Brony Music History
�brambleshadow4 (RIP Brass)
By the Numbers!
What is brony music history?
The list of 3,000+ brony musicians?
The list of 50,000+ brony fan songs?
Someone’s summary of that?
The Scene
Popular songs
Compilation Albums
Radio Stations
Promoters
Conventions
Communities
Don’t be that guy!
There’s literally TONS of good music after 2011 lmaooo
Disclaimer: History can be slightly tricky
As time progresses, primary sources slowly dissolve.
Brony Music Primary Sources
Brony Music Secondary Sources
Primary Source = direct access of information
Secondary Source = second-hand information or commentary about a primary source.
We stuck to as many Primary Sources as possible, but had to rely on a good amount of Secondary Sources due to a lot of lost data/lost Primary Sources
It is as accurate as we can make it
The Scene
Compilation Albums
Radio Stations
Promoters
Conventions
Communities
Popular songs
Evil Enchantress [Super Euro Mix]
1st Brony song, released January 27, 2011 on 4chan
Renamed to “Evil Enchantress [Euro Spell Mix]” on Super Ponybeat Vol. 1
Luna [Dream/Nightmare Modes]
Released with their album Super Ponybeat Vol. 1 on March 26, 2011
Considered to be the first Original Brony Song
The pioneers of Brony Music (aka some of the significant musicians of 2011)
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2011*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
The Smile Song (Smile Smile Smile)
The most remixed or covered song in the fandom1
Over 250 known remixes/covers from 2012 - 2021
~5-10% of musicians did a cover/remix at some point
1as in a true remix/cover, not just using samples from it for a new song
Some significant picks to highlight
The Golden Era (2012-2014)
Top Brony Music
Founded May 2012�Monthly top 10¹ list of songs which�came out that month²��¹ In recent years, they allow for ties, so it’s�usually more than 10�² Songs released earlier are eligible if the�Youtube video was released during the�month
Canon Songs
Season 3
Equestira Girls
Season 4
Rainbow Rocks (& shorts)
TheLivingTombstone
Started releasing songs in 2011
A lot of their popular works was released in 2012 (during Season 2 specifically)
Was often referred to as the face of the Brony Musicians at the time
Tombstone Remixes
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2012*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2013*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2014*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Some significant picks to highlight
The Post Golden Era (2015 - 2016)
Post Golden Era? Is it actually a misnomer?
This is the era where bigger names like TLT, WoodenToaster, SimGretina, MicTheMicrophone, AcousticBrony, etc. started leaving the fandom
Rise of a more diverse, well-known set of musicians versus a core set of massive names
Canon Songs
Season 5
Friendship Games
Season 6
Legend of Everfree
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2015*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2016*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Some significant picks to highlight
The Finale Era (2017 - 2019)
Canon Songs
Season 7
EqG Summertime Shorts
Forgotten Friendshio
My Little Pony: The Movie
Better Together Season 1
Rollercoaster of Friendship
Spring Breakdown
Season 8
Better Together Season 2
Sunset’s Backstage Pass
Best Gift Ever
Rainbow Roadtrip
Season 9
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2017*
Gold - Harmony 2024Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2018*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2019*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Some significant picks to highlight
The show ended! Oh no!
Something magical happened
Remember some of those names I said left in the Post Golden Age Era?
TLT & MicTheMicrophone both tweeted about the MLP finale (as well as a few other older names that “left” the fandom)
The Post G4 Era (2020-2021)
The age-old question returns again
This was posted in 2020
DrakeEmberHeart summarizes the era well
New to the Brony Music scene in 2019 when the show was ending
It’s worth the read, but there is one thing I want to highlight from it…
“It may be worth it to note that there is still hundreds of songs of brony fan content coming out every month, The music scene is very much alive, it's just no one looks” -Luck Rock (2019)
Canon Songs
Pony Life
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2020*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2021*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Some significant picks to highlight
The G5 Era (Late 2021 - Present)
Canon Songs
A New Generation
Tell Your Tale (as of Nov. 2023)
Make Your Mark (Chapters 1-4)
Winter Wishday
Bridlewoodstock
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2022*
Gold - Harmony 2024 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Significant amount of musicians that started in 2023*
Gold - PVCF23 Musician
Bold - Super popular Musician or Inspired Brony Music heavily
Purple - Host
*According to their YouTubes, Bandcamps, or other primary source
Note: Musicians based off BMAnn’s list
Some significant picks to highlight
The GOATs of the MLP Music Community
Who do you think the musicians who have the highest # of features in the top 10 list?
The GOATs of the MLP Music Community
Who do you think the musicians who have the highest # of features in the top 10 list?
4EverfreeBrony
Acoustic
131 songs in TBM
Prince Whateverer
Rock/Metal
86 songs in TBM
Vylet Pony
EDM
86 songs in TBM
Jyc Row
Orchestral
66 songs in TBM
And even more artists!
There’s over 500 artists on the Top Brony Music list!
Almost 300 of them have only been featured in the top 10 a single time.
The Scene
Popular songs
Radio Stations
Promoters
Conventions
Communities
Compilation Albums
Compilation Albums
Balloon Party
Founded June 2012�Strong connection to the My Little Remix community�10 Albums total!� - Primarily electronic� - Mane release are themed after a character of the Mane 6
Balloon Party
Sometimes they spill over to a “after party” album
Rejected & Revived - Won’t Back Down
An unaffiliated project & album created by Spikey Wikey in response to Fours Fall Down by Rainbow & Rooted [aka Balloon Party].
