Last year Mark Haze became a household name in SA when he shot to fame in the reality singing competition Idols.

While he rocked his way into the final two, many people might not know that he has been in the industry for a lot longer than the competition.

Haze, together with his friends and brother started a band called 12th Avenue over ten years ago. They enjoyed gigging around the country and they also had a bit of airplay on radio stations, but it was the Idols competition that really got Haze and the band noticed.

They now go by the name The Mark Haze Band and their debut album, Where Angels Fear to Fly,  has just been released.

Haze worked with Benjy Mudie and SAMA winning producer Theo Crous after being signed to Universal back in January.

With the help of Universal Music, a request was sent out to songwriters across the globe to contribute to the album.

Haze's background in rock music caught the eyes of big names in the business including Justin Hawkins of The Darkness fame. His track, has been included on the record.

Producers, who have worked with Kelly Clarkson also contributed a few songs and Grammy winning South African artist Cofield Mundi also co-wrote a few songs with Mark. So all in all the 13 track album carries a lot of clout.

DStv.com caught up with Mark and the rest of the band just ahead of his launch at Silverstar Casino, West of Johannesburg to find out more about the album.

Check out the video interview below:



Mark might not have won the Idols competition, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his love for music.

“To all the future Idols, second place is okay. So long as you keep your head together, you work really hard and you have a good team behind you, everything will be okay."