horsegiirL: Started From the Barn, Now We’re Here

Galloping from Sunshine Farms to the world stage, horsegiirL undeniably stands out in our human reality. As I talk to her with a blank zoom call screen in front of me, it is still very clear that there is no mask she is hiding under. horsegiirL was just born and then life happened. Besides being a horse, she brings so much artistry to the table, or decks. Even though there is not much known about her upbringing in the barns, music and playing instruments have always been part of her life. When her song My Barn, My Rules went viral this year, her mix of hardstyle techno and gabber gripped the world which meant big changes for the girl from the countryside, but staying true to her art will always remain the priority.

SLEEK talks to horsegiirL about what it means to perform in front of a crowd, the complexities of going viral and how the focus on numbers influences music today.

SLEEK: Your music is a mix of a little bit of everything; happy hardcore, hardstyle and gabber. How did your sound come to life?

Maybe that is something about the younger generation, everything is far more fast paced now and I just really love fast music. In the beginning, when I was just starting out, I didn’t expect to go down this DJ path and I still see myself more as a musician, singer and producer. I just played what made me happy and made me dance, because I think in club spaces here in Berlin or Europe, music in an electronic environment has been quite dark for a long time, and I found that energy very intense. I still love that kind of music, but I was craving a more uplifting environment that was still fast, so I gravitated to this kind of sound I am creating.

S: Were you a raver when you were younger?

h: In the barn, we do have little barn festivals but I didn’t grow up raving like humans do. When I first came in contact with silly life and went to the club for the first time, I was exposed to different things. I wouldn’t say I went just straight to a rave, I attended an array of different parties from house parties to festivals and also hip hop or afro beats parties. It just depended on the overall vibe the DJ and people created.

S: You are talking about clubbing as in creating a space, how does it feel to be the role of the DJ in that environment?

h: The moment I DJ, I am catering to the crowd the same way the crowd caters to me. I love this interaction of creating spaces. To think that the DJ is at the top of the hierarchy in the club is silly because if you play only how you want to play, you are missing out on this amazing symbiosis. My job is to make the crowd go crazy, to make them dance and surrender to the beat. Therefore I have to be in tune with what the people in front of me do and I have to notice when the energy drops. Actually, it is so much more the crowd that dictates the space which makes it a huge honor that people again and again give me the opportunity to be part of the creation of these moments and nights.

S: Did it therefore put pressure on you when you first started out to perform in front of a crowd?

h: In terms of DJ’ing I am definitely pretty new but in terms of music, I have been on stages all my life. When I was playing my first gigs in the beginning of last year, I was so nervous before every gig which was not much to do with the crowd but rather with DJ’ing being a new thing to me. I have always been comfortable with playing instruments and singing  because I know my voice. With DJ’ing, all of a sudden I was doing it in front of people who paid which only added a lot of nervousness. But I think learning by doing is the best method.

S: With your song My Barn, My Rules going viral this year, did that success help you gain confidence?

h: It didn’t give me any reassurance. If anything, it surprised me that specifically, this song was trending which goes to show you never know when you put out a song. I think there was a little bit of a fear when a thing goes viral especially at the beginning of your career. There is always a chance that people will only know you for this one thing and that can change the crowd. That is not always a bad thing but it can be scary and soul crushing when anything you put out after doesn’t matter anymore. With me, I don’t think I have experienced it that much. It did change the crowd a little but the song also didn’t go to 500 million streams, it went viral but it was a cute viral.

S: But going viral on social media seems like the only way to gain a broader audience these days. Does that influence the way music is being made?

h: TikTok is a blessing and a curse. I think it takes away the power from these big major labels which I think is a good thing. When you’re with a big label, they have big funds and radio pluggers for your songs to get played so listeners are more so forced to hear your music. Nowadays with streaming and TikTok, any musician can upload their content and trend out of nowhere. At the same time, the problem is not so much TikTok but Spotify because streaming gives you so little money. It’s 0.003€ per stream, so in order for you to earn money, you have to have millions of streams. That is what creates this need to have viral songs and it does change the way people make music. Back in the times of CDs or even early streaming and iTunes, you had to actually buy tracks or a whole album. You could have survived without even having to chart if you had a loyal fanbase. The streaming concept nowadays just doesn’t work and when you really think about it, having access to all music ever made for only 9.99€ per month is really insane.

S: Then how can you survive as an artist?

h: I have definitely gone through all of the phases of questioning why I am doing this even though now it is looking up. The good thing is that I do not come from a big city and when you are brought up in the countryside, I think a lot of the materialistic ideals of how you need to dress or what you need to do to be living this cool metropolitan life didn’t exist for me. I was just in nature having a good time with the little things and supportive people although that is also already a privilege. 

S: Does that define success for you?

h: It is already a successful life if you get to do what you love doing. Always create an environment for yourself that allows you to be connected with your art, you can work three days in a cafe and the others on being creative. Being an artist doesn’t always have to look like being number one or having millions of dollars. Obviously the question is also how you define success, if it is money and fame there are probably other ways, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that is true success. If it brings you joy and makes you feel exhilarated even in the moments it gets tough then you know that this is what you need to follow. Perseverance will lead to success and I think this will always be like this.

S: In which environment do you see yourself as an artist?

h: I love what big cities have but I crave nature and stillness. I definitely think everyone should be connecting with nature as much as they can because it puts all of these fast paced things we think are important into perspective. Being away from that really reminds us that we are truly alive right now and a lot of the things we worry about are not as important as they seem.