Created as “an attempt to gain the best of these rejects and late entries [from Fours Fall Down] the attention they deserve.”
Released September 2013, three months after Fours Fall Down.
Created in a similar fashion to the official Balloon Party album, After Party, which was filled with with late and/or revised rejected entries from 100% No Feeble Cheering (Fours Fall Down was not getting an After Party-type album).
Indirectly started a small revolution to promote smaller artists across the fandom
Pinkamena Party
Founded August 2012� - The first album was in response to Ballon Party not allowing hardcore music� - The founders of Pinkamena Party (Supersaw Hoover and sc.Dave) were rejected from Balloon Party
26 different albums!��
Pinkamena Party
Latest album was released in September this year!�Also released a seasonal album ��
Ponies at Dawn
Founded in March 2013�28 Albums! 1,608 Songs!
- Started as a way to raise money for Australian musicians to attend PonyCon AU.�- Highly local�- Bronies Australia Forum
Ponies at Dawn
- April 2015, 5th album�- Doing more outreach to other musicians�- Kind of the start of P@D as we know it today
Ponies at Dawn
- September 2017, 12th album�- First P@D Album to be released on Spotify�- Faulty being involved with physical merch + digipak release
Ponies at Dawn
- December 2017, 13th album�- Start of regular charity albums!�- Bringing together a lot of classic songs
Ponies at Dawn - by the numbers
Equinity / Horse Music Central
Founded November 2016, ran through March 2018�Put together by FruityFusion, InklingBear, Greyfade and Lorris�5 albums as HMC�All albums were Pay What You Want & all money went for charity!
Equinity / Horse Music Central
Rebranded as Equinity in 2018�6 more albums since then!
�In recent years, they end with a giant�Collab track!
A State of Sugar
Founded 2017�10 albums + 436 songs�Run by Violin Melody
A State of Sugar - by the numbers
VibePoniez
Founded 2019�8 albums�Run by Steryotype, Tw3Lv3 and Totalspark�Specifically for Lo-Fi and chill music
Pony Family
Founded in 2021 by Makenshi�Idea was to have a label focused more on pony-ness rather than strictly quality�Three, completely free albums total in 2021�Some songs were previously released, some were exclusives
Equestria Terror Corps
Brass Note: Not sure if Comp. Albums is the best place or elsewhere
Also might add this to a group of other ones (Like with Rock Farm)
Community Albums
The Lesser Knowns
Founded 2012. Organized by Belgerum (with Viricide Filly leading the final album)
Celebrated the “Lesser Known” musicians from mid-2012 to the end of 2013 who didn’t have the same followings the bigger artists had.
Five “Parts” across seven albums.
Contained some now bigger artists like Matthew Mosier, Jeff Burgess, Jastrain, Metal Core Pony, Neu KatalYst, & more!
JapanPonyParty!
Originally an album created by the Japanese My Little Pony community to be given away at “JapanPonycon 2014 Autumn.” It was then distributed online shortly later.
Created a Volume 2 for “JapanPonycon 2015 Spring” and a Volume 3 for “JapanPonycon 2016”
Brought back the tradition for 2023’s “Japan Ponycon X” & released their 4th Volume
My Little Subreddit
A 2012 reddit competition to create a song for your “best pony” of the Mane Six
Six total albums, one for every member of the Mane Six.
This is where the popular Assertive Fluttershy song, “Boo Hoo” was first created (for Team Fluttershy of course) [Also, Assertive Fluttershy’s popular remix of ArtAttack’s “Twistrike” was on this album too]
The Rest of Our Lives
The Rest of Our Lives is a fanmade My Little Pony album where musicians come together and express their feelings of gratitude towards the show, the creators and the fan communities around it. It’s a reflection on change, on beginnings and endings.
Quadragennial
2023 Album�Organized by EveryDayDashie
Other, smaller community albums/groups
Charity Labels / Projects
Bronies for Good
Had seven yearly “Seeds of Kindness” albums/campaigns & two bonus campaigns where musicians created exclusive songs that you can only get by donating.
Each new project gave donors all the previous campaigns’ albums too when they donated.
Le Soldat Pony made two of their albums, Disharmony and Before These Mighty Skies exclusive for those who donated to Bronies For Good.
Donations went to the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) as well as other charities that built villages, built orphanages, and improved living conditions in lesser-developed nations.
Raised over $300,000 total since 2012 for their charities.
Helpie’s Corner
Hosted by Porcelain Eyepiece
Their 1st Album, Other Side Of The Mirror, donated all their proceeds from the album to the family of Luxis, a Polish Brony who sadly died of lung cancer in 2019.
Their 2nd Album, Shelter of Hope, donated all their proceeds from the album to two animal shelters in Columbia
Humble Wishes
UK based community project who released their 1st (and only) album in 2013
Donated all proceeds to To Write Love On Her Arms, an organization dedicated to help people struggling with depression, self injury and suicide.
King Mars - A Tribute
Created in memory of King Mars, a passionate musician within the fandom who sadly died of a heart attack in 2016.
All proceeds went to his fiance & family
The Friendship Fund
A 2012 album created to help a fellow Brony, fandom name Aurora, who had major financial issues at the time.
