EQUINE MORALITY: THE CLEAN SWEEP

HAS BEEN RELEASED!

The newest Balloon Party album is here, with 21 tracks of strength and integrity.

Hello, everybody :).

More likely then not, absolutely none of you know who I am (except Freewave and Evdog :p). To keep things short, I'm another Brony, who still refers to themselves by that, who was just as inspired as all of you to become watch the show and take part in this fandom. I've happily been a part of it since midway of Season 2, and have been inspired enough to...well, try and make something of myself. Like many of you, I was inspired by the brilliant content creators all around me and I got sick of tired of not having anything going on in my life. I wanted to change all of that and figure out who I am and who I wanted to be. To this day...I'm still on that journey, and I trying to explore, make friends, be generous, and just grow to be a better person living a fuller life.

Why am I saying all this? I just want to introduce myself really quick, because I wanted to make a post regarding a friend of mine: lavenderharmony.

I've been friends with her for...gosh, it's gotta be a year at this point. As part of my attempts in figuring out what I wanted to be, I wanted to try my hand at music. Yep: as you'd expect, I was just as inspired by the many Brony musicians at the time and many of which continue to produce today. I wanted to see if this was something I wanted to do...if this was a hobby or something more. After getting a Tumblr and social media accounts for the very first time in my life, I found her and wanted to reach out to her which is how I started speaking with her for about a year now :).

But anyhoo, with that out of the way, I want to bring her up because I felt I wanted to say something. About what's been going on since the new Balloon Party 4 was announced. And maybe...about things before that.

First off....again, who the heck am I, really? what the heck kind of real proof that I have any connection with Lavender whatsoever? am I just some jerk looking to put things in her mouth?

Well...

No, my friends. I'm not making this up. I wouldn't mess with you, or her, or anybody like that. I'm not here to mess with anybody or cause any more drama, because we really don't have any use for that. There's just...no point.

I'm here, on her behalf, because many of you are upset. Upset that Balloon Party 4 is change, or maybe just upset with her. I'm here with her permission because I want to clarify on several things. I know this can be long, and I don't want to hijack this thread or upset any of the admins by writing all of this. I just ask that you please take a few minutes to at least read out what I have to say.

Since April 1st, Balloon Party 4 has been 'taken over'. Silva Hound and Lavender Harmony have both collaborated to essentially host a brand new album. Especially considering that it took place on April 1st, people were rightfully skeptical. Since then, both of them have clarified on these topics. That this is not a prank and they are indeed essentially revamping the album.

And this is where things get confusing for some people.

They are doing this because they want to infuse some new life into this album. They want to showcase some of the best talent the Brony community has to offer. Since the fandom began in 2011, they have been some of the most professional music producers that we have ever seen. Silva has essentially been *the* House producer and Lavender is one the very few producers in the fandom who can rightfully be called "professional". She isn't just so in skill, but she has majored in music and works for an actual company. This is her livelihood, just in the same way that voice-acting is the livelihood of all the actors on the show.

Since then, both producers have expanded their reach to works outside of the fandom. Neither of them have truly 'left' the fandom given that they still love us enough to try and point us in the right direction of our work, but they have done what all of us should be proud of as artists: they've grown enough that they can take there work to the 'real world'. As such, neither of them have made a MLP track in a very long time.

And many of you are upset about that. They seem that as a bit insulting because...well, why are they here? if they haven't made a track in so long, why are they here? what right do they even have to 'take over' anything in the first place?

My friends, that wasn't at all the intention. Don't let the "takeover" bit take you so personally. Although neither of them produce tracks for the show as they used too, don't you feel it's unfair to say that both of them no longer care about us, the fandom, or even the show if they decided to be here?

They are essentially 'veterans' of the community. This new album didn't happen because they wanted to show off and spoil a party they are seemingly no longer interested in. If that really were the case, then why did Lavender host BUCK last year?  

She doesn't make tracks like she used too, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been doing things for the fandom and for us. That never stopped!

So from the start, why would any of us feel and treat them as outsiders coming to "take over", or rather, "take away" something from us? not only are they not taking anything away from us, they are part of us! they were for many years and that still hasn't changed!

