HorsegiirL Is Half-Human, Half-Horse and a Full Musician. How She Went from the Farm to Coachella (Exclusive)

• HorsegiirL says she's a half-horse, half-human musician and DJ taking the electro-dance world by storm

• She is gearing up to perform at Coachella later this month

• "If you're doing something that is new, that is different, you are always going to maybe polarize," the artist tells PEOPLE over Zoom
  

You've never met an artist quite like HorsegiirL.

The German musician and DJ, who goes by the name Stella Stallion, identifies as half-horse, half-human both on and off stage. Since hitting the scene in 2022, she's taken the electro-dance world by storm with songs like "My Barn My Rules" and "materiaL hor$e."

If you're confused, that's understandable. Having not revealed her true identity to date, HorsegiirL consistently remains in character and physically presents as a horse, complete with a muzzle, pointed ears peeking out of her hair and a signature heart-shaped white spot between her eyes.

The rising star — whose debut EP v.i.p - very important pony is out now — has garnered a cult fan base of over 560,000 monthly Spotify listeners and performed at iconic locations like Berlin's Berghain club and Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. This month, she's set to perform at Coachella in Indio, Calif.

Ahead of her performance at the festival, HorsegiirL sat down with PEOPLE on Zoom to discuss her fantastical backstory, misconceptions about her artistry, thoughts on Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" and more.

PEOPLE: Can you tell me a little bit about your upbringing and early introductions to music?

HorsegiirL: I was brought up in the countryside, very classic, on a farm, surrounded by lots of animals and nature, but I've always been drawn to music. Nature is a very musical place. Anyone that likes to go for a hike knows that there's constantly a concert of all sorts of animals going on. I got into it more professionally after we did an annual harvest feast festival thing and I was discovered by a really, really famous horse, also a singer, Whitney Horseton. Ever since then I've been galloping around stages, and three years ago I made the crossover into the human music space a little bit more. It's been very fun.

PEOPLE: You are half horse, half human, but not exactly the same kind that we've seen in a lot of media. What separates you from a centaur?

HorsegiirL: Centaurs, from what I understand, and I'm not a biologist, but I've heard that they are usually not even a full horse human but a horse wizard, magical being, whereas I'm just a boring old human horse.

PEOPLE: Who are some of the artists who’ve inspired you on your journey, especially as an animal in music?

HorsegiirL: Some of the icons for me were Crazy Frog, Hampton the Hamster. There's a very famous bunny in Germany who is called Schnuffel who has made some incredible tunes, so that was always quite inspiring. But to be honest, there was not that much of a real crossover. There's amazing famous whales that are legends in the animal kingdom for the amazing whale symphonies they compose, and it's just not as popular with humans.

PEOPLE: Do you feel you’ve had to work harder to be taken seriously in a human-dominated field? What are the hardest parts about being HorsegiirL?

HorsegiirL: If you're doing something that is new, that is different, you are always going to maybe polarize. There's going to be people that just won't get it, and they won't like it, and that's also okay to be expected. Sometimes people are quick to judge, especially online. But other than that, I wouldn't necessarily say it's been crazy hard. I would say I've been welcomed in many spaces with a very open mind and open arms, and that's what I tend to focus on.

PEOPLE: What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?

HorsegiirL: I think a lot of people really just think of me as a DJ, and I make all of the music I play. Not all of the songs I play in a set, but all of the music that comes out. I love singing, I love producing, I love playing instruments, and I would always consider myself a musician before a DJ. It is a lot of fun for me to express and show people the records that I like to listen to, and that's a great way to connect with an audience, but I almost just fell into that whole DJ world. It was never necessarily something I set out to do.

PEOPLE: You are on the Coachella lineup, and it's the biggest festival that anyone talks about in America. What does that mean for you, not only as an artist but a horse?

HorsegiirL: I feel very nervous at the moment about this but also so excited and very, very grateful. It's surreal, because it is such a huge and well-known festival that it almost feels like, as an artist, if you get to play there, it's like you're getting knighted. It's like, “Okay, you are someone to be watched,” and that's really, really amazing to be also on a lineup with so many amazing, incredible artists.

PEOPLE: What is on your backstage rider? Are there any snacks you need at a show?

HorsegiirL: When I'm in the U.S., I don't want to endorse any brands here, but there is one very famous popular kombucha that I will have. It's just so tasty, and we don't have that in Europe. And then normally some little snacky things that are still more on the healthy side. Sometimes I'll get a nice little apple or some carrots, but usually just fresh veggies and some dried fruits or nuts.

PEOPLE: Do you have them put hay in your dressing room?

HorsegiirL: The thing with hay is it's a very unhealthy snack. I love hay, but it's like sugar, same thing. When I'm touring, to just have the energy levels, I tend to try and just be a little bit more on the healthy food side. The hay can come after the tour.

PEOPLE: Your rise to success has happened around the same time as Chappell Roan, who had a major hit with “Pink Pony Club.” I want to know how you feel about songs like that and if you ever take issue with artists, say, appropriating horse culture.

HorsegiirL: First of all, I love Chappell. I love the outfits, I love the campiness of it all. I think she's an amazing musician. I also love “Pink Pony Club.” If anything, humanity — they might not even know it — but you guys went through a breakup with horses unknowingly when you invented cars, because we were a huge part of human culture for thousands of years. We were best friends pretty much, really leaning onto each other, and only in the last 150 years we have disappeared more and more . But I think there is still a huge tie or almost that huge wish to maybe reconnect a little bit. So I completely understand why in popular culture horses have not disappeared and in fact are being mentioned all the time. And I don't mind if anyone wants to sing about us. I'm grateful.

PEOPLE: Your work takes you to a lot of nightclubs. I'm curious to know how you feel about the use of ketamine as a drug in party scenes considering that horses have been using it as an anesthetic for so long?

HorsegiirL: Well, it's almost like the same thing as with Ozempic and stuff. Where it becomes a problem is when you're taking it to a place where the people that need it or the horses that need it cannot get it anymore. I don't care what you do in your free time in the club, whatever you do, as long as it's consensual, respectful and so on. But there were some shortages a while ago. A friend of mine, who is in chronic pain, had to source the ketamine from God knows where because the hospitals and the doctors said, "Well, we just simply have none at the moment.” I personally think there's so many other drugs that humans can have — leave some for the horses.

PEOPLE: Between the artists who’ve inspired you and those on the Coachella lineup, do you have a dream collaboration?

HorsegiirL: There's so many people. [Lady] Gaga is an icon. Charli [xcx], of course. There's so many good people on the lineup this year. Honestly, I'm such a big music lover that I feel like just getting in the studio and creating things and seeing what comes out is possible with literally any great musician no matter if you're from different ends of a musical spectrum. She's not on the Coachella lineup, but I can say Kesha [or] Ayesha Erotica. There's some really fun people I would love to go to the studio with.

PEOPLE: Where do you see yourself in five years? What are your goals?

HorsegiirL: I would love to really just expand musically. I will always make music for the club, but also I want to bring out an album. In five years, at least one album I think I can manage to do. I want to collab. I want to really also explore the medium of music videos a bit more. And, of course, I would love to bring a show on the road that almost feels like a theater musical experience where the songs are sprinkled into it, but it follows a whole storyline, and it's almost like watching a film that has little songs in it.

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