Raised over $4,000 across Bandcamp & Indiegogo
Features many album-exclusives by many bigger names in the fandom
/MLP/ Plays
Created by members of the /mlp/ & /MLP/ Plays boards of 4chan for The Autism Society of America
Started roughly 2014, published on Bandcamp in 2016
Amount raised is unknown, but had over 100 purchases of at least $1
Ponyville Ciderfest 2018 & 2019
PVCF18 was the celebration of musicians & hosted one of the biggest convention concerts in fandom history
The PVCF18 musicians each created a track for an official convention album that was sold on virtually Bandcamp and physically at the con itself.
They did the exact same thing for PVCF19 with the PVCF19 musicians
All proceeds from both years & all Bandcamp purchases for both albums were donated to Generations Against Bullying until the partnership dissolved in 2019
The Scene
Popular songs
Compilation Albums
Radio Stations
Promoters
Conventions
Communities
The Remix Wars!
Remix war 1 - June 11, 2011�
1.) NightColt Vs Not A Clever Pony
2.) DJ Alex S Vs Eurobeat Brony
3.) DerpyGrooves Vs DJ Alex S.
4.) Jeffthestrider Vs Not A Clever Pony
5.) InfinityDash Vs Not A Clever Pony
6.) Circuitfry Vs DerpyHooves
7.) Circuitfry Vs Not A Clever Pony
8.) sci Vs ChainAlgorithm0
9.) Penguindf12 Vs Eurobeat Brony
10.) Zorg Vs Not A Clever Pony
11.) Cat Milly Vs Tekaramity
12.) Cat Milly Vs Renard
13.) The Marking Dude Vs Derpy Hooves
14.) The Marking Dude Vs sci
15.) Aussie Vs Not A Clever Pony
16.) PepperBrony Vs Wooden Toaster
17.) PepperBrony Vs Eurobeat Brony
18.) Kisuke Vs EuroBeat Brony
19.) Makkon Vs Not A Clever Pony
20.) Makkon Vs Vinyl Scratch
21.) Not A Clever Pony Vs PinkiePieSwear
22.) ISMBOFepicly vs ChainAlgorithm
Waiting for link:
22.)EveryPonyVideos
23.)Derpy Hooves Vs Not A Clever Pony
24.)SqueakAnon Vs Makkon
The Remix Wars!
Remix war 2 - July 3, 2011 - 42 songs!�
The Remix Wars!
Remix war 3 - July 31, 2011 - 53 songs!�
Pinkie Cake x Small Talk Forever Dark
AgileDash - AgileDash Vs ChainAlgorithm (Friends ARE Forever) -FriendsForever Remix-
Andy Feelin - Andy Feelin vs. Derpy Derp 910 - Derpy Hooves
ArtAttack - ArtAttack Befriends Swagberg - Pony Swag
ArtAttack and Robbi Dez - Defense of Canterlot
Aussie - Aussie befriends Circuitfry - Derpy Hooves Bestof Rap
Aussie and The Marking Dude - Marking Dude and Aussie befriend Silva Hound - Vinyl Scratch
Bagpipe Brony - For Thy New Lunar Republic
Chain_Algorithm - Don't Let Me Fall
Chain_Algorithm - Cosmic Schism
Circuitfry - Circuitfry and Cat Milly: Luna Swag Everywhere
Circuitfry (befriending Silva Hound) - Princess Twilight Sparkle (Get Yo Wings Club Circuitfried Remix)
Circuitfry and Cat Milly - Luna Swag Everywhere
Derpy Hooves - Equestrian Skypatrol [Rainbowdash And Fluttershy Go For A Leisurely Glide]
DerpyGrooves - DerpyGrooves vs JackleApp - wat is ur problem, WHORN?
Dethonator - Dethonator befriends TH89 - Pony Swag
Dethonator - Sonic Fireboom(BigPonyMac & Dethonator)
Dr_Dissonance - Dr Dissonance vs ISMBOFepicly: Trixie's Great and Exaggerated Stories
Dr_Dissonance and Vafrous Coyote - Dr Dissonance x Vafrous Coyote - Sunset
Eurobeat Brony - Eurobeat Brony befriends NotAClever Pony - Lower the Moon (Eurobeat Descent)
FoozogzPepperBrony - Foozogz Befriends Norris3942 - FLUTTER (Baby Dragon Rmx)
FoozogzPepperBrony - FoozogzPepperBrony & Circuitfry - Rushed Entry
General Mumble - General Mumble vs. Lenich - Hydra Pulse (Glitcha-twitch Remix)�General Mumble - Interrobang Pie & General Mumble - Scootaloo Touches FL Studio But Gets Bored and Plays Video Games
Grooves and Hooves (Derpy Hooves X Derpy Grooves) - Not Quite Me
InfinityDash - Luna's Night (Orchestral Mix)
Interrobang Pie - Interrobang Pie x Sci - Cerebral Meltdown
Interrobang Pie - Interrobang Pie befriends Makkon - WLTZ4_TR.EXE
ismbof - Luna's Lullaby
JackleApp - Winter Left Unwrapped
Jeffthestrider - BG Pony Love (feat. DerpyGrooves)
Jeffthestrider - Luna's Night (Out) Remix
Makkon - Makkon vs Jeffthestrider - No Strings Attached
Makkon x PinkiePieSwear - The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy
markingdude - My Destiny is Deep in Her Eyes (Marked and Circuitfried Mix)
Michael Arellano - Michael Arellano vs. Alex S. - Luna(Trance/Dubstep Remix)
NightColt - DETHTROT (vs. Prison)
NotACleverPony - Eurobeat Telegram
penguindf12 - Cutaway Fantasies... were Acceptable in the Eighties
Pinkie Cake befriends Circuitfry - STEVEN MAGNET DUBSTEP THREAD
Pinkie Cake x General Mumble - PIE
plusNURSE - +NURSE vs. Alex S - Luna (Techcore Mix)
Pustulioooooo - [Pustulio Befriends Derpy Hooves] Fluoride Soundscapes (Brushie Brushie in Conecert mix)
Rainbow Hash - Ze Magicz
RobotPony - RobotPony Befriends PinkiePieSwear - Art of the Dress (Always Stressed Re-remix)
sci - push buttons until it sounds pony enough
Silva Hound - For The New Lunar Republic
Small Talk - This Song Made Me A Bigger Man
Supersaw Hoover - Supersaw Hoover vs. Derpy Grooves - It's Love on Trixie Day (Excessive Drum'n'Bass Remix)
UnderpΩny - Simpler Joy Mix (Omega Version)
Vafrous Coyote - Giggle at the Ghostie
Vinyl Scratch - Vinyl Scratch glomps ilysabeth: 8-billion Fluttershy
zorg - Ze Olde Magics (IDK Remix)
The Remix Wars
Remix war 4 - September 26, 2011 - 78 songs!
