Inspiration truly can come from everywhere. TCB Built this fantastic tune around a sample that GeekBrony posted to Twitter, and it’s astounding that a 15 second clip posted on Twitter would spawn such an epic tune! The song emerges from the ether, whirring to life with some spacey and textured synths, slowly coalescing until the remixed sample kicks in, and then it hits with a wagonload of TCB goodness. The glitches are as scrumptious as cider, and the vocal chops from “Applejack’s Lullaby” mix beautifully with the synth melody. Then the strings kick in with some impactful drum beats adding a wonderful emotional weight as they are combined with a longer chop. The build up to the drop is delightfully subtle, but the drop is full-on, adding a new, high synth melody that ups the emotional amplitude. The cider really starts to hit after the drop as the arrangement thins out and distorts like a bad day at a carnival. Kudos to the artists for this fantastic creative effort!
Author: thecanderson
[PF] Dandelion – The Alicorn Amulet | Drum & Bass
This dark and groovy drum & bass track from Dandelion is coming at you from the latest Pony Family album Busy Having Fun! If you haven’t downloaded the album yet, then definitely head here and get it! The nicely textured bass rumbles to life and soon pairs with ambient synths and terrific D&B percussion to form a moody and unsettling arrangement. A high synth joins in for classic ominous effect, and there’s some really nice movement in the track overall that evokes burbling dark power and corruption. The high synth bridge and switched up arrangement towards the end is a great moment that pushes the narrative of the song and ensures that the listener never gets too comfortable before the track rumbles to its dark conclusion.
Darksoma – Let Me Be A Hero (Power of the Crystal) | Soundtrack
There’s nothing quite like an intensely emotional track with an awesome backstory! Opening with somber strings and piano, the song (also featuring art by the musician!) kicks into high gear with the addition of some skittering, tinkling percussion and sharp strings. There are some really nice effects applied to the instruments that give the song depth and ambiance, and the pairing of dark piano with the strings creates a pleasing intensity. Overall, there’s a really strong OST vibe running throughout the track, and, paired with the fantastic description, it’s easy to get immersed in this tense moment for the character. I’ll definitely be looking forward to more of this story and accompanying music!
Nyancat380 – Clear My Head | Glitch-Hop
What a cool song and lyrics video! The video opens with the viewer flying down a train track with some terrific Rarity art (that Nyancat380 made themself!) in the foreground with a clean but spicy arrangement of synths and percussion that create a classic hip hop vibe in a totally original way. The melancholy atmosphere is reinforced by the lyrics, which tell an unhappy story of Rarity struggling with self-doubt. Things really start to feel out of control when the tempo picks up, and the fantastic instrumental section after the drop is full of glitchy goodness and ends with a perfect vocal chop. All of the song’s elements are then fantastically spliced together in the following section in a way that fits the theme of the song so well. The song finishes dramatically, a fitting end to the psychological storm.
My Little Remix – Brony vs. Brony Remix War X: 10th Anniversary Invitational | Compilation Album | Multi-Genre
Welcome one and all to a truly auspicious event: The latest installment in the My Little Remix series! For those that don’t know (which included me before this album), MLR began in 2011 when the pony music scene was absolutely exploding as a way of pulling artists together into a more cohesive community. There have been nine albums featuring some of the best talent of their respective times, and though the creative mayhem of the early days has come and gone, the songs that those artists and others who took up the horse music banner produced left an indelible impression on the fandom music landscape. What a wonderful delight, then, that the time-honored tradition of remixing has returned for yet another glorious compilation of fandom talent! This album is a really fantastic musical journey full of lovingly produced music, and it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to its track along with my co-conspirator, Simon. So go download the album, kick back, and join us in this beautiful appreciation of horse music achievement! Also, how great is it that the tracks are labeled “befriends”? Whomever came up with that deserves a hearty huzzah! Alright, let’s get into it!
(Continued below the break)
Deavas – Brony Metal Medley II | Metal
A tribute to Bronyfied’s 2012 metal masterpiece “Brony Metal Medley”, Deavas has compiled a list of personal favorite fandom songs and arranged them into a delightful shred fest! It’s a great mixture of some truly classic offerings and some perhaps more surprising inclusions, and each song gets its chance to shine through its respective metal arrangement. As with the original song, Deavas has linked to all of the videos in the video description making it easy to appreciate the original versions alongside their rocking renditions. Deavas themself is a recent returnee to the fandom music scene, so please check out the track and give them your support!
The Combine – Stand Alone (feat. Feather & Rhyme Flow) | Hip-Hop
What does this fandom, the friends that you make while you are a part of it, the things that you create while you are here mean to you, and the growth that you make personally, and how much of it will you take with you if you leave? Whatever your answers are to those complicated questions, the creators of this song understand your point of view and actions. These topics are explored at first through the metaphor of Luna’s banishment to the moon and later more directly, and it serves as a heartfelt call for introspection and support for all existing and former fandom members. The Combine has packaged this message wonderfully into a song that is, both in terms of the chorus and the overall song structure, reminiscent of Eminem’s song “Stan”, with Rhyme Flow providing a heartfelt appeal by Luna to Celestia regarding her banishment to the moon which morphs into a message to remaining community members and to those who have left the fandom imploring that they value their time and experiences here. Feather (original channel/more recent channel), who has herself moved on from the fandom, provides the beautiful chorus vocals for Luna. It’s all packaged in this great lyric video that shows Luna trapped on the moon with a view of the World. Please give this song a listen, give the message your consideration, and remember that you are loved and valued no matter what your answers to these questions are!
Sound Bandit x Chuckles – Hype Music | Hip-Hop
Have you gotten caught up in the G5 hype yet? There has been a flurry of art and music inspired by the small bit of animation and art that has found its way out of Hasbro HQ, and DustCar Race 17 focused on G5 as inspiration for its participants’ tunes. Sound Bandit (rocking the sick beats) and Chuckles (providing the slick lyrics) teamed up to make this fantastic track that discusses the perils of getting excited about an unreleased film for which fans have few specifics. The creative drive of the fandom has started to generate its own theories, weave its own stories, and push an uncertain narrative at a rapid pace. Will we be satisfied with what is ultimately released? The duo suggests that it doesn’t matter and that, in the absence of concrete information, the whims of the movie’s creators are irrelevant. There is a compelling argument here to get caught up in the hype if you’re ready and willing. It’s not House music, but I hope that you’ll enjoy it all the same!
Avicii – Waiting for Love | House
Noizzer – Catacombs EP | Ambient / Experimental
There’s something to be said for musicians that embrace their musical past and acknowledge it for what it is rather than deleting everything, and Noizzer’s re-release of this very early work admirably embraces that ethos with aplomb. As the album description says, the premise of the album is that Discord has imprisoned Twilight in a catacomb, and she must now find her way out. It’s some of Noizzer’s earliest work, so he cautions the listener about the quality, but I thought that it was a really cool concept that actually resulted in some interesting and enjoyable music. Let’s dive into what Nozzier came up with!
(Continued after the break)
Continue reading
Horse Music Herald 