Sounds of 2013, Nos. 64 to 60

It's been a little longer than I'd have liked, but I'll take advantage of Ponyfic Roundup's short delay this week to fit in another Sounds of 2013 entry. Before I go any further, here's the usual reminder of the criteria I use to determine whether a song qualifies to be featured here:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

Now for this edition's list. This time around I haven't had to skip a song, so here's the full run-down.

64: Aviators – Until the Sun (remix)
63: Canapplejack – Children of the Night (metal cover)
62: Synthis – Don't Get Lost (In the Everfree)
61: Assertive – Skybound
60: ThatSonofaMitch – Harvest of Dreams

Past the page break you'll find YouTube embeds and a bit of detail about each track.

64: Aviators – Until the Sun (remix)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 5 Jan 2013
Another outing in this list for Aviators, this time with a typically synth-heavy remix of &I's song about Rainbow Dash and her devotion to loyalty – and a special focus on when she first met Fluttershy. The vocals are provided here by Feather, as indeed they are in the original. (That hasn't been featured here... yet.) This remix has a rather attractive instrumental break just after the three-minute mark in which some slightly hard-edged guitar is softened by the synthy goodness. There's a 320k MP3 download link in the video description.

63: Canapplejack – Children of the Night (metal cover)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 14 Aug 2013
Here's the long-departed Canapplejack with a melodic metal spin on the song that originated in 1993 movie Hocus Pocus but is probably best known to most bronies as the music accompanying Duo Cartoonist's stunning animation. Canapplejack's version manages to give the original song a grittier, harsher texture without ruining its essential qualities. I'm not a metal fan as a rule, but I find myself liking this track really quite a lot. There's a HQ MP3 download via the video description.

62: Synthis – Don't Get Lost (In the Everfree)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 17 Jun 2013
Remember when the Everfree Forest was a genuinely scary, spooky place? Synthis clearly did. This track may have its share of drops and wubs and all the other things the young whippersnappers like (or did in 2013, anyway) but they're leavened by a very nice Fluttershy vocal – I'm not sure who sang that – and a pleasantly on-edge feel to the underlying instrumentation. Less than 26,000 views seems remarkably few for this track. The song features on the Waves EP, available as a name-your-price download on Synthis' Bandcamp.

61: Assertive – Skybound

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 8 Jun 2013
Assertive was previously known as Assertive Fluttershy, but the second word was later dropped. This is another Rainbow Dash track, a fast-tempo instrumental clubby sort of thing that captures Dash's sheer energy and love of flying pretty well. Even though this isn't really my genre, I found myself nodding along to it after a while. The song is included on the Four's Fall Down album by Rainbow & Rooted (formerly Balloon Party), available here on Rainbow & Rooted's Bandcamp for $1.

60: ThatSonofaMitch – Harvest of Dreams

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 7 Feb 2013
I must admit that I'm not familiar with ThatSonofaMitch, who only released a few tracks before moving on more than five years ago. This one, though, is an interesting mix of drums, electronica and folky strings and vocals. It's about Carrot Top, and how the life she dreams of may not in fact be the one she needs to live. There's lots of energy to this, and the track also features the talents of Mic the Microphone and Chi-Chi. Not a bad pair to have on your side! Grab a 320k MP3 from the Mediafire link in the video description.