mylittleremix.com
The hub to organize future competitions!
Remix war 5 - September 2012, 234 submissions�Remix war 6 - ???�Remix war 7 - September 2013�Remix war 8 - August 2014�Remix war 9 - 2016
10th Anniversary
Remix War X - June 2021
On June 11, 2011, The first Brony vs. Brony Remix War was organized by NotACleverPony. It was an experiment, with brony musicians remixing other brony musicians who offered their stems to anyone who wanted. Upon its success, there were several more in short time, with Remix Wars 2 and 3 following within a month and Remix War 4 (which had around 200 entries!) in autumn 2011. My Little Remix, an important hub of the early brony music community, was made as a result of the community coming together over Remix War.
My Little Remix Beyond Remix War
Balloon Party
Bronies for Good / The Seeds of Kindness project
Four on the Floor
Derpy’s Wings
2012 releases under Camsy’s Bandcamp
Cowbell Party
Soft Spectrum
Pony Music Compo�Toastbeard
Founded May 2011�Weekly-ish music competition:�Make a track in a week, share it,�listen to all the new tracks + �chat about them via IRC.
�Also MLP episode based competitions and random WAT competitions. ��
Pony Music Compo�Toastbeard
An incredible number of classic pony songs resulted directly from the competition.
Some won, some didn’t (Rainbow Factory is the notable example of one which lost)
Dustcar
Discord Server founded in July 2020
Biweekly music competition to make a song based on a prompt
Run by DirectCurrent, with help from Replacer, DMC, + And The Rainfall��Dustcar -> A play on Discord
Busty’s
Founded January 2022�Created because of a schism in Dust Car�Not directly connected to pony, �but various MLP musicians are active there
The Scene
Popular songs
Compilation Albums
Conventions
Communities
Radio Stations
Promoters
Horse Music Herald
Founded January 2016�Run by Spectra and (formerly) Francis Vace�Over 6,000 articles about horse music�
Horse Music Herald
Ponyville FM
Brony Radio station!�Everything from live mixes to podcasts!�Hosts DJs like �Bolt! The super Pony, Awal, and Rock Fox
Pony.fm
Hosting site for MLP music.�Not everyone uploads here
Eqbeats (rip)
Like pony.fm, but older
Equestria Daily
Sethisto just posts stuff on the main page
First Era: January 2011
29 January 2011�
Equestria Daily
Spotlight Music posts �+ Music of the Day
20+ reviewers vote on songs�=> Most votes get into the Spotlight�=> Others get into music of the day�=> Low quality skipped
690 lifetime MotD posts
Second Era: October 2012
10 October 2012 - Found my Place by GRYF! �
Equestria Daily
EPT took over the Equestria Daily music section + wrote up spotlight music posts��Other decent music put into Bonus Music
162 lifetime bonus music posts
Third Era: September 2016
Equestria Daily
Makenshi took over the Equestria Daily music section + wrote up music posts��Bonus music dropped
Fourth Era: January 2019
Makenshi left a mixed legacy
2020: “I'd like to say something here. This song means a lot to me and is there to thanks a certain someone.. I've started to make music in 2018 and wanted to stop after my first song but Thanks to makenshi i'm here… a small article on EqD can make big thing…so thanks Makenshi.. Thanks a lot for everything you do in this fandom, thanks for being a great person and a great friend.”
2022: “I feel offended. This is literally spitting your hate. Inacceptable”
The final straw broke the camel’s back
Equestria Daily
Sethisto just posts stuff on the main page
Open music has everything else
Fifth Era: May 2022
Cider Party
Promotional YouTube channel founded in 2014�Featuring electronic tracks�DEAD! (Makenshi)
Drumscape Library (formerly Equicity)
Trot Mania
Pony DDR!
Noise.horse
Experimental Music blog run by Kakofonous A. Dischord
ponymusic.wiki
bramble’s pet project�A wiki with links to all the music!
[This is from Brass]: If you want to look up ANY music or find a new song you haven’t heard of before, this is the place!
Brony Music Anniversary (BMAnn)
Twitter project founded by Brass Scribe June 29, 2022. Maintained by Brass, Faith Star, Starstep Rhythm, and a few others
Bandcamp primarily, but also Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.
