HorsegiirL

HorsegiirL is a pseudonymous German DJ, singer, and songwriter who hides her identity behind a horse head mask. Her 2023 single "My Barn My Rules", which became a popular sound on TikTok, attracted attention after Arielle Free was suspended from BBC Radio 1 for a week for decrying it on air, and later appeared on Dazed's "20 best tracks of 2023" list.

Life and career

HorsegiirL hides her identity behind a chestnut-coloured horse head mask; Daniel Rodgers of Vogue wrote in November 2023 of being shackled by an "NDNeigh" to not ask "serious, journalistic questions about [her] provenance [or] distinct biological make-up", but noted that she was Berlin-based and that she had described herself as "half-horse, half-human". She told i-D in September 2023 that she uses the real name "Stella Stallion", grew up on "Sunshine Farms", and had gone 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, and she told Rodgers that she had "been famous for a while" and that she had listened to the likes of Crazy Frog and Hampton the Hamster growing up. In addition, a February 2024 ABC News article described her as a "Black woman/horse/DJ", and of Mustang and Haflinger descent on her equine side.

Her debut single, "Harvest Heartbreak", featured Baugruppe90, a duo composed of Louis Köhler and Paul Vogler. In 2022, she released "Farm Fantasies", and that December she released "Pegasus", a futurepop song written about the day she first met her collaborator. She and MCR-T then released "My Barn My Rules" in January 2023, which became a popular sound on TikTok several months later, by which time she had released "Praise the Farm" and then the three-track "Farm Fatale", which included "Praise the Farm" and contained songs about her leaving her farm and moving to a city. Charlie Hedges played "My Barn My Rules" during her 30 July 2023 episode of BBC Radio 1's Dance Anthems Ibiza, which attracted attention after Arielle Free, who was guesting on the programme, expressed her disapproval of the song on air, prompting Hedges to deactivate her microphone in annoyance. Radio 1 subsequently suspended Free from the station for a week. The success of "My Barn My Rules" prompted HorsegiirL to release a video for the single in September 2023; later that year, the song appeared on Dazed's "20 best tracks of 2023" list.

In October 2023, she released "F0rbiidden L0ve$tory", which interpolated Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi" and was inspired by opinions of her parents' romance; the following December, she released "Wish ✮⋆˙", a Christmas song accompanied by a video. Struggling with the attention she was receiving, she went on holiday in Ecuador, staying near Cotopaxi, and attended an ayahuasca ceremony; after returning home, she released "Obsessed" in April 2024, which described infatuation, and was produced by A. G. Cook and Tom Demac.

Artistry

HorsegiirL refers to her fans as "farmies". In October 2023, Interview magazine described her musical style as happy hardcore, and in February 2024, Arielle Richards of Vice described "My Barn My Rules" as "yeehaw-meets-hardstyle" and a sample of a European set she had seen on TikTok as gabber. In addition, Shahzaib Hussain of Clash described "Obsessed" as a combination of "synthetic pop" and eurotrance. HorsegiirL told Rodgers that she took inspiration from the "extra-ness" of Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, and heavy hardcore.

Discography

Singles

As featured artist

References