Anthony: All right. Here we go. Okay, okay, okay. Hi, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. I hope you're doing well. And today we have the one, the only, horsegiirL. We're talking horsegiirL. We're talking horsegiirL. Electronic music artist, DJ. She has a brand new EP that is dropping just hours from now, which I will be listening to immediately as soon as it comes out. I was lucky enough to catch a live set from you. Pretty recently, I forget exactly when that was. I think it was around Halloween. That's right, because I was dressed up. A bunch of other people were dressed up. It was like a crazy Halloween show. It was a very fitting vibe. So I'm excited to-

horsegiirL: That was so much fun, yeah.

Anthony: No, it was. It was nuts. I'm excited to get a better understanding of you and your work and this project that you have dropping. So let's just get straight into it. First off the bat, I want to say just thank you for making the time to come through.

horsegiirL: Thank you for having me. This is my first time doing a live Twitch interview. Okay. I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm sure it's going to be great.

Anthony: I'm flattered. I'm flattered to be the first. I'm flattered that, again, you took the time. The first thing I wanted to ask you is just getting a bit of an origin, an understanding here about your background in electronic music and when exactly you started to take interest. Because one of the things that I really enjoyed about your set back in October was that you covered such a wide range of different styles across the whole thing. You played for, I believe, at least 90 minutes, almost two hours. You were bordering on... You were in between there.

horsegiirL: It was two hours, yeah.

Anthony: It was a two-hour set. You had hardstyle tracks in there. You had house tracks in there. You had techno tracks in there. You had crazy remixes going on. You threw in a little Darude's "Sandstorm". You were touching down on a lot of different moments and tunes and jams and flipping them and reversing them. I just wanted to know when exactly you started acquiring this wide knowledge base of all these different styles that you now incorporate into these pretty massive performances.

horsegiirL: I think it really probably started when I was just a little foal. It's always been like this, that I just enjoy music and all sorts of styles. I never really discriminated against the genre. I think going out, I sometimes would find myself craving a bit more of a diverse set where you where you're not just having the same genre for two, three hours, and then the whole night as well. I guess that's just how I would like to go out, and that's reflected in how I play. I think there's a change in audience as well. I think a lot of people enjoy being taken on a ride and are not as much purists anymore, where it's just about just a pure techno set. I mean, that's also still great, and it still exists, obviously. But I noticed that a lot of the Farmies, as I like to call my fans, really enjoy that mix of genres.

Anthony: This restlessness that you have with sticking to one genre, being exposed to the same genre during a set, is that something that you discovered as you would go to sets wishing for a bit more diversity, or were performing and mostly sticking to certain styles and then wanting to incorporate other stuff as you continue to perform?

horsegiirL: Well, so, a bit of both because it's so mood-based as well. Sometimes I'm in a club and I can just tell the energy is not as maybe experimental and it's more straightforward. Then I will also cater to that and it can be equally as fun. So I still feel like I'm sometimes doing a more traditional approach or traditional set. But when I have time for 2 hours, I really can tell the story. I think I, personally, when I go out, at least, that's not that much nowadays, but I do enjoy when the night is different genres and when every DJ is a whole new soundscape rather than one whole night of the same relentless beat. But that's just my personal take.

Anthony: When you're talking about being a little foal and getting into this stuff, what exactly is the exposure point? Was there an internet connection in the barn, or was the farmer giving you exposure to a music streaming platform? What exactly was your point of access here? Because not a lot of horses get access to music.

horsegiirL: Yeah, you'd be surprised. Nature is a hell of a party. At Sunshine Farms, we had barn festivals all the time. I think you just need to go into nature and listen and you will hear there's constantly music going on. Constantly. There's a lot of singers, talented musicians in the animal kingdom. But human music, I think it was mostly the music that maybe some of the farmers would play. Hard style, makina, techno, Eurodance, hardcore, gabber. It was that style, at least in the countryside.

