Blaze (band) - Career

Career

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 group in 1991, leaving Milan and Hedge to keep working together.

The group's output consists mainly of house-music tracks with heavy gospel, soul and afrobeat influences (sometimes referred to as gospel house). When the group started, Herbert was the singer, with Milan playing the piano, and Hedge on production. After Herbert left, both Hedge and Milan started to share production duties, vocals, and playing most of the instruments of the group's tracks and albums. The group achieved notoriety with its remix of Lisa Stansfield's "People Hold On" in 1989, after signing with Motown/MCA Records.

Blaze released its debut album, 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 a nightclub called Shelter. In 1994, the group scored its first big international production success with De'Lacy's "Hideaway," which was later remixed by Deep Dish.

Since then, Blaze released three more albums, alongside a few scattered compilations of earlier productions and works and countless singles. The group also began working with other well-known names such as "Little" Louie Vega, Barbara Tucker, Jody Watley, and Full Intention. It is best known to modern audiences by its 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 called Found Love.