Track 2 from The Rest of Our Lives is River of Dismay, the first of four appearances from Tw3Lv3 on the album. A liquid drum & bass piece, this one utilises a piano alongside the familiar heavy bass and quick drums to forge a brilliant nostalgic atmosphere, with the primary instruments occasionally grinding to a halt to let the piano take over and carry some emotion. Samples from The Legend of Zelda games, particularly that of Navi are dotted across the track to spice things up a tiny bit, without being too distracting. The emotion dripping from this song is unreal!
Author: blackenedbluemlp
Power Note – Ascend EP | Hybrid Orchestral
Power Note’s latest EP Ascend has just hit the internet, and we’re treated to 4 unique tracks. While he’s primarily known for his escapades in the electronic subgenres, Ascend showcases his prowess in creating orchestral soundscapes. The first track, Ascend is a beautiful opener with ethereal choir-esque synths and a clock holding the track together before the powerful sound of orchestral drums joins in. A minute in, the drums bring a sense of energy to the table along with all the familiar elements to make something truly optimistic. Timeloop continues this sense of energy with its soft string and piano intro, before building up to a strong climax with some electronic drums, the two genres blending perfectly together. Power is the most emotional track on the whole EP, with the main melody being driven by a beautiful, tear-jerking choir before all the strings burst in. This track feels like the high point of a strong scenario, like a group of heroes finally reaching their destination and achieving their goals. Finally, Bliss – the closing track – brings everything to a satisfying end. Overall, this EP is a beautiful collection of orchestral pieces and sounds with a unique electronic flair, and I highly recommend you listen!
Sawtooth Waves – To The Skies (feat. Chi-Chi) | Electropop
Sawtooth Waves, formerly known as Notion, returns with their first original in nearly 2 years! To The Skies is a cute and bouncy pop track featuring the adorable vocals of Chi-Chi as the part of Scootaloo, singing about the all-too familiar concept of her being unable to fly with her tiny wings and coping with her emotions all the while. Along with this banger comes a brilliant PMV, made by a talented group! Perfection in one single package.
RedSpark – Glimmer | House
Continuing on their streak of bangers, RedSpark’s latest composition is exactly that. Starting off with a lovely piano, a unique synth sound joins in before we’re treated to a build up with plenty of uplifting trance-like melodies and a bouncy drum beat. This beautiful song serves as a tribute to Starlight Glimmer as evidenced by the name, something the fandom needs just a little bit more of!
[P@D] Zizkil – Princess | Complextro
Zizkil returns with his latest outing, Princess, the 41st track on Ponies at Dawn: Ignite! This track features his signature complextro flair with the addition of 80’s style synth chords and even soundscapes taken from some of the Metroid games. Just like Ember herself, this banger’s as hot as the Equestrian Dragonlands!
Various Artists – The Rest of Our Lives | Compilation Album | Multi-Genre
Another compilation makes its way into the fandom in the form of The Rest of Our Lives, a tribute to the show and fandom. The album contains 13 diverse tracks from various musicians across various genres such as Tw3Lv3, Replacer, Ditherer and Evdog just to name a few. The opening track, Remembering (Origin & Depth) by Space Horse Manifesto is an atmospheric rock song that stretches across 7 minutes and goes from being a spacey, ambient rock piece to having full-on funky electronic pop influences halfway through. The very next track is River of Dismay, Tw3Lv3’s first of four appearances on the album and an emotional drum n’ bass track that utilizes a piano to create beautiful soundscapes, making it one of the album’s highlights. Stand-out tracks are the previously mentioned Remembering and River of Dismay, loophoof and Tw3Lv3’s remix of the SoGreatandPowerful classic On My Own, Evdog‘s Through the Veil, an uplifting rock track with soaring vocals and lyrics with references to the show and its characters, and Freewave‘s Twilight Sleeps Loudly, an ambient piece that feels like the soundtrack to Twilight taking a much deserved rest after earning her title as the ruler of Equestria. Overall, this compilation serves as a lovely sendoff to the show and while it’s not as diverse or prolific as fellow compilations Ponies At Dawn or VibePoniez, there’s enough unique songs that anyone can find enjoyment in. All donations made towards the album will be put towards the Brony Thank You Fund, a charity which is currently providing supplies to mask makers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
[P@D] Frozen Night & Michael Picher – In The Everfree Torch Light | Ambient/Orchestral
In a clash of the titans, track 70 from Ponies at Dawn: Ignite sees orchestral musicians Frozen Night and Michael Picher unite to create something worth marvelling. In The Everfree Torch Light is an ambient orchestral piece with lots of mysterious and adventurous vibes all around, featuring those signature Frozen Night ambient quirks. The phases this track goes through are spectacular, showcasing a dark vibe as if the weather’s taking a turn for the worse but then adding a brief build up 3 minutes in with some optimistic percussion additions. Overall, this track goes to show that two heads are better than one, and Frozen Night’s collabs never disappoint!
[VibePoniez] Altius Volantis – Rooftops Were Her Home | Chillout
Another Skyscrapers LP track, and high up on a certain skyscraper is Cyan Chaser, a mare who wanders about on the rooftops, where she feels safe and secure. This song is written about her, and features all those chill vibes. While mostly consisting of just synths and strings, the song gives off a carefree feeling with how peppy and cheerful the overall sound is. Songs inspired by OCs are a treat, and I sure can’t wait to hear more about Cyan!
[P@D] Camelia – Eastern Power | Electro
Making their debut on Ponies at Dawn: Ignite with Eastern Power is Camelia, an electronic musician from China. This song features plenty of bouncy drums and optimistic synths along with some wholesome Pinkie Pie samples, even including some chiptune synths at one point! One thing about P@D is that you normally get to see some completely new faces next to some bangers, and this is no exception!
Replacer – Passing By [VIP] | Chillout
Replacer’s latest outing sees a return to Passing By in the form of a VIP, originally the 68th track from Ponies at Dawn: Echoes. While the core song has remained the same, this VIP version strips down some of the musical elements and has a more refined feeling, especially in some of the piano chords throughout that are played differently and sounding more ominous when combined with the bass. It even has a slightly longer runtime, clocking in at exactly 4 minutes long. While it’s a step in the right direction, that amazing psychedelic feeling hasn’t gone anywhere!
Horse Music Herald 