Anthony: Okay. Thank you for correcting my ignorance. I'm unfamiliar with, obviously, the music exposure and the music scene around... I don't spend a whole lot of time around the farm. I'm mostly in my basement doing interviews, so I'm not exposed to this stuff. You know that more than I do, so I appreciate you giving me that information. Tell me a little bit about the Farmies, because what I find interesting is that you're at a point where you're still really building your profile and yourself as an artist and as a DJ, but already, very early on, you seem to have this very, very strong, impassioned... I don't want to say... I don't use the word cult in a demeaning way, but very strong cult fan base who really... I don't know what it is, but they got the memo. They show up, they're excited, they're dressed like farmers, they're wearing assless chaps, They're in cowboy, in cowgirl garb, they're in cowprint. They got the hats on, they got the flannels on, they got the overalls on. They're showing out, even when it's not Halloween. Even when it's not Halloween, even when it's not a Halloween show, people are...They're in the Farmie uniform. So what exactly has created this really strong general understanding among this fan base of this is what it's about. This is what we're doing. We're showing up and we're showing out.

horsegiirL: Man, you ask me... I don't know. I think it just happened. I never-

Anthony: You're not dictating this? You're not making them do this.

horsegiirL: No. Oh, actually, you found me out. You don't get in unless you're dressed in ranch dressing.

Anthony: 🤣

horsegiirL: I really don't know. I think it just happened. I think from the beginning, it was always mainly, maybe in the very beginning, people weren't really dressing in that farmcore, but they just felt very flamboyant. Maybe they noticed that this is a space where they can and where they can dress however the fuck they want to. I think a lot of my fans enjoy dressing up in general, not just in costume. It's a space where they're not getting judged. I think that's pretty much really what it's about. I never told anyone to dress up, and I never really expected it to be this thing. It just grew naturally.

Anthony: Do you think they're essentially just taking your lead? I think they're taking your lead. I think they're taking inspiration. I think you're inspiring them.

horsegiirL: To dress in farm clothing?

Anthony: Yeah, or something. I don't know what it is. I feel like without saying so, you're inspiring them to take the initiative and maybe I don't know, be their true selves?

horsegiirL: Yeah, maybe. I mean, if that's what people get from my art, then that's amazing. I think there's also a huge DIY approach I have a lot of fans that really make amazing things. They are amazing at making clothes or at painting and building things. It's really cool to see how much love and time they pour into that. There were times where... Because when I play somewhere, usually, if it's a city where I don't really have friends, I normally tend to give away the guest list. Sometimes I would do something funny, like, 'Okay, draw a picture of a carrot, and then you get guest list.' I never really expected anyone to actually do it, or to draw the insanely amazing carrots. But yeah, there are some true artists amongst the Farmies.

Anthony: There's some serious audience participation. No, I just find it interesting because you've done a really great job of world building around what you do, and I find that to be a bit of a rarity right now because I feel like the internet has this tendency – I was just talking about this in an interview yesterday, and maybe you as an artist have some thoughts on this – I feel like the Internet, music platforms, TikTok, have this tendency to take art and isolate it and pull it out of its original context in a way and present it in a fashion to where, and again, I'm sure you've experienced this, to where people will just see it completely out of its element and they want to understand what the fuck it is and what it's all about. The fact that they don't get it, they'll be offended about it or they'll be upset about it for some reason. Also, in your experience, have you and your sets and your music also come across the paths of people who just refuse to understand it in any way whatsoever?

horsegiirL: Sure. But I think if you put yourself out there, the truth is you're always going to get judged, no matter what you do. Even if you do the most basic thing, someone is going to have to say something about it, someone's going to get triggered by it. I think it's a scary thing, probably for every artist, specifically for that reason. But the people that get it, get it, and the people that don't, don't. I think there's no trying to force anything. And I also don't think art has to be pretty or easily palatable. I think there's something for everyone. I feel like sometimes I don't get this notion that if one thing exists, another thing can't exist. If you enjoy going to the opera, for example, and you don't really like my shit, then that's cool. You can just go to the opera. I love the opera, too, but you don't have to. I'm not making that disappear.