For some of you, it's not about there presence in the fandom that upsets you, so much as there opinion on the content creators. On the musicians and the many many people who still feel inspired by the messages we've felt to produce content in the first place. In some ways, it goes hand-in-hand with the first point: if they don't care for MLP fan-music anymore, why are they here? why are they posting stuff like this:

It's 2015. The popularity of the fandom and pony music in general has declined, as has the quality of submissions, the interest of experienced musicians, and so on. This project is our attempt to give it new life. Basing an album on a pony character is no longer going to be the main focus, and we want to implement as many positive changes to the project as possible, and make it appealing to a far broader audience of musicians, from all skill levels and backgrounds

I mean, that can be seen as kind of mean don't you think? isn't she essentially that we're basically crap? that the effort and love we put into our works isn't good enough anymore now that we're no longer in the olden days of 2011?

Well, my friends....No. That's not what she meant.

....

....I get what you're thinking. She's basically insulting us, right? why right does she have to say this? is she here just to make fun of us and what we do just because we still love to make music about MLP?

My friends, relax. That's not what she really meant. I wouldn't be here writing all this with her permission if that's what she meant.

Firstly, remember something -- if she truly disliked us, why is she here at all? I mean, she's a professional. She can certainly make due without being a part of MLP or the fandom whatsoever. She doesn't have anything to prove....and honestly, never really did. She never needed any sort of popularity -- not when she already is a professional and popular by her own merits, and probably is more concerned with taking care of and supporting herself then pony-popularity.

There is no real benefit to Lavender, or Silva for that matter, to be here if they just wanted to make fun of us. If they truly didn't want to be here, they would simply leave the fandom altogether like Alex S and many many others. They wouldn't continue to host conventions, do panels with Daniel Ingram at Crystal Fair Pony Con, perform, and help us with our own music here with these albums.

...Okay...so what DID she mean then?

She meant that simply the rabid popularity of MLP has simmered. Way back when, the fandom was in state of "consume everything" and we genuinely did. We ate up every single little piece of content that came by us. Since then however, we've slowly relaxed and people found there own circles. The amount of content continues to come in -- make no mistake about that. But the fandom has matured: people now have favorites they continuously listen too, whether it's music or otherwise. As before, it's not to say that there isn't as much content as there was before...it's simply that we've slowed down to give ourselves a breather!

That's why, unfortunately, it's harder for newer content-creators to gain as much social momentum as creators used before. As before, people now stick to there favorites they've found overtime and just listen to them. That's perfectly natural and even I am guilty of it! it's exactly why I applaud Freewave and fimm music's "oldie but goodie" on Tumblr (http://fimmusic.tumblr.com/post/1166778 ... but-gold-3), and other similar ideas, because we now have a chance to catch up on some surprisingly fantastic talent that people may have missed out on...simply because there was so much!

...No, guys...it was never Lavender's intention to disrespect any of us. As before, if anybody truly didn't want to affiliate themselves with the fandom anymore, they would simply silently leave. People do it all the time without us ever realizing it, you know.

Which brings me to a final point. Lavender, herself.

Because unfortunately, I couldn't help but sense that a lot of the anxiety that many of you felt about this "take-over" wasn't necessarily about the idea behind making it more open to a broader audience. It was...well, just her.

If you've made it this far, I ask that you please bare with me just a little bit more, because I feel this is really really important:

As before, Lavender Harmony is a professional in every sense of the word. As professional as Steffan Andrews and Daniel Ingram. She isn't just a Brony or a Brony musician. Music wasn't something she was inspired to do by the endearing messages of the show. This is her life. This is her career. This is something she's built for years and years long before G4 was even a thing. In some ways, even more-so then the popular Brony artists you may know and love. Simply put...she's that good. I know it may seem hard to believe sometimes -- I mean, she certainly doesn't have the music output that some of the classic Brony musicians have or had. As far as we're concerned, the only pony tunes were the Desinenza album and the more recent "Pinkie Pie's Big House Bounce". That's hardly the dozens and dozens of tracks that some people have made, right?

What she lacks in quantity however, she makes up in quality. You may not personally enjoy Orchestral, Drum n Bass or Big Room, but if you've been into music, and especially music production, for even a little while...you can appreciate the quality behind these tracks. Her mixing is particularly impeccable and these were mastered by a professional engineer.

What I'm trying to say is....

...Guys? she knows what she's talking about.

I get it, I really really do. I know it can be really upsetting when something you spent a long time on can be returned back to without the reaction you wanted. I'd like to think we've all been there. I'd like to think that Silva Hound and Lavender have both been there and...well, I know they have. I know they have because they are as every bit as human as you and me.

