer up”. It’s a word we use a lot when someone is down, or feeling sad, unhappy, lacking of motivation and self belief, we also use this word to push athletes to pursue their goals.

We believe there won’t be any emotional or professional self development without personal challenges. Anims wants to embrace you through music and motivational talks (stories) to influence you to think and go after a certain way of life.

We believe music is a great source of inspiration, it might make you smile, think, or meditate, or disconnect from reality. You go in the zone when you listen to music or when you hear a powerful story that makes you and connect. These are all true events happening that we human beings need in order to feel the high of energy and solidness to keep on developing our inner selves!

The first release comes as a 3-track EP from Oriol Calvo, how did you come to sign ‘Love Loud’?

We received the music from Valentin Huedo and we instantly fell in love with the pack. I thought we could also get a slightly different version and this is when we reached out to Kevin for his remix. We loved every single element of the original, Oriol did a great job together with LMNL, I felt captivated by Simon’s vocals. Definitely a track I’ve been playing a lot in my sets.

And it also includes remixes from both Kevin di Serna and Valentin Huedo, what kind of things do you look for when considering someone for a remix?

I normally think how a specific artist would sound with the original elements and what kind of sound I might get from them. Obviously it’s not mathematics, and very often it’s a surprise when you first listen. However, I’m very open to hear new interpretations of artists I respect and value.

We want to have a colourful spectrum of sounds and genres at Anims, therefore taking risks and looking for unknown and talented artists is part of the game, we want this platform to hopefully bring opportunities to newcomers.

Who might we expect to see on the next few Anims releases?

I’ll be releasing new music soon and we are also preparing a solo EP from Kevin di Serna. At the moment we don’t have any more plans, maybe that’s the best plan to have.

You saw incredible success behind the wheel, driving for teams like Toro Rosso and Carlin, what’s one lesson motorsport taught you that you’ve transferred to your career in music?

Perseverance and rigorosity. Those helped me out in the past to have a consistent routine and push for goals. I don’t feel like I am super talented in writing music, or racing cars. But I work hard and I think if you take things seriously and keep pushing your ideals they will come as long as you keep up the work, never back off, and feel that every single day there’s a new chance of learning.

You’ve released your own productions on Get Physical, Mobilee Records, and Selador, what other labels might you be working with in 2022?

I don’t really know. My album took me a long time to prepare and produce last year. I’m out of music at the moment, so I’m getting back in the studio again and starting to make new music, but I don’t have a specific plan. I just released a track with Dinky on Frau Blau and hopefully I can release a new EP on there as I really like the label and how they work. Let’s see what the future brings!

And what goals have you set yourself for this year?

I’m really looking forward to start touring again and meeting new people. I’m part of the Analog worldwide agency for this year so I’m really looking forward to starting! Unfortunately Covid has stopped us from traveling and connecting with the world, it looks like we have been absorbed by a digital world and the pandemic has accelerated the whole process. I’d be very happy to enjoy playing and see smiley faces again, dancing with no limits and of course to kick off our Anims documentary series and label.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, is there anything else you would like to mention before we go?

Yes, I’d like to add that life without looking at the epicness side of it, doesn’t make any sense. Thank you guys!

Oriol Calvo – Love Loud EP is out February 28th on Anims.