Anthony: No, it's true. But what I find to be even almost like, hypocritical, a double standard is like, I don't even feel like what you're doing is that far out there, considering the general standards of what you would say is being set for electronic music and DJing broadly. I've seen short form videos of your sets uploaded to the internet and I've seen dozens of comments like, 'Oh, man, the scene is over. Oh, man, this is what's happening in the scene now. This is terrible. This is the worst thing.' It's like, I'm sorry, are Daft Punk really robots? Is Marshmello, actually a marshmallow? You're just presenting yourself in the way that if the scene is over because of you, it's been fucking over. It seems like you have these old heads who are seeing what you do, even though there's obviously a lineage to it, they're looking at it as if it's this new bad thing. You're essentially like the fourth horse of the EDM Apocalypse, in a way. Or maybe the first one.

horsegiirL: Yeah. Let's see what other animals come after me. There's been like Crazy Frog, Hampton Hamster. I'm not the first one to do this. No, I think there's a nostalgia for times that aren't anymore. And I get that. I feel like if I was 55 and I used to rave in the '90s, and things were different back then. You're confused. You look at the world now and you're like, 'Oh, my God, that's crazy and weird and different. I don't like it and it's shit.' Fair. I do think humans tend to have that nostalgia for things that they can't get back anymore. In looking back into the past, a lot of things we romanticized, and we think they were much nicer and more beautiful than they actually were. Because I think, I'm sure the '90s rave scene was amazing, and I would have loved to experience it. But I also think it tended to be a lot more potentially essentially male-dominated in a lot of the spaces. It was very much very white and not super diverse, at least in Europe. I think things are changing and becoming more mixed up and different genres, and different people, and different stories. It's a different way of life.

Anthony: And human-dominated made it, too.

horsegiirL: Yeah, very human, very speciest.

Anthony: Right, exactly. Let's talk a little bit about this EP that you have coming out very, very soon. Are your nerves about you? Are you dying to get this thing out there?

horsegiirL: I normally, when I get to the stage of a project, when it's like you do the press and you do just the last little things, I just want to have it out. I've listened to it so many times now. I've revisited it, changed things about the lyrics, the production. At this point, I'm maybe too close to the art to enjoy it at this time. I just want to have it out, and I just want to see what it's going to do in the world.

Anthony: Very Important Pony v.i.p. is the title of it for anybody who is not in the know. A few tracks from it are out already. One of them made it onto my Singles of the Year list for 2024.

horsegiirL: I saw!

Anthony: Appreciate you putting that track out. It's one of my favorites. What else are people in for on this project that they haven't heard in terms of the tracks that are already out and about? Are there other sounds and sub-genres that you're exploring on these other cuts? Are you lyrically broadening the pony space as it were? Give us a bit of a heads up as to what we're going to hear on the rest of it.

horsegiirL: I think it's the first record where I really consciously decided that I don't just want make club music or music that only works in the club. I think there's... I mean, even with "Take It Off", it's obviously a different facet of dance music. It's, for what I usually do, a lot slower. It's more classic, housey, ballroom vibes. I think that's kind of the theme with this EP. There's a track called "Material Horse" and another one, "The Scene Before the Kiss". Both of them are, I would say, not really something I would play in the club. That's really something people can look forward to, that it's a bit of a new side to me. It's still fun. It's still danceable, but it's not as hardcore, maybe, as some of my other stuff.

Anthony: You're doing some ballads or pop cuts, that sort of thing?

horsegiirL: It's poppy. There's some breakcore, breakbeat. I don't even know what I would describe material horse genre-wise, because I feel like someone said on my TikTok that it's giving frutiger aero. I don't know if I'm pronouncing this correctly, but you know these esthetics from the 2000s that people are obsessed with? That I think. Someone said the sound of that track is frutiger aero or fruti-ge, whatever, that thing. I have to agree. I think that's the genre.

