Artist: Midnight Blue
Title: Blessed
Label: Source Of Gravity Records
By: Chloe Harris | 8 November 2004
Tracklist:

• A1: Original Mix
• A2: Blind Faith Reprise V1
• B1: Jay Welsh Black Ice Mix
• B2: Blind Faith Reprise V2

Midnight Blue "Blessed"

Alexander Church and Richard Gill team up once again as Midnight Blue to create a new single called 'Blessed'. Alexander has had success on Source Of Gravity with his last single 'Cycles Of Life', while Richard is a newcomer to the label, having previously been involved with Pied Piper Records. Together they create a sweet tune here that gets an interesting rework by Jay Welsh, along with two ambient Reprise versions for you to toy with.

The 'Original Mix' starts in with some nice tribal drums with a minimal vibe. A sinister chugging groove sets in underneath moving slowly, while more percussion is added. Eerie synths rise and are placed quietly in the back as the beats drop out and into a break. The middle sounds of liquid as it moves all around swimming in slight sound. Light female vocals are placed in tripping out with the synths till the drums kick back in and the bassline chugs it’s way to the end. The first reprise is a smooth dreamy journey with soaring plucked guitar. The elements are stripped down and taken deep and slow, while a synthesized voice adds a human but robotic element to the mix. 'Version 1' is a nice treat.

'Jay Welsh' has been known to have a dark tranced out sound, but for his Black Ice Mix' of 'Blessed' he turns out a funky spaced out peak time tune. The drums stomp in with a good pace building with a bouncy bassline that moves up and down. Spacey sounds hide in the background, and tiny sounds start to move about adding percussive elements. The plucked guitar enters in working with everything, as the synthesized voice steps in. Creeping into the break, everything drops out for a moment so a cool hypnotic arp can break through. The drums follow the lead, while all the sounds move to a peak. The last track on the b-side is the second reprise that sounds very much like Version 1, but there is a slight drum hiding in the background for variation.

'Blessed' is a decent little single from these two talented artists on Source Of Gravity. The original seems to capture a cool essence with its minimal groove and spacey elements, while Jay Welsh chose a funky rendition with full on guitar, and with the added reprisals, this is quite a versatile package indeed.