Hearth’s Warming songs are always one of my favorite parts of the season and this one hits it out of the park! I’ve known about the making of this song for a while but everything I heard massively understated how awesome this is! Before the song itself starts we get a quick holiday skit, involving all the musicians, I won’t touch on that too much because this is about promoting the song, but let me tell you it’s hilarious and provides a good transition to the song itself.
(Continued after the break)
Orchestral
Optimistic Neighsayer – Puttin’ on the Ritz at the Gala | Piano
If you aren’t following Optimistic Neighsayer (and you should!), then you are missing out on all kinds of creative takes on G4 music! Their most recent hit is an imaginative mashup of the 20s classic Puttin’ on the Ritz and Season 1s At The Gala channeled solely through piano composition. The concept was born out of the popular music composition challenge DustCar under the prompt “Non-pony Pony Cover” and what an ingenious response this track was! Puttin’ on the Ritz at the Gala is a very bouncy, upbeat piano piece that jumps back and forth from tunes in a way that keeps the song exciting and fun.
Marcato Sound – Inkblight | Orchestral
So you like Orchestral and are like me a sucker for great String sections? Well, do I have the song for you! You don’t? Well, then I still have the song for you! Inkblight is such a wonderfully epic and grandiose piece, and a must-listen! Marcato Sound wrote the song as part of a fanfic’s OST and oh my god, it is wonderful! We’ve got your epic intro with Strings, drums and more, quickly we get something that blew my mind, Marcato Sound uses a Cymbal to create what is best described as an orchestral riser, something I didn’t know was possible but certainly enjoy! We ramp up the epicness for a bit and soon some lovely woodwinds join in to create almost a magical feel to the piece. After a bit we ramp up again into a faster rhythm, again perfectly accented by the woodwinds and as we progress further through the piece, we ramp up even more with some horns, lending this feel of quick action. Before we get to the ending bit, we again get a calmer section, this time the melody is backed what I can only assume is a cembalo which is something we don’t get all too often and brings an amazing feel to the whole song before we end out on another epic fast paced section and a finishing bit of woodwinds.
Acryliks – And on that day, she lost her only family… | Orchestral
(slight warning: if you are currently grieving, maybe skip this song until you’re feeling better)
This song starts out with just the wind, blowing through your ears as a low growl rises together with foreboding, dark bells as slowly a mournful string section starts playing. The strings continue on, slowly starting to sound hopeful and then dramatic again in a constant switch from one to the other. Towards the end dull and dark sounding drums set in, moving the whole song into this heavily tragic range as we end on the same dark bells we started on.
Thanks to theCANderson for proofreading!
Daniel Ingram – Under Our Spell (Kaida Bootleg) | Hybrid Orchestral
With G5 here, who says we can’t have some fire remixes of old tunes! I love listening to new remixes of EQG: Rainbow Rocks music, and this one is great! We start by slowly fading in all the elements, something a lot of people do but that is hard to do well, and Kaida is one of the musicians who do it really well! As we get our first build up we move more into the electronic space as a drum build up takes over from the orchestral drums. Before we hit our drop we get a small part where the instrumental goes quiet for just a second so the vocals are highlighted, and then we move into this gem of a drop! The drop combines elements of both Orchestral and EDM making for a great combination that probably shouldn’t work but does! Afterwards we go back to more orchestral-leaning elements before moving into this awesome build up/drop combo! We end this masterpiece quite fittingly on the evil laugh, just like in the original!
Proofread by theCANderson, go show him some love!
GhostXb – Dreaming | Ambient Orchestral
Ok, so people who know me know that I am a sucker for two things in this world: EDM of the House/Bounce variety and Orchestral, and of the latter this is a perfect example of why I love the genre! “Dreaming” starts out with this wonderful arrangement of strings that perfectly captures this dramatic feeling. Soon the strings are joined by an electric guitar, giving a nice accent to the song. Every now and again we get a really high note on the strings that almost sounds like a cry for someone. Then a bit later on out of nowhere these heavenly choirs appear to bring joy to your ears! Near the ending we get more epic orchestral sounding string parts as the guitar leaves, leaving us with only the strings, something I love hearing that really accents this piece nicely. At the end the strings simply fade out.