Anthony: In electronic music, in pop music right now, especially given the summer and everything, it seems like a lot of these 2000s esthetics are back in just a big way, be it in, again, pop or electronic music broadly. You personally, as somebody who's embracing this a little bit, even subconsciously, is there a reason that you think this is the case, or do you think it's just reached that point where it's a certain 20 to 25 year old age, when something hits that point, it just comes back?

horsegiirL: Probably also a bit of both. I think, again, there's a nostalgia for those seemingly simpler times. I think also, within fashion and also in music, at the beginning of the 2000s, there was maybe a bit more of a quality aspect to a degree. Music was made still in that old-school way where bands and musicians had a lot more resources and time to be in the studio, to really work on a project for a long time. The same with fashion, the fabrics and the materials materials were maybe a little bit just better quality than some fast fashion throwaway stuff that you would get nowadays. Maybe that could be also one of the reasons why we're looking back to that time thinking the world was so much easier and better. But for me, subconsciously, yeah, I'd probably just connect good personal memories with the 2000s and the fun of it all.

Anthony: Those pressures creatively that you talk about in terms of there being a certain time when there, artistically speaking, it was more time, better materials to work with, things were being done in a certain way. As a modern day artist, how do you personally feel like you navigate that now? Because I would definitely say that through the tracks you've released so far, through the way that you present yourself, visually, your set designs, also just your promo photos. It seems like a lot of effort in planning goes into each one of these pieces, and they just come out so colorful and immaculate and creative and funny. How are you making sure that with what little time that you have, you're using it to put out stuff that seems like it took a while to assemble?

horsegiirL: How do I make sure of that? I'm still trying to find the balance of being in the studio equally as much as being on the road and doing all the other admin things like shoots and just meetings and all these things. Because I'm a very visual being, I really love thinking of fun creative concepts, and I'm also super excited about where my stage design is going to go in the future. But I noticed that in the last few years, I happened to make music less and less and less and less and less and less because I just had less and less and less and less time. I think a lot of touring artists can relate to that, especially in the DJ world, because you don't have this album touring cycle where you tour for three months and then you're off the rest of the year. It's constantly on, and there's always some party you could play. I'm grateful for it, but it's also... Yeah, it can be It's very exhausting.

Anthony: I know that you have collaborators, but as much as you want to go into it, do you have a team behind you as well, helping you with visuals, costumes, the sets, the production. It seems like you do have some collaborators here and there who are helping you put this stuff together. How did you connect with these people and what did they help contribute to what you do?

horsegiirL: Yeah, by now, I actually have such an amazing team around me. I think it's like, I don't know who said this. Who said this amazing quote, but if you can do it by yourself, you're not dreaming big enough. I think any big artist you see, they have a huge team behind them. Yes, you have to be that creative driving force, but at the same time, I have amazing people that make those ideas come to life. It's crazy because some of them are my friends, my dear collaborators, but like others, they come through management and people that have worked in the industry for a long time and are like, 'You should work with this person,' or, 'You should have this lighting designer.' I don't fucking know lighting designers. I don't know.

Anthony: Right. No, me neither. I don't know any lighting designers.

horsegiirL: But also, I'm very blessed in that way that I have just amazing creative friends that I can do a lot of stuff with. A lot of the shoots I do are literally just with friends.

Anthony: Yeah, no, I figured that probably had to be the case on some level for sure. And no, that quote that you brought up there is, I think, an incredible reminder, especially during an age where it seems like in the media or on social media and on these streaming platforms, it seems like the idealized artist is just the solo person just making some shit in their bedroom on their laptop, and it's just presented in that way. It's almost like the idea of being in a band or a group or a collective or whatever is passe, and it's almost inherently less marketable or something. When, again, in reality-

horsegiirL: It's also not true.

