Never have I ever experienced such a dreamlike intwinement of orchestral, rock, and electronica elements before. In this song, Brilliant Venture expertly pairs a crunchy guitar with a warm, gated synth; a pizzicato violin with bowed strings and nature’s own ambience; a detuned, string-like synth with the song’s end. Brilliant Venture then varnishes the song with tight drums and the most bittersweet vocal chops, gluing it together perfectly. No matter what home is to you, this song will bring you to it. For me, despite having a long-running love of electronic music, the huge cushions of bowed strings bring me there. The only other thing I could ask out of this song is for it to be expanded into a huge, 10-minute long electronica project, for this song truly is a brilliant venture.
Orchestral
Toby Macarony – Shenanigans | Album | Electronic
Toby Macarony makes incredible and unique music that only Toby Macarony can make! For years now, they have been pushing the boundaries of conventional dance music and thrilling those paying attention with a hybrid electro swing/horror style while occasionally dabbing into other genres as well.
Shenanigans puts the full array of talent front and center with a variety of amazing tracks! The vocal chop work is out of this world, with the timing, tuning, and modulation.
The first track The Starlight Glimmer Express has a powerful and very jazzy feel. The beat bounces to a train-like cadence and sets the stage for a crazy album.
Songs like Sunset at the Farm, and AJ’s Muscles utilize some country instrumentation and get a very homely, Applejack feel with the twang from a banjo among other stylized instrumentation.
One of the biggest standout tracks on this album is Forever which is a sound bath of incredible vocal chops, expertly panned. It uses only a little bit on piano, focusing almost entirely on the layering of familiar tidbits from several show songs. The track amazes from very early on and only gets better and better throughout the 6 minute run-time! You do not want to miss out hearing this song and it follows that you should do yourself the favor of listening to the full album. There is absolutely no musician in this fandom (or probably outside of it either!) who does what Toby Macarony accomplishes!
[Equinity] Skelter – Airborne | Hybrid Trap
It seems like the sky has become a big source of inspiration for our fandom’s musicians, which makes sense as they’ve got nowhere to go but up! Track 14 from Equinity 02: Catalyst as well as one of two of Skelter’s contributions to the album, Airborne is a fantastic hybrid trap song that really makes you feel like you’re high in the sky. The melodies capture a triumphant mood with its mix of hard-hitting trap synths and drums with orchestral elements and the occasional Rainbow Dash sample, building up and climaxing with a powerful drop. Such a strong blend of genres! On a different note, welcome to 2020! Let’s see what amazing music will await us this year.
Heartsong – Mask of Night | Orchestral
A mashup of My Little Pony and Bionicle! When you think you’ve seen it all … The first half is a cover of William Anderson’s Luna’s theme. It keeps the beautiful harp and the choirs however the main melody is played first by the woodwinds and then joined in by the strings, instead of introducing both at once. This lets the music slowly build up and serve as an extended version of the original of sorts. The astonishing prose poem in the description that accompanies the piece is one of Heartsong’s best works so far and explores the depths of Luna’s psyche. It is as much a part of the whole experience as the music itself.
Mane In Green – Rarity’s Dream | Orchestral
Mane In Green has blessed us with her fluff once again with this beautifully crafted piece about Rarity. The song showcases Green’s signature orchestral style while also capturing Rarity’s personality with flying colors. Elegant, dramatic and mellow, this track progresses in many different forms and moods as the sky also lightens and darkens now and again to fit with each progression. What a beautiful trip!
4everfreebrony – Chant of Selflessness (feat. MemJ0123 & Koron Korak) | Orchestral
The chant series that began six years ago is finally completed. The last three chants diverge a bit from the first half by being more energetic and giving more space to the instrumental. In particular, Chant of Selflessness has a different structure: instead of alternating choruses and verses this one starts off with the chorus, followed by all the verses, and then the chorus is repeated once more. The intro is still sung a cappella then both singers alternate responding to each other and singing in harmony. The piece definitely showcases MemJ0123‘s beautiful voice and voice acting talent and 4EverfreeBrony’s incredible vocal skills. The instrumental comprises a delightful piano and of course Koron Korak‘s stunning violin playing. All elements mesh together to form this perfect piece that will hopefully convince you to listen to the whole album.
Elias Frost – Chrysalis Lullaby | Hybrid Orchestral
Elias Frost returns with yet another song from Stories Vol. III. Based on a Swedish lullaby by Bellmans Vaggvisa, Chrysalis Lullaby is a truly haunting and creepy piece about the queen of the hive herself. A haunting vocal piece makes up for the core sample, with the beginning flaunting some orchestral strings, a piano, some music box sounds and haunting ambience sounds before eventually building up as Frost’s music is known to do. The buildup sees the inclusion of an electric guitar, EDM drum hits on top of the vocalist’s creepy delivery. This album’s on the way to greatness!
Ocean Melody – Darkness Sonata | Lyre Solo
Based on the Background Pony fanfic, Darkness Sonata is a sombre track that focuses solely on the lyre with sounds of wind faintly ringing out, as if to add a desolate atmosphere. This is said to be one of Lyra’s own compositions in the story, though it’s played with an orchestra as opposed to Ocean Melody’s rendition. The melody really puts you into Lyra’s head, as if you’ve been isolated and left alone, just how she felt. Oof…
Koron Korak – Constellations (Covering Aviators) | Synthwave / Orchestral
Originally intended as a gift for a friend, Koron Korak remade the instrumental of Aviators‘ Constellations from the ground up for his cover. Turning the kick down a bit was a great idea to make space for the synths and more importantly the violin. Koron Korak’s signature instrument replaces the original vocals and as he puts it, the violin is his voice. Dancing while playing in Lindsey Stirling style is quite a feat, especially when the music is this good!
Jonny Music & Yensid Organist – A Hearth’s Warming Tail (My Little Pony Organ Cover) | Organ
Jonny Music has been making arrangements of pony music for all sorts of organs, but has recently commissioned Yensid Organist to play his pipe organ version of all the songs from A Hearth’s Warming Tail, live! It starts off with the show’s theme song followed by Heart’s Warming Eve Is Here Once Again which works very well, the festive sounds such as the bells being easily played by the very versatile instrument. Say Goodbye to the Holiday definitely sounds very much like a villain song which the organ is often used to represent. Once again the flexibility of the instrument allows for a great adaptability, and now Pinkie’s Present sounds a bit like theme park song. Fandom’s beloved Luna’s Future also gets the organ treatment, conveying the greatness of the original. Even a bonus from Heart’s Warming Eve is included at the end. The performance and arrangement both deserve much love as great amounts of efforts must have been poured into making this video, which even features Easter eggs!
Horse Music Herald 