- Genres: Rock
Biography
The Trax are the result of the attempt by the South Korean music industry giant SM Entertainment to establish a rock band -- a pretty rare bird on the 2000s Korean scene entirely dominated by pop artists. The group's music still has a lot of pop, urban, and hip-hop elements, but Trax mix them with Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park influences, not to mention having adopted the Japanese-inspired visual kei image for a while. Following the traditions of the South Korean music business, it was the label that took an initiative in establishing the group, which included vocalist Typhoon, previously lined up for SM Entertainment's project U-KNOW that never got off the ground, as well as X-Mas (guitar), Attack (bass), and the drummer Rose, who joined last, after Trax debuted live in a band contest in 2002. According to one version, the name of the band is an acronym of the members' nicknames, although it's also said that the moniker doesn't go beyond its obvious meaning (i.e. "recording tracks").Trax spent some time in the in-label training and finally debuted as a quartet in 2004, appearing on BoA's single "Rock with You" and playing the MTV Asia Awards. Their own debut release was the Korean single "Paradox," soon followed by the Japanese single "Scorpio" (both 2004). Trax was the first Korean major-label band to adopt the visual kei style, which is attributed to the influence of Yoshiki Hayashi, the drummer of the visual kei gods X-Japan, who produced them (there were even rumors that Rose is Yoshiki's biological son, although the talk has proved false). The band covered X-Japan's "Tears" in 2004, but still opted for a more restrained Western look when going for the Japanese scene.
In 2004-2005 Trax released a number of Korean and Japanese singles, but in 2006 Rose left the band to study art in a Seoul college and play guitar in underground rock act the Romanticist. Trax went on as a trio with session drummers, releasing their debut album ChoWoo ("First Rain") in June 2006 to moderate success: the eponymous ballad briefly charted in Korea. The band also did two songs for the Korean drama Hyena in 2006, entering the most powerful branch of the national entertainment industry, and released two Japanese singles in 2006 and 2007, but in January 2007 Typhoon had to undergo surgery, which forced the band to go on a hiatus. Meanwhile, Attack got cast in a Japanese/Korean drama Magnolia No Hana no Shita Ni, shooting in New York. ~ Alexey Eremenko, All Music Guide