Anthony: No, it's true. It's true that it's not true.

horsegiirL: Yeah. That art is, I don't think really ever existed. Even in high art, even in paintings and stuff, if you look at someone like Picasso, where you would say, 'Oh, it's this genius lone wolf that just created all the time.' Yeah, he always had a whole bunch of people around him, including the woman he would be with that did all the admin. You can't really function fully focused on the art and do all the other stuff and do your tax return and your dishes and your everything. It's an illusion. It's also, I think a lot of artists maybe struggle with that, with this idea that they have to be able to do everything. I think it's a good thing to know a lot, especially at the beginning, do that music video with just your friends. Really learn how to maybe cut a simplistic video or sit down and learn how to do a very rudimental beat and how to record yourself. I think it's good to know those things, but you don't need to be a master producer or the best creative director, filmmaker in order to make it.

Anthony: As you were saying, Picasso wouldn't be updating taking his own TikTok. To the point that-

horsegiirL: Would he be on TikTok?

Anthony: You know, I feel like he'd probably have some presence there on some level because if he wasn't uploading his stuff there, somebody else would. I figured he'd probably just business-wise have to beat them to the punch.

horsegiirL: I think he would maybe be the type of person that has this mysterious dark music while he's just painting in the South of France somewhere and never really... Having that elusive brand, never really talking to the audience.

Anthony: Yeah, he's Frank Ocean about it. I get it.

horsegiirL: Yeah.

Anthony: You talk about the downsides of being on this constant tour and performance grind. Obviously, you've put a lot of focus and effort into this EP that you're excited to drop. Digging into that a little further, do you see yourself from this point, from that EP release, presuming the songs gain traction and get a lot of attention? Do you see yourself going fully into this crazy tour mode, crazy party mode, crazy performance mode? Or do you see yourself settling down for a bigger album-type release down the road? The idea of putting together a proper cohesive, focused, full-length album that further expands the horsegiirL world, is that of interest to you, or is DJing and competing on that circuit more what you're driven to do?

horsegiirL: I would love to finish a full-body piece of work and release an album. I think it's more realistic that that's happening next year because I really want to take my time. As you just said, both at the same time doesn't really work. You have to really set time apart and not just write the material, but also sit on it for a bit, reflect on it, and really have it marinate as I like to say. But I think... I don't know if touring, for me is so much fun when it's show after show after show after show in club settings. I think it's a lot of fun every now and then to play in a club and play a classic just banging ass set. But long term, I would really like to just bring more of my vision alive vibe, and that's really only possible when you're playing headline shows. Because in a festival or in a club context, there's just the space and just the infrastructure normally there to do something really elaborate. Even at big festivals, you have only 10 minutes, sometimes five minutes to change over, and so you can't really bring all of that much production. But yeah, I think once this EP is out, I'm going to go to Mexico and play something there. I can't really tell yet what it is, but it's going to be pretty exciting. Then this year, I'm taking it a bit easier. The first bigger show, I think, is Ceremonia in Mexico City in April, just before Coachella.

Anthony: Okay. Yeah, Let's get into some performance dates in a second. Before we do that, if there's anything else that you want to dig into on this, you talk about, especially in these headline contexts, bringing to life a bigger vision. As of right now, do you have an idea of what that vision is? Where do you feel like your ambitions are pushing you at the moment? I'll attest to the Halloween show and say that again, even without people dressing up for it, it was a pretty big event between the giant inflatable fruits and vegetables and the screen stuff going on and you on stage and just how diverse the performance was. Where do you see yourself pushing things beyond that, either in terms of music or presentation?