Nobody is born a prodigy, my friends. Nobody just wakes up and intuitively knows Ableton Live, Flash, or Paint Tool Sai. Nobody is just so good that they coast through there entire career without breaking a sweat. I know it can seem so SO frustrating when some people seem like they can just churn out one epic after another and you're struggling so much to make...anything. It took me an entire YEAR before I could compose even one track! one stupid, stupid track! you don't think I asked myself what the heck am I doing with my life a couple times?!

.....But....don't you think that they went through the same thing too?

...Guys...they aren't better then us.

Don't let the subscriber count fool you, my friends. Don't let the panels, the conventions, the flashy logos that Kibbles and other graphic designers make for us...

Don't let that make you think for one single second that anybody is better then anybody. Your worth as a human being is not tied to your skill level, your fan-base (if you have one), or any of that. Don't look 'up' at them, and don't look 'down' at yourself. Please please do not tie your own sense of value to something like that.

What Lavender has...what Silva has...what Alex S, or Mandopony, or Odyssey Eurobeat, or Tsitra, or Pixel-Kitties, or Pen-Stroke, or Rina-Chan...

The only thing that anybody has "over" anybody...is just Time. That's all, my friends. If you were a guitar-player, and you worked hard every day, and some 16-year-old comes along and just blows everybody's mind...I can imagine how unbelievably upsetting that can be. But here's the thing, guys: it's not that they are "better" or "smarter" then you, or there is something "wrong" with you. It just means they got started when they were even younger. They got started when they are younger, and we are seeing them as the level they are currently at.

They're not 'smarter' then you or better then you as a person. It's just that they've been at it much longer. Instead of letting that get you down, dive back in once more!

Lavender and Silva are both here because they want this album to be the best it can possibly be. I know many of you are upset that the character theme has been taking away...but my friends, look at all the MLP albums that are STILL ongoing! on this one MLR page! I know it can be upsetting, but don't put this one particular album on so high a pedestal that you're missing the bigger picture. While it's true they want this album to be the best ti can be, Balloon Party isn't the end-all be-all of the Brony community. Do I see many many other popular Brony musicians taking part in this? are they even seemingly aware of this?  where's Aviators? Yourengima? Dbpony/CookieSoupMusic? I can go on and on.

I understand you may feel upset, but put it this way: if you guys wanted to still make an Applejack character-themed album...what's really stopping us? right now? it won't be Balloon Party 4 anymore, but that's basically it.

Silva Hound has expressed that MLP isn't even otracized from this album. You CAN include samples and do a pony-related track if you wanted. The broader scope of this album is in part not only to expand the reach of the album some more, but to also better ensure they may be no problem with Hasbro. Remember what happened to Jan Animations? what's been happening more frequently as of late?  C&D's are at an all-time high, my friends. The last thing any of us want is to put all our effort into a song only for it to be rewarded from a letter from Hasbro's legal department.

Don't you think then that's it's fair that we're still allowed to put make a pony-related track if we like, so long as we limit the amount of sampling?

...

...I would like to end it there. If you've read all this, thank you very much for putting up with me and reading all this.

I know there can be frustration. At the end of it all, why am I even saying all of this? why doesn't Lavender just say all this herself?

Because I'm her friend, that's why. I'm here, on her behalf, because I saw that she was upset and I wanted to take the opportunity to say something. To be a fresh-face amongst you guys and say something, because I think there are good points on both sides of this.

We don't have to prove anything to ourselves. The Brony community is still more then a good place to have fun, make friends, and explore. I'd like to think of myself as proof of that, because my life has completely changed because of it. We raised 10,000 last week for Sean Rey (rest in peace, my friend <3), and continue to raise staggering amounts of money for charity all the time. For the occassional scandal that HorseNews just can't wait to talk about, this can still be more then a fun place to enjoy yourself. It's something I spoke about myself with Odyssey Eurobeat last year myself and, despite thinking he had a different opinion then me since he's been a part of the fandom much earlier, we still found ourselves both agreeing (http://odysseyeurobeat.tumblr.com/post/ ... in-general).

If you still continue to call yourself a Brony, then more power to you my friend. If you don't and have moved on, that's okay too. Everyone's stories are as individual as there personality and I can't blame any of you for the opinions you hold. That said, I hope my words make some of you better understand why Balloon Party 4 is becoming what it is and why we should love it, or at the very least, tolerate it.