No YouTube or Soundcloud links sadly (for logistical, data, and headache reasons)
Placeholder for smaller ones - Brass
Ponychord (Brony House Music Label)
Rock Farm (Brony Rock Music Label)
The Scene
Popular songs
Compilation Albums
Radio Stations
Promoters
Communities
Conventions
BronyCon!
The biggest Brony concerts of all time!
Everfree Northwest
Everfree Northwest
They were also the first convention to have an album1
Was created as a means to fund the performing musicians
1Officially, it’s a fan-made collab. album. Everfree Northwest just officially sponsored it.
Galacon
Ponyville �Ciderfest
Ponyville �Ciderfest
In 2018 they had a music theme!�Tons of musicians!
Here at Harmony Con!
Read the full interviews!
https://ponymusic.wiki/interviews
There’s not enough time to cover all of these at this panel
Biscuit
Q: Your music is some of the heaviest I’ve heard come out of this fandom. �What inspired you to take a show like My Little Pony and run with it �artistically in a very different direction?
honestly I just never saw that much heavy stuff in the limelight in this fandom; �I wanted to change that. the way I see it, to be able to stand out as an artist �you need to find your niche, find what's lacking and fill that gap. like you never�see the likes of suskii etc. playing deathcore at cons and it's a shame cause�some of the heavier stuff I've found in the fandom goes SUPER hard. I've always loved making heavy music, and that's what the people want, so I give it them, and represent the heavier groups. simple as really, haha.
There's some seriously deep-cutting narratives painted throughout the show therein so much you can pull out of it to make it edgy and emotional sounding, that these rock artists and stuff you see all over the fandom just can't capture 100%, cause it's not relevant to their genre, in a way. Not to knock those like-artists in any way ofc.
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Guitaris/Vocals since age 13�First MLP Track: Sombra ft. BreeBree (2021)
loophoof
Q: How did you get into performing on the launchpad?
I actually use my Launchpad to make the vocal chops in my songs! You can have Ableton cut up an audio file and put each piece in each button basically, and I just press random buttons until I hear something I like. What I do on stage is me going through that creative process live, I just already figured out what sounds cool lol.
Started in 2012�First MLP Track: We're Not Flawless (loophoof Remix)(2017)
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
MYCUTIEMARKISAGUN (MCMIAG)
Your music heavily samples a wide variety of music and pony sources �alike! What is the method to your madness, how do you go about �choosing which tracks you’d like to sample from?
wayyyyy back in the day when IRC was still a thing i'd sample a lot of �WIP files that would get posted in the ye olde MyLittleRemix �#Bronymusic IRC channel. That was also how I made a lot of friends, �such as my concert collab buddy Seventh Element. The whole point as a sample based hip-hop producer is to "dig crates". Traditionally this meant searching record stores for rare vinyls like on the DJ Shadow album cover, but I've always been pretty good at scouring the internet for sounds. so I revel in pony music being a crate nopony else will dig except me. Outside of pony sources I've been focusing lately on lost media type sources like elevator music, public domain films, and old [redacted]. Its rare, its untouched, and nobody will complain if its on Spotify.
Downloaded FL studio in 2003�First MLP Track: Yelling At Cats - Back in the Day � (MYCUTIEMARKISAGUN REMIX)[2012]
An Album
Popular Pick
NeverLastStanding
Q: You have a really unique style which involves blending pony �chops and heavily processed vocals into EDM bangers. How did �you end up creating this style?
Thank you!! I’ve always loved the creativity that comes with pony chops �and it’s something that’s really unique to the pony fandom, especially done
to this degree. I think hearing songs in the fandom with pony chops
inspired me to do the same thing, and a good example is Foozogz, who is
insanely good at vocal chops. Along with my taste in edm that is hard
hitting but emotional I thought it’d be cool to combine that with pony chops.
In my more recent songs like, “to home,” “go with me”, and “spark,” I mainly have pony vocal chops as lyrics because there’s always been this itch I’ve had when it comes to making music. I really want to make music that is meaningful and expresses my own feelings and I felt like lyrics were the key for me. So from that I thought it’d be cool to write lyrics that are sung with pony chops, which is inspired by Foozogz but combined with my own taste in edm. In a way I’m driven by the type of music in the fandom that I want to hear but hasn’t been done yet. I would say the combination of emotional lyrics, melodies, and electronic elements is also inspired a lot by Porter Robinson.
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Started in 2014�First MLP Track: Here With Us (2016)
NexGen
Q: You just released your first full pony album, The Chronicles of �Bladedancer, in December! What motivated you to finally go for an �album instead of just singles, and what was your inspiration behind �the album?
I made some tweets about this, but I really wanted to leave behind a legacy�that I could be proud of in the fandom. Most rappers in the fandom don’t�drop albums. I’ve tried and failed to make EPs and albums previously and it was just time I buckled down and did it. As for inspiration, there’s a lot. My family is Japanese, and I drew from that with the instrumentals and the artistic direction I wanted for it. I also am a big fan of JRPGs, and used Final Fantasy as a big inspiration as well, including the incorporation of “Save Points” and even in Bladedancer’s design.
Started out in 2012�First MLP Track: I'm Not Addicted ft. Aoshi, Biscayne & Versal � (prod. Da Mane) (2014)
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
PHES
1. How did you get into MLP, the MLP fandom, and when did you start making music for it?
Popular Pick
Started out in 2017�First MLP Track: Tyrant (2017)
SeventhElement
Q: What is your favorite concert that you’ve performed in thus far?
