Ambient

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Jeff Burgess – Before These Mighty Skies | Alternative Cover Album

Once upon a time in the magical time of 2013, Le Soldat Pony released “Before These Mighty Skies” as an innovative, indie/alternative sound that was quite new and distinctive to the fandom. Le Soldat may not be a common name nowadays, but another longtime fandom musician certainly hasn’t forgotten. Jeff Burgess revived the ideas of the songs from the original album and transformed them into his own form of covers, even continuing to add bonus alternatives to the bandcamp album following the initial release!

Burgess’ sound mixes elements of indie, alternative, ambient, progressive, and folk to capture a full, distinctive sound that manages to come across as both somber and nostalgic – almost as if the songs themselves are thinking of Le Soldat and wondering where they are now.

A Train Between Canterlot and the Great Divide features a gorgeous acoustic guitar quickly picking single notes of chords and driving the song forward. Jeff sings of a pony who – like the guitar – aims to move forward, leaving the past behind and hopping off a train to something new.

A Wide Eyed Cabin in the Woods has a very old-timey, homely vibe through a strumming banjo and layered, group vocal deliverance – all performed by Burgess. It is eerie and comforting in a way only Jeff could make so satisfying.

A gorgeous blend of genres, styles, originality and cover tribute, “Before These Mighty Skies” is a brilliant revival of what once was, in a way that now is.

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4everfreebrony – Brighter Days Ahead | Ambient

4everfreebrony’s most recent installment of his Tranquil Tuesdays series offers us a track with equal measures of warm and refreshing vibes. Sweet synth and bell arpeggios sprinkle delicately over a confident, optimistic piano piece, painting a pleasant sonic picture with just a hint of bitter-sweetness.

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EveryDayDashie – Mystical Ponyverse | Ambient House

Who said only ponies would get songs dedicated to them? In this lovely track by EveryDayDashie we get a feel for what it has to be like to step into Zephyr Heights for the first time, like the city this track has all sorts of fun elements, making for a fun combination to really enjoy!

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[P@D] Kyradeen – Incertitude | Ambient / Chillout

Kyradeen has, this time around on P@D: Zenith, crafted a tale that brings together the joys of life and its conflicts. In her own words the structure of the music, the elements of pianos, sine synths, and other features in the flow of this track, convey her fears and anxieties. But then there’s the image of Fluttershy, the counterbalance of those things – comfort, warmth, and peace. It’s a mindful piece of music to listen to, a well-composed one fitting for one of many talented orchestral bronies on this album. Beautiful stuff here. As always, this Qilin asks you to judge for yourself.

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Frozen Night – Ambient.White (Original Soundtrack Vol. 1) | Orchestral

If you’re familiar with the fanmade MLP game, “Ambient.White,” you’ve probably enjoyed the beautiful orchestral soundtrack created by fandom maestro, Frozen Night. While the game awaits its official release, Frozen Night has whetted our appetite for more by posting individual tracks from the OST on his YouTube channel. Now, however, the full collection of tracks has officially been released for all to enjoy! The album features all tracks that were previously released, as well as brand new ones. In this article, I briefly mention a few of my favorite tracks from the album and give a recommendation or two, as well. Of course, I don’t want to spoil the whole album for you, so you’ll have to check out the rest for yourselves. Let’s jump in!

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Voodoo Pup – Parasite | Pop

Making a big splash onto the scene, Voodoo Pup unveils Parasite, an incredible Chrysalis-themed album! Each track brings something fun and new to the overall compilation with a style not often heard in the modern fandom. The vocal performances throughout are top-notch, and the compositions are dark and edgy, perfectly complimenting the villainess for whom they are written.

Face Value – The first song on the album easily hooks in listeners with catchy pop synths and Dangerous Moonlight’s incredible vocal performance. A haunting metal guitar lead perfectly accents the overbearingly evil soundscape while the lyrics showoff several clever plays on words with the changeling queen and how her “face value ain’t worth a dime”.

Be My Only (feat. Michael Picher) – this jazzy, old-timey lounge singer song once again features Dangerous Moonlight’s smooth and tempting vocals. Adding influence from notable fandom composer Michael Picher, “Be My Only” is driven by a great piano composition, accompanying band, and features a crazy instrumental that will have you moving!

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Koron Korak – Canterlot Night Yoga | Ambient/Delta Waves

It is rare to find a fandom song made for specific purposes, and pretty cool that there’s a song designated for yoga (or simply peaceful background vibes). Koron Korak strikes the perfect balance of pulsating waveforms with drawn-out chords to elicit movement without really going anywhere. A touch of piano for a sweet accent and you’ve got an excellent soundtrack for meditation and rest! If you like that, then be sure to check out the hour-long version as well!
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Tw3Lv3 – time flies. | Ambient

Tw3lv3’s had a string of releases this month, but I wanted to feature this one in particular as it’s always nice to see a bit of ambient music. Over its course, time flies ebbs and flows like the tide between deep bass with cinematic drums and ethereal pads, interspersed with birdsong. It’s incredibly relaxing, and BL1NKY sums it up better than me in a simple comment on the video: “song for make me sleep”. Go listen if you want it for make sleep too…

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Tw3Lv3 – Aura | Electronic

Tw3Lv3 has been prolific with her releases over the last few years, with plenty of wonderful album experiences and collaborations to her name, with plenty more sure to come. The culmination of some of that work is on show here in her latest offering, Aura. Featuring 14 different tracks, two of which were initially released as part of P@D’s last compilation album, there’s a lovely mixture of solo and collaborative work, and some cool album art from BL1NKY as well. With plenty to vibe to from d&b rollers to more future bass-oriented dance tunes, there’s also the helping of chill you’d expect from Tw3Lv3 too.

(Some song recaps after the break)

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Skyshard – A Dawn for a New Destiny (Boutique of Rarities: The Demo Session Vol 1.) | Electronic/Orchestral

This release from Skyshard is a little different. Originally an unreleased track from two years prior, A Dawn for a New Destiny is now part of a “Demo Sessions” volume; The Boutique of Rarities: The Demo Session Vol 1. to be specific.

A Dawn for a New Destiny is a piece with a hauntingly clockwork feel to it with a music box taking the center stage followed with strong and tense crescendos and falls of strings and even some subtle crunchy noise to add some additional intrigue and flare. The climax has definitely given me a couple chills!

Another highlight from this collection would be the Dune 3 Sequences. The buttery Smoothness of the synths and constantly evolving nature really stands out to me and how the three of them feel connected in a sense is just a really cool feature of this volume that I HAD to point out.

‘Beneath The Sea’s’ early draft is a neat piece as well, very ambient in design with a strong yet subtle piano presence and a very mysterious, sci-fi feel. Constantly progressing and you can feel the darkness and wetness seeping everywhere!

Inspired by the good old days of getting the gang together to record a few tapes, ship it off to a label and cry over the wasted time and money when it gets rejected. Filled with a whopping fifty tracks of assorted origin! Ranging from everything from early concepts to live synthesis performances, memes, cancelled EPs, alternate versions or full rejected songs, this sessions volume has a bit of everything! There’s even a strange ambient piece called ‘Let your ears take it” which Skyshard can’t even deduce what its purpose is!