Out of all the recently-returning musicians in the fandom, this one might be the most special. Captive Unicorns is actually SoGreatandPowerful! His first release since September 2013 (!!!), Scrimshawl is an amazing comeback track that showcases his unique style. His soft voice and harmonies fit perfectly with the music, which, while minimal, absolutely shine bright. It’s clear that after all this time, the artist formerly known as SoGreatandPowerful hasn’t lost his touch. Welcome back, Captive! Safe to say we can expect great things from you.
Ambient
New Reverian – Journies | Electropop
In yet another case of a musician returning to the fandom after a few moments of silence, New Reverian’s back with his first new track in just about a year, as well as his first track under the New Reverian pseudonym since late 2018. Journies is an optimistic ambient pop piece with lovely atmospheric synths along with pony vocal chops soaked in reverb. The beautiful mood never lets up throughout the remainder of the track, and makes for a cozy listening experience!
Checkerëd – Thread by Thread | PsyChill
Inspired by General Mumble’s track, Checkerëd delved into dark soundscapes and eerie rhythms for this new original track! The progression will reveal more creative ideas as you surrender to the grip of the sound, and of Rarity too!
VibePoniez – Hearth’s Warming EP | Compilation Album | Lo-fi / Chillout
This is a great time for pony music. New faces are are showing up while old ones are returning, already existing labels are developping while new ones are being created. In terms of chill music, 2019 began with Spikey Wikey’s mix showing there was demand for this family of genres that had been previously left aside by the fandom. Later this year, Tw3Lv3, Steryotype and TheTaZe undertook the responsability of building a scene from the ground up in some sense and produced decent amounts of music to relax/study to, to quote the YouTube stream that rose lo-fi to the popularity it has today. In september they created the label VibePoniez that sought to “promote brony artists who make chill music”. They had expected to have 3 to 4 lo-fi tracks overall on their debut album but it went much beyond their expectations as they recieved submissions from a great diversity of genres and even some from big names in the community.
This long EP starts off with meme tracks from the label founders themselves that are nonetheless very pleasent to listen to. Single Purpose‘s track Setbacks is short, sweet and minimalistic and uses a heart wrenching Octavia sample. Paloris‘ i still miss you makes creative use of Twilight vocal chops from I Have to Find a Way and has a great deep bass which creates a terrific chilled out atmosphere. TheChristmasSong(ChestnutsRoasting) from Steryotype is exactly what you’d expect from him: clean classic lo-fi beats. Reflection by Rayne Dear, an alias of PhonicB∞m apparently, uses some nice percussions made up of various sounds they recorded in their dad’s kitchen. Tw3Lv3 made a liquid drum & bass remix of GrazySmash‘s Dream from Helpie’s Corner: Other Side Of The Mirror, which definitly falls under the chill category. :Twi: by TCB will get a post of its own soon. Happy Mood is Insane Domi aka Mr.Sunset’s first ever released track. Even though it didn’t quite make it in Equinity 02: Catalyst, with a few tweaks and help with mastering from Tw3Lv3 it became a rock solid track to relax to. Lorris Power Note‘s Sentiments brings yet another genre to the album being a cute vocal chops-heavy synthwave track. VibePoniez’ first album and sucess ends on an ambient piece by GrazySmash which comes off as a surprise considering Grazy had only made hard hitting music so far.
Now we almost have enough for a 24/7 pony lo-fi radio! Make sure to follow VibePoniez on Bandcamp and YouTube to catch their latest releases!
[P@D] Replacer – Passing By | Chillout
With the start of the new year as well as a new decade, why not celebrate it with a soft ballad? Track 68 from Ponies at Dawn: Echoes is a chilled-out piece from Replacer that has a heavy emphasis on piano. The soft atmosphere builds up beautifully by having the piano lead the track with the faint sounds of an organ keyboard in the background before the drums and bass join in on the action. The soft dynamics and progression of the song give it a psychedelic mood, like a Pink Floyd or The Doors song. Sit back, and let Replacer take you on a journey back in time…
One Track Mind – Forgotten Dreams | Ambient
One Track Mind paid tribute to Luna in partaking in Luna Day on the 21st of December with a reflective piece on solitude. The heavy amounts of reverb on the piano and the distorted sounds give a spatial feel, or an impression of emptiness. One can surely picture Luna waiting on the moon. I invite you to delve further in the depths of this piece, as there’s still plenty more to explore, or to guide you in your meditation.
[Helpie’s Corner] PeKaNo – The Pit | Drum & Bass/Ambient
Sometimes it’s hard to move forward, even though time waits not for you… Track 5 from the recently-released Helpie’s Corner compilation Other Side of the Mirror sees an emotional drum & bass/ambient hybrid song from PeKaNo that follows the album’s theme of loss. The first part of the song sees a fast drum & bass beat placed over a slower, more emotional beat alongside a synth, string and piano combo, before the drums fade out to the sound of Twilight’s voice saying “I could have gained a sister, but instead, I just lost a brother” as the piano and atmospheric synth continues to ring out, giving time to reflect and dwell. Emotions have been running wild in the fandom lately.
Feryl DeMarco – When Nothing Matters | Downtempo
Feryl DeMarco just keeps pumping tracks out! This one oozes electronic goodness, like it was plucked straight out of a movie or game soundtrack. The drums are powerful yet not overbearing and gives all the other elements – such as the soft and brooding synths and plenty of glitches to go around – to breathe. With the rate at which DeMarco’s uploading and creating new music, I think we can expect nothing but greatness in 2020!
Feryl DeMarco – Dream Hopping | Downtempo
This song… I don’t even know how to classify it… Feryl DeMarco’s back with her second single, and while it’s definitely a lot less hectic in comparison to her last track, this one definitely has a unique choppy flair. Borrowing elements from trip hop, ambient and R&B among other genres, Feryl’s successfully created the audio equivalent of wandering around in Luna’s dream realm as she hops from dream to dream of Equestria’s inhabitants. Definitely something to relax to!
SmD House – Perfectly Imperfect | Chillout
SmD House’s newest full-fledged track is bringing such soothing vibes with that starry lead echoing through the soundscape, and the refreshing beats! A deep Ambient part is taking the soul by surprise at midway, and the whole track is definitely a gorgeous work of art to savor!