It's really hard to choose specifically just one out of the 40ish I've done. I mean, a lot of them happened nearly a decade ago at this point too so it's kind of a blur of happy memories. I think a standout though is not an official concert performance, but one I did as my own panel. I wanted to play my new at the time "Equestrian Wasteland" album live. The slow, practically ambient genre of the album did not really suit the main concert's vibes so I ended up having to do it separately. I got some of The Wonderbolts and a few other last-minute folk to help me out. It was really fun! I hope I can do it again someday.
Started writing music in 2006�First MLP Track: Phoenix (2012)
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
SYLVVER
Q: In October 2021, you released your first pony track on ASOS and �by the end of 2022, you were already getting your own originals �featured on Ponies at Dawn! How did you get so good so fast?�Care to spill your secrets?
If you want to make music you need to listen to music. All day every day,�listen to music. But don’t just put on a song and go do other stuff, you need�to sit down and deconstruct the song in your brain. Put yourself in the�artist’s shoes and try to analyze how every element in the song was made, �how the song is structured. If you want, you can try and remake the song yourself. With time, you’ll be able to apply what you’ve learned into your own music. BE CREATIVE!!! Never shy away from something because you think it won’t work, never limit yourself creatively, and if it doesn’t work, that’s what the undo button is for. Finally, take criticism! Seek out opinions from professionals and take what they say into consideration.
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Started in 2020 (pandemic boredom)�First MLP Track: Psychedelhi (2021)
Trey Husk
Bring Back the Magic is your biggest P@D release by the views; anything you’d like to tell us about that song in particular?
Bring Back The Magic has a fun story. The song was originally a remix started by Sylvver, of the Equestria Girls song “Right There In Front Of Me”. I hopped on the project and soon we got the entire remix to completion. We realized at the end that the instrumental was way too good to have it be used for a 6-year-old EG song remix. I then contacted Koa for vocals and we all decided to have it be about the G5 Movie. Koa was an absolute joy to work with for the first time with a fun lyric-writing process. I couldn't be happier with how the song has resonated with so many people and I hope it lives on through the coming years.
Started in 2016�First MLP Track: Homage (2019)
Popular Pick
Vale & FL0
Both of you are fairly new to the pony music scene having started�out in 2021? What is it like to be a newer musician these days?
Vale: Being a new installment in the pony musician circle, we aren't �acutally super well known at all! Not that we deserve to be, but it's been�harder to make friends with fellow musicians and OG fans. All that said,�there was one person who hugely helped us get our music heard to�more and more bronies, and that was Makenshi! We have a ton to�thank Makenshi for :)
Fl0: It’s a little tough since there isn’t as much attention online these days for pony in general let alone pony music, and same goes for dubstep and a lot of edm genres. But we don’t let that get to us we just do our thing B)
Started in 2019�First MLP Track: Bupcakes (2021)
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Whirlwind
Q: What’s it like being one of the main drummers of the pony fandom�and getting to perform with all of the big names?
It feels kind of impactful the more I look at it. I started just wanting to play �with the musicians I liked and for my love of silly paste ponies and music. �But looking at the way I've come and grown musically and seeing others �getting inspired by it makes me realize I've really made my mark and �happy because of that. I will add that I'm thankful for Forest Rain for �discovering me, and drummershy encouraging me to play with Forest �during Everfree 2019 as they gave me a chance to play and thankful that that wasn't only time I played heh.
Started playing drums at age 17�First MLP Track: Call of the Kirin (2018)
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
gryf
Wasn’t able to reach gyrf unfortunately!
First MLP Track: Eternal Night (2012)
Pony Rap Song
Faulty
Started in 2017�First MLP Track: Aerobreak (Faulty Remix)(2017)
4everfreeBrony
First MLP Track: April 2013 - Birdsong��Q: Over the years, you’ve worked with many musicians, myself included. Is there any musician you wished you could have worked with but never got the chance? Any other people you’d like to collab w/ in the future?
���
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
I pride myself on being the most collaborated brony musician. I even used to keep track of all my collabs, but have since stopped because I just keep forgetting to write them down when I finish them. A musician I wish I could have worked with when they were still around was Ponky. He did the original version of "Bright Eyes" with Eccentrifuge, and I always wanted to have his voice on a song of mine, but he's since been pretty absent from fandom life or online presence in general, so I never really got to contact him.
BlueBrony
Started out in middle school�First MLP Track: April 2015 - A House a Home
Q: Every BlueBrony song seems to be in a different genre than the last. In the words of Luck Rock, “Blue Brony can make anything.” Why do you try out so many different genres as opposed to honing in on a single focus?
�
Less Appreciated Gem
Prankish Flurry
Popular Pick�Imperfection
For a long time I was experimenting to try and figure out what "my sound" was, and I was slowly learning the ins and out of music production in a DAW. I also just have a very eclectic taste in music, so sometimes I just go "I wanna create this new thing I like", which to be fair is probably the best way to approach making music in general. Now a days, I feel like I've settled a bit more and don't jump genres as often, but I like surprising ponies from time to time ;-)
Canto + Thrack
Started out in 2022 (Canto) 2018 (Thrack)��In my own words, you (Canto) were discovered after a stellar renegade set at Babscon 2022. Can you tell us more about that experience and all the crazy things that have happened ever since?
