The Trax

The TRAX is a three member Korean rock band formed in the summer of 2004 by SM Entertainment and produced by Yoshiki of X-Japan. The name "TRAX" stands for "recording tracks," but also stands the first letter of each member's stage name (Typhoon of the Rose Attack on X-mas). The band made their first public appearance for BoA's eleventh single "Rock With You." The TRAX is active in both South Korea and Japan. However, the band is not widely recognized in South Korea because the rock genre does not play a big role in the Korean music scene. On May 10, 2006, Avex announced on their official website that Rose left The TRAX to pursue other interests. Despite Rose's absence, The TRAX continues to work as a threesome with support drummer(s). More: The TRAX are a popular boy band that have also made a name for themselves in Japan due to their affiliation with Yoshiki. The music they make is influenced by american Nu-metal bands such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park and adding their own spin on it by adding urban and hip-hop styles to it. TRAX was formed in the summer of 2004 by the record label SM Entertainment. The search for members of this band started in 2000 and took four years to complete. Part of the original line up of Typhoon, Rose and Attack first appeared in the 2002 Survival Audition HeeJun vs. KangTa Battle of the Century along with DBSK member Xiah Junsu and Super Junior's Sungmin and Eunhyuk. It was from this and several other auditions that SM Entertainment discovered the line-up and began training them. The bands name comes from the initials of the original line-up's names: Typhoon, Rose, Attack and Xmas. Sometimes it is said that their name simply comes from the term "recording tracks". Before the band debuted, Typhoon was lined up to be in a planned SM Entertainment band called Smile along with DBSK member U-KNOW, although this never came to pass. The band as a whole made their first public appearance along side BoA for her single Rock With You at the MTV Asia Awards and at her special with American popstar Britney Spears. The TRAX officially debuted in July 2004 with the release of their Paradox single and their first concerts at the Ziller Hall in Seoul in the same month. Shortly after their debut in Korea, they made their debut in Japan with the release of the single Scorpio, which was released simultaneously in Japan and Korea in December 2004. In October 2004 they were featured on Dong Bang Shin Ki's first album TRI-ANGLE along with BoA, and then again in September 2005 on Dong Bang Shin Ki's second album Rising Sun. Before they made their debut in Japan they had a change in image to make them appear more western, meaning that they had shed their visual looks that had made them stand out in the Korean market. Their music also changed and became more melodic and also saw them collaborating with their producer Yoshiki on a cover of X-Japan’s Tears. The band are recognised both in Korea and Japan, and are noted as being the first Korean rock band to bring visual kei influences into the Korean market. This is most likely due to the influence of Yoshiki, formerly of the Japanese band X-Japan, as a producer. In May of 2006, Rose left the band to "pursue other interests". He is currently the guitarist in underground rock band The Romantist and after leaving The TRAX returned to college to study Art and the Seoul College of Art. So far he has not been permanently replaced within the group, although shortly after Rose's departure, Si Won of the group Super Junior made a special appearance as the role of drummer for a performance of their single Chowu on SBS Inkigayo. After the departure of Rose, The TRAX released their first full-length album, Chowu (First Rain) in July of 2006, shortly followed by their Japanese single Resolution in August. November saw them doing 2 songs for the soundtrack of the Korean drama Hyena, followed by an appearance on the 2006 winter SMTOWN album released in December. In January 2007 the group released another Japanese single, Find The Way. Outside of music the members of the group have been pursuing other projects. It has been confirmed that Attack will appear in the Japanese and Korean drama Magnolia no hana no shita ni, which is being filmed in New York. At the start of 2007, SM Entertaiment announced that Typhoon has an intracordal cyst, which he will undergo surgery for in February. It will take him 4 months to recover, after which The TRAX will return.