horsegiirL: There's different ways to go about it. I think I want to have a moment where I can really create the entire experience from when you walk into the venue to when you stand in front of a stage where you feel like a tiny bug and you're just like, everything is just these massive grass, and you're just like, 'Yo, what the hell?' I kind of want to flip the perspective because I have a lot of human friends that, for example, are scared of spiders, and I always just think, imagine you're the spider, how scary do human beings look? They're hairless, two-footed creatures that just are going crazy. I think that could be such a cool thing in terms of life to swap it a little bit, that perspective. But also I would love to step out from behind the DJ decks, maybe at one point. I think it's just such an interesting medium, performance in general, but also who you get to work with when you start working with stage designers and costume and light. There's just so much I could tap into. I think, yeah, I don't want to say too much. I think there's going to be already some really cool things happening this year. But yeah, one of my biggest dreams is doing a bug experience.

Anthony: I mean, that sounds incredible. But again, when this further emboldens the cult to dress like bugs, don't-

horsegiirL: Now, you dress like bugs!

Anthony: Don't act surprised to me, and don't get mad at me when I call it a bug cult. So what are these performances that you have coming up? You mentioned Mexico, you mentioned Coachella. After the EP comes out, obviously, if people are enjoying it, they're probably going to want to come out to see you. Where can they expect to catch you live? Because, again, I most definitely recommend it. It was one of the wilder and more fun live shows I've been to last year. If anybody has the time to do so, they should most definitely go out of their way. Where can people catch you in 2025?

horsegiirL: I think the first couple of shows that are coming up is on the fourth of April. I'll be in... No, actually, no, wrong. On the fifth of April, I'll be in Mexico playing Ceremonia, and I'm also going to play San Francisco, I think, doing a big headline show just before then. I'm probably getting the dates mixed up, but it's at the beginning of April. Then I'm doing both Coachella weekends, so I think that's for the West Coast, at least, of the US, what I can already announce. Then I'm definitely going to do a lot of more North America and some South America dates, and also will play European summer. But a lot of these shows aren't announced yet, so I don't want to get into any legal altercations here.

Anthony: I don't know if a horse can enter a contract, so they may not even be able to bring you into court.

horsegiirL: True. Actually, yeah. That would be a first one. Actually, I don't think so. There's probably been trials done with animals before. I heard there's-

Anthony: Actually, you're right. There probably is precedent for horse law.

horsegiirL: Yeah. I heard there's...isn't there a mayor cat somewhere in the US?

Anthony: There's a mayor cat or a dog or something, which- They can be a mayor. Yeah, or a mare.

horsegiirL: Or a mare. Yeah. A mayor mare.

Anthony: Well, anyway. Let me just say, you've really hit upon something genius. There's so much potential wordplay that I feel like is not fully explored in what you do, and you really do a great of working it into your stuff. I admire that aspect of it. I'll just say that. All right. Horsegirl, again, I appreciate you taking the time and giving us some insight into what makes you tick, your views on music, the EP that you have coming out, and good luck on the release and the live shows. I appreciate your time again.

horsegiirL: Thank you so much for having me. This was such a cute conversation. Yeah, let me know what you think of the EP.

Anthony: I will be blasting my thoughts on it out to the world. You will hear and catch that when it happens. You're the best.

horsegiirL: And don't hold back. I appreciate-

Anthony: Oh, I'm going to beat the hell out of it.

horsegiirL: Okay, great. Send all of the haters my way.

Anthony: Yeah, they'll all be coming your way. Honestly, I feel like we live in an age where if you have positive attention on you, that's great. And if you have negative attention, that just further polarizes the people who already fuck with you. I feel like you're winning either way. I feel like that's just going to make the Farmies go even harder. They'll just be like, 'No, this is the best. Shut the fuck up.' The haters, as far as I can tell, they're unarmed. The Farmies have pitchforks, so I think you're good.

horsegiirL: Yes, the Farmies have apples. That's good.

Anthony: That, too.

horsegiirL: Yeah, there's no diseases and stuff. They're healthy

Anthony: They're keeping the doctor away. All right. Have a good one.

horsegiirL: Thank you, You too. Bye-bye!