�
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
The BabsCon 2022 renegade set was a funny story. I was originally playing outside on Friday, when I was found later by Whirlwind who was walking by at the time. He told me to perform the renegade stage, which I didn’t find til Saturday night. I was just playing and singing to a guy who had seen me earlier, as well as Dawillstanator and Pepper. Then I actually performed on Sunday, when a lot of people saw me in passing, it’s here where I got recorded by Racebest, and met musicians Blackened, Whirlwind, and MC-Arch to name a few. From there I met Larscis, who according to a few people, when I applied for EFWN that year, said something along the lines of “If Canto’s not performing, I’m not working sound.” Which I would say is pretty wild.
DoTheDaringDew
Started out in 2012/2013�First MLP Track: January 2013 - Birds of a Feather
Q: How did you come up with your fandom name?�DoTheDaringDew came from watching the S2 episode Read It and Weep and giggling to myself how stupid of a pun it would be with a Mountain Dew ad…which is a soda I don’t even drink! Originally, DoTheDaringDew was going to be a song name, but when the original name I was going to go with was already taken (“Brony Up!” - a tribute to my local SMU Mustangs college football team), I switched it; DoTheDaringDew became my name and Brony Up! would later go on to be a song name.
Personal Gem
Popular Pick
Evershade
Started out in 2015/2016 dabbling�First MLP Track: March 2019 - Glimmer Glimmer��Q: You jump started your pony music career with an album “Being Vocal about it”, which heavily featured vocal chops which this fandom loves to rave about. Since then, you’ve pivoted more towards pop songs w/ vocals sung by yourself. What encouraged you to change styles, and do you think you’ll return to doing more pony-chops in the future?
�
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
When I finished Being Vocal About It, I think it was kind of burnout at that time. I've wanted to make more original/lyric-based music for a long time, so after wanting to finish up the Mane 6 with the album, I wanted to move on to other stuff. I am wanting/planning on putting hints of pony-chops in some future stuff as a nod/add some spice.
GeneralMumble
Started out in 2011��Q: You operate a YouTube channel and a Bandcamp for an entire music lable, Mumble Etc, with other notable musicians like Koa. How did Mumble Etc. come about, how did you meet, and when did you make the jump to a long term music collaboration?
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Mumble Etc. was started as a pretend label for all of my aliases that I produce music under, each of which represented by an OC. Koa came into my life in 2018 after we got talking in DMs about production, and so on. We fairly quickly became an item and made music together and decided it would be neat for her to release under the label too. So, despite the many names that appear on the label, it is still ultimately just the two of us with occasional guests.
Jensen Stiles
Started out in 2015��Q: You’re also serving as an A/V at this con (thanks for keeping the lights on literally). Did you get into music through A/V or did you get into A/V through music? How do those skills help you as a producer?
�
Less Appreciated Gem
Those Places
Popular Pick
I got into A/V because of music. When I started making music it didn't take me long to realize I had a thorough fascination with everything audio-related. Volunteering as A/V started as a way for me to learn those skills in a low-pressure environment so I could translate said skills to professional employment outside of cons – which, I'm happy to report, has worked out well so far! The experience has definitely helped me as a producer by teaching me about how to mix music so it transfers effectively to live venue audio systems. It's also taught me a lot about how to efficiently communicate with the A/V crew when I'm on the performing side of things.
John Kenza
Started out in 2013�First MLP Track: December 2013 - Clouds��Q: Back in 2013, you released your first track on youTube. Almost ten years later, I see your name as the headliner for almost every Brony Convention you play at - you’ve truly grown from humble origins to stellar DJ with the fandom. How has that journey been for you? What would you consider your big milestones along the way?
Less Appreciated Gem
Compass Rose EP
Popular Pick�Warm
It’s been an amazing journey, but certainly not a fast one. In those ten years are hours and hours of practice, prep, and honing both my production and performance skills. Every convention I get to play at has been a milestone in getting to showcase all the new music I have as well as connect with an audience who appreciates all the hard work I put into trying to make the night as best as I can for them.
Koa
Started out in 2013�First MLP Track: General Mumble x Koa - They're Up to Something, Gummy�Q: To the Nines was undeniably the song that put you on the map, but your latest album, Rainbow Disaster Pop, is one of the most killer albums last year. What was it like shifting from normal pop into HYPER pop? Anything more you want to say about your work?
�
Less Appreciated Gem�I was bored
Popular Pick
A simple YOINK of the tempo knob and you’re there! (Joke) As I listened to more hyperpop going into 2022, I noticed that it seemed to place an emphasis less on polish and more on just doing the damn thing. Coincidentally, it wound up being a great outlet for me to try new things, think a little less, and simply have a good time.
That on its own describes the essence of what music is for me, especially with the added, delightful blessing of being able to connect with other people over it.
MathematicPony
��Q: Over the years, you’ve dabbled with making music under your real name, as well as making music for other fandoms (like Adventure Time, Undtertale, and She-Ra). Yet, you keep coming back to MLP and haven’t embraced the hype wagon of newer franchises. What keeps you around?
Less Appreciated Gem
�A Room I’ll Never See Again
Popular Pick
Most of my music is under my real name, since until recently I felt it was a little odd to release non-fandom music under a fandom-inspired alias, but with my album “Integration by Parts” there are many different fandoms (as well as real life!) represented in the track list. As far as hype wagons go, I’m not really capable of writing about something I can’t find a way to care about, so everything I write is from the heart, even if it’s silly. That’s why I love the MLP fandom! It’s all heart. We’re all just random people making music about this silly, beautiful cartoon. My most successful songs have been in other fandoms, and my in-person music career has been mostly top-40s cover bands and teaching lessons. So I’m in the pony music scene because I love MLP, not because I can gain anything from it besides friendship and community.
