It was formed by Josh Milan, Kevin Hedge and Chris Herbert, when Herbert introduced Milan, a member of his church choir to Hedge, his childhood friend. Ironically, Herbert was the one who left the band in 1991, leaving Milan and Hedge to keep working together. Their output consists mainly of house music tracks with heavy gospel, soul and afrobeat influences (sometimes referred to as Gospel house). When the band started, Herbert was the singer, with Milan playing the piano and Hedge working production. After Herbert left, both Hedge and Milan started to share production duties, vocals and playing most of the instruments in their tracks and albums. They achieved notoriety with their remix of Lisa Stansfield’s “People Hold On” in 1989, after signing for the Motown label. Blaze released their first LP, 25 Years Later, in 1990, after which Herbert decided to move to a more R&B-oriented career, while the two remaining members invested in the emerging club culture, opening their own nightclub, Shelter. In 1994, they scored their first big international production success, with De’Lacy’s “Hideaway”, which was remixed by Deep Dish.
Since then, Blaze has released three more albums, alongside a few scattered compilations of earlier productions and works and countless singles. They also began working with other well-known names such as Little Louie Vega, Barbara Tucker, Jody Watley and Full Intention. They’re best known to modern audiences by their singles featuring Palmer Brown on vocals, the oft-remixed “My Beat” and the tribute anthem “I Remember House”. Blaze’s most recent album, released in 2005, is a mix compilation title, Found Love.
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Records:
Blaze – When I Fall In Love, Jellybean Soul
