horsegiirL is more than just a one-trick pony

“For a girl from the farm, it’s definitely a different lifestyle!” enthuses horsegiirL after a busy weekend of DJing during which her off-the-wall viral hit “My Barn My Rules” reached 10 million streams. “It’s been insane, to say the least, and very exciting,” adds the DJ, producer and singer who keeps her identity hidden under a chestnut-coloured horse mask. “My brain is still adjusting,” she says, having already made an iconic Boiler Room debut. “Everything’s gone very fast…”

horsegiirL’s not wrong. Since bolting out of the barn and moving from ‘Sunshine Farms’ to Berlin in 2022, she’s won the hearts of the rave nation. Making music has long come naturally to her, having sung and played a variety of instruments since she was a child. “Music is all around us; nature is music to me and I always loved listening to the songs of birds or the sound of crickets when the sun sets,” she recalls. “I think you either are a musician or you’re not – it’s your form of expression, or it’s not. There’s not really a moment of deciding.” As horsegiirL elaborately tells it, she went from “making up my own melodies in my head when I was a young foal” to being “discovered by Whitney Horston at a harvest fest” as a teenager. She’s never looked back.

Although her earlier songs “Pegasus” and “Harvest Heartbreak” (made with friend and producer MCR-T) as well as the tracks on her 2023 debut EP Farm Fatele, are just as catchy, it’s the aforementioned “My Barn, My Rules”, that has bagged horsegiirL an ever-growing legion of fans. “I wanted to create something fun, not overthink it and free myself from the idea that everything has to be incredibly intellectualised in music,” she says.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, TikTok has been instrumental in helping the high-energy earworm infiltrate the mainstream, with over 170,000 videos using the sound to date. “It’s cool to see it having a life of its own,” horsegiirL says. Further surreal moments include Charli XCX playing the song on her radio show, Boys Noize and Skrillex dropping the track during a recent b2b set, and hearing it played on daytime UK radio. “It’s very surreal and funny,” she says of its impact.

Although she calls the track’s success “a strange experience,” horsegiirL does admit that she felt a unique vibe on the dancefloor when she started playing it out. “It was always a proper good mood, with people really vibing. But why this track? I honestly don’t know,” she says, having initially thought “My Little White Pony” – which she and MCR-T envisaged as a single and therefore shot a video for at the time – would have been “the one that goes more crazy… I guess you never know.”

While there’s no secret to her winning formula, many of the sounds horsegiirL incorporates into her sets and songs – “a wild mixture of 90s happy hardcore, hardstyle, gabber, and a bit of Eurodance with bubblegum pop lyrics” – are hugely popular right now, especially on TikTok. She finds it interesting that this hedonistic amalgamation is back on-trend, especially as they were never the most popular of genres. “It wasn’t ever really the cool thing to listen to,” she says. “It would’ve been outsiders who listened to this kind of stuff.” 

horsegiirL suggests these subcultures from decades past might be having a revival because they’re “framed differently” nowadays. “Lots of people actually see it for the very positive vibe it gives you, because it’s mostly quite euphoric and uplifting, especially the chords,” she says. This utopian spirit is at odds with the European techno scene, too, which horsegiirL often finds to be dark and industrial. “It’s very exhausting, at least from my experience, to go to parties where it’s just about being perceived and perceiving,” she explains. 

While this introversion is likely part of the reason she has chosen to remain anonymous, horsegiirL says that misconceptions surrounding her artistry have resulted in imposter syndrome. “I think a lot of people just perceive me as a DJ,” she says. “But I make music and play instruments mainly – the DJ thing is kind of an add-on that has now taken over”. And it really has done. Her first DJ gig as horsegiirL was at Berlin’s Panorama Bar in 2022; her second was a live stream for HÖR; and her third was a full-throttle Boiler Room session — not exactly a typical trajectory. Putting her nostalgic Euro dance style to the test, she cleared the fence each time, with the latter now sitting at 1.2 million views. She’s since been seen galloping across Europe playing festivals, and recently landed in the USA for a weekend of club shows. 

With her DJ bookings increasing as “My Barn, My Rules” continues its transcendence from the underground to the mainstream, horsegiirL says that being thrown into the deep end has required a lot of learning on the fly. “I understand how it might be frustrating for some people who have been DJing for years,” she says, “to feel like ‘wait, this person has just been given this stage in such a short amount of time’”. 

While she might still be perfecting her skills behind the decks, what’s undeniable is the energy of a horsegiirL party. “It’s very fast and in your face, with lots of vocal-heavy edits. There’s no time to calm down,” she says excitedly. “I start at 150BPM and will go up to 180BPM sometimes and, since I only play for a maximum of 90 minutes, I don’t have time for a break down or calm moment where you can chill. You’re gonna be sweating the whole time!” 

Much like what’s playing out of the speakers during her sets, a typical horsegiirL crowd is equally as tireless. “It’s incredibly freeing to see a bunch of young adults fully giving into their childhood selves and letting loose,” she says. “It’s just this very positive space.” This sense of unashamed fun, she says, is more important than ever in 2023. “In today’s world, where there are so many difficult things going on and it’s very serious all the time, I think it’s necessary to have this kind of escapism”. 

While horsegiirL characteristically confirms that “the best raves are in the barn”, she notes that creating a safe space is crucial to throwing a good party. “You’re in the moment, you leave your phone and you respect others around you and just have a great time,” she says, citing her own experience of clubbing in Berlin. “You’re not judgmental and you look after each other. If you see someone not feeling well, you make sure that they’re okay and you respect people’s boundaries and have a good time. The rave is a space where people really can be free.”

As for her plans for the coming months, horsegiirL certainly isn’t slowing down. “I’m going to release two more things this year,” she teases. “I’m also working on a video and some other cool bits, including new merch.” When i-D suggests that animals are taking over the industry right now, the she enthusiastically proclaims, “it’s a big year for horses… have you seen the Barbie movie?” Looking to the future, horsegiirL says that she’d “love to work with all the animals – Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, PinkPantheress – as well as anyone who is keen to make good music,” she manifests. “I’m very open to experimenting more, too, and not just with clubby sounds.” 

Before she heads back home to the farm, i-D has two final questions. What’s the key to a happy horsegiirL life? “Embrace who you are, be kind and don’t take everything too seriously,” she says. And does she have a message for all the neigh-sayers out there? “I think most people who have been to a show of mine know that it’s genuinely a good vibe and not just a gimmick,” she confirms. “I just want to keep on riding as long as I enjoy it.”

Credits

Photography Ruth Hodder