MelodyBrony
��Q: My personal favorite Melody Brony song is SOVEREIGN which isn’t even a year old! Would you like to tell us more it and what it’s like to work together in collaboration with musicians like Prince Whateverer and Blackened Blue?
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Sovereign actually was inspired by Biscuits show at HarmonyCon, seeing the way the crowd reacted to more heavier genres of music really inspired me to start writing more heavy tracks. The collaborative part was pretty fast tbh lol, I needed some vocal harmonies so my go to guy for those is blackened, and there is a place where I can post my work for feedback and Prince had some awesome ideas which ended up turning into a collaboration lol
PrinceWhateverer
Started out in 2007�First MLP Track: December 2011 - Beyond her Garden Tribute�Q: Having been in the fandom so long, you’ve seen everything from the days of hype, through the end of G4 and into G5, all the while continuing to make music. How does all that fandom history shape your current mindset and plans for the future?
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Well in the broader sense, the fandom made me a better person. I won't go into detail but I used to do some things that I'm amazed I got away with. But that all stopped almost the instant I got into ponies. Looking back I was a pretty directionless angsty teen emo with a guitar, I was never going to fall in with the right crowd. But thankfully I found the fandom before things got out of hand! To do with the wider fandom though, I think things will be okay! The fandom was ablaze back in the day and while that was awesome but I think we're fine as we are. It's natural to pine for the golden days but much as we wish, they can't last forever. Despite that we're still here having an awesome time, new people are joining and it's inspiring to see people coming into the fandom with the same wide-eyed amazement I had back then, and as long as there's anyone out there to listen to my pony tunes I'll keep making them 😄
Rawrity
Started out a long time ago�First MLP Track: November 2022 - extremelyonline.mpg
Q: How did you get into MLP, the MLP fandom, and when did you start making music for it?
So after a really tumultuous divorce I was super depressed and fell into a state of despair. My partner at the time said that after they went through a ton of suffering (a horrible car accident) where they lost their empathy, they basically watched MLP to regain that empathy and values due to the brain damage. I basically said hey i need to have a little reset myself, why not watch this show? From the first day of watching I was totally hooked.
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
Totally changed my perspective on friendship and community and I ended up going to TrotCon 2021 in the winter as my first con and was so freaking inspired by the musicians I couldn't even believe how talented and fun they were. After seeing them and discovering pony music I became a huge fan And I hadn't made any music for like 7 years but something about this community inspired me enough to try again. And in October of 2022 I started making pony music!
�
TCB
Started out in August 2011�First MLP Track: June 2015 - PinkiePieSwear - Flutterwonder (TheClosetBrony Remix)
Q: Can you tell us more about your album, CONGRATS, YOU WERE TOO LATE: A 10 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE, which will be turning two years old at roughly the same time PVCF is this year?�
Less Appreciated Gem
Popular Pick
I put that album together in a fairly quick amount of time, at a very tumultuous time in my life. The album came about because I was feeling really lost. At the time, I was out of College for a year, and not getting any bites on work. The pandemic saw me move back into my parents house, and my physical and mental health was deteriorating being stuck. I had just spent the previous two years trying to make a career out of music (outside of the fandom). I saw some genuine success. I had been to places, played at venues, and met some people that I had only ever fantasized about, but it all seemed to get sucked away from me very quickly. I felt that I had failed, and my dreams were lost. I ended up putting that album together referencing sounds and motifs from all the music I had been making for the fandom up to that point (something a few astute listeners were able to catch) as well as referencing some of the music I had made under several other aliases. I used the project to get a lot of what I was feeling out. The “10 year” part of it referencing how long I had been making music, and feeling “too late” to achieve the goals I had wanted to. The album ended up doing a lot for me, I always seem to feel more at home making pony music. These days I’m much more at peace with where I am, and am happy to be employed full time working as an audio engineer
The Wonderbolts!
Started out in July 2015�First MLP Track: Punch Drunk�Q: The first Wonderbolts song I ever heard was WYSIWYG (and it’s my personal fave, in part because of software paradigm reference). But that song’s been around since 2016. What finally got you all to record it and have it out on the Ponyville Ciderfest 2019 charity album? Also anything else you’d like to say about the song or any other Wonderbolts songs?
Less Appreciated Gem�I heard the bells on Christmas day
Popular Pick�WYSIWYG
Mongo: In 2017 was when I joined the band and I was brought in to be a temp bass player, just to play NMN. After rehearsing a gig, they asked me to be a permanent member. The first time we played WYSIWYG, I played it, listened to it, and I said “I’m going to steal this song. I understand you wrote it, but I’m stealing it.” When we were talking about songs to add to the charity album, we just finished recording my version of it, and we wanted to put something on it that I was a part of, so that was the one we chose as a band. Now, Wonderbolt! songs as a whole I think Galeon was one of the greatest songwriters across any genre of music. He’s such an inspired writer. Our song “What Went Wrong” was the most important song of the past 20yrs. It’s such a song that any kid who’s feeling different should hear. I would put it right next to “Great to be Different” by Forest Rain.
Topics we didn’t have time to discuss
(but can talk about afterwards)
Additional, scrapped topics
Brony Music Archival projects (and the importance of archiving music)
More in-depth about musicians
More fandom events or projects that shaped music
The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise
Who’s Best Pony (and why I’m right & your wrong)
Storybook Adventure Codeword (Please yell at Brass for not making a codeword or story for this panel)
Sources Used
TODO