I’ve often talked about how much I enjoy longer songs that don’t go out of their way to be some flashy firework, and this song embodies exactly that. It clocks in at a bit more than six minutes and stays very consistent throughout, which makes it a perfect song for a perma loop, having exactly the right amount of variation so that it doesn’t get boring!
Proofread by theCANderson, big thanks to him!
Cherry Blossom – Tales Of Magic – Dark And Light | Ambient Orchestral
For every good and joyful thing, there’s always a bad and dark counterpart, it’s a rule in nature and our existence; there cannot be the good without the evil, and there’s no light without the darkness. But there’s a space, a little narrow space between these two forces, where the balance happens, where the harmony can be found, a place where you can get knowledge about the people in the light and the people in the dark. A place where you can understand both worlds, and where you can see both of their gifts, and their curses, and you get wiser. But you can’t stay there for long, you need to choose, you need to face the crude reality and determine which of them it’s the right one, and you need to accept the consequences of your decisions. And I think this song by Cherry Blossom encapsulates that feeling of being in the middle in a cool way. You can hear how the emotional weight of this feeling pulls the piece forward, like an inevitable fate. The contrast between the vigorous and energetic Violins and the taciturn and melancholic guitar it’s just perfect. The track speaks itself. It’s the voice for those who are at the border, seeking a new perspective.
Please, check this song, is very underrated, this song and Mystery Of Magic are just perfect, so go ahead and show some support!
Thunder Dash – Thankful | Piano Solo
Thunder Dash issues a call to gratitude through this beautiful piano piece. It’s an acknowledgement of good and bad times and the need to recognize both for what they are and appreciate that simply continuing to exist is more than some ponies have. This life-affirming sentiment is expressed through a gentle piano progression that has a blend of tender, hopeful moments and pensive passages, but the repeating theme always brings the song back to those positive notes as we are often challenged to do ourselves. I hope that you take comfort in this song, this shared belief in positivity, and the opportunity to make positive connections in your life. Let’s all be champions for each other and do our best to fill the world with beauty. Big thanks to Thunder Dash for doing their part!
BGM – The Tale of Trixie | Orchestral Metal
BGM has given us another fine pony tune, and this time their chosen subject is the most great and powerful pony in all the land basically ever–Trixie! The song opens with a gentle acoustic guitar that gives the impression that this song has a tale to tell in classic troubadour style. The guitar is soon joined by vocals that set the scene for Trixie’s arrival in Ponyville (accompanied by lyrics in the video!). The harmonized vocal tracks are awesome, and I love the use of the second track and the shift to the lower key to emphasize the conflict brewing between Trixie and someone (you’ll never guess who) in the Ponyville crowd. The full orchestral metal arrangement is totally epic and matches the lyrics perfectly. I won’t spoil the story, but it’s fair to say that some liberties have been taken in the retelling of events. It’s an epic tail told with suitable aplomb and is basically the most incredible, amazing, humble song ever. You will enjoy it. A lot.
Ocean Melody – Twilight’s Requiem | Lyre Solo
Sometimes it’s good to just relax and meditate on some music, and there are few things more soothing than the delicate strings of the lyre! Ocean Melody has created another lovely piece in their series of lyre songs inspired by the fanfic “Background Pony“. It’s awesome when folks create music based on written works and create a soundtrack to pair with the story. The whole song is performed using a lyre with a little ambience sprinkled in to enhance the mood. There’s a calm melancholy to the piece, and I enjoy the way that a consistent melody is often used to back more plucky passages, like memories trying to emerge from the constant noise of a normal stream of consciousness. I found that this narrative fit the song’s role in the fanfic, and I enjoyed the song’s interesting progression. Kudos to the artist for their continued exploration of this theme! Also, the fanfic seems like a good read, so probably check that too out if you’re curious and have some time.
Horse Music Herald 