A general rule of dance music: Every set has its standout songs. The nonpareils that cut through the noise, pierce the air, collectively arrest the crowd, elicit a visceral “what the fuck was that?” If Squired‘s Imagine Music Festival 2023 set catalyzes that almost reflexive verbalization from you, then it did its job.
“Whenever I’m working on a set, I always go through the same mindset of wanting to showcase my music, edits, IDs, remixes and so on and so forth, but for me, the most exciting thing when going to a festival or show in general is hearing those songs that make me go ‘what the fuck was that’ and just take me by surprise,” Squired tells Dancing Astronaut. “I always want people seeing me perform to have those moments as well, so that’s such an important part for me in all my sets and of course wanted to bring that to Imagine as well.”
In September, it was wheels up for the rising force to be reckoned with, who temporarily left his New York base for his debut stint at Atlanta’s Imagine Music Festival. And as the set unequivocally demonstrates, Squired wasn’t just ready to notch the career benchmark—he came to supercharge Imagine’s crowd, to further lay the foundation for the high-octane trap that’s progressively becoming synonymous with Squired.
“In this mix I’ve got a few special random IDs, edits, and forthcoming tracks from my debut EP. Also a ton of music from all the homies and tracks that just make me wanna go crazy,” Squired says.
The pummeling, hour-long showing is proof that Squired is primed for dance music’s largest stages. And with a solid stack of releases in his rearview, including joints on RL Grime’s Sable Valley (see Sable Valley Summer Vol. 3 and Sable Valley Summer Vol. 4), Lowly., Proximity Recordings, and Ultra Music, who could argue that? No one.
Stream Squired’s Imagine Music Festival 2023 set below.
