After four years together, last may the K-pop group HISTORY disbanded. For these 4 years they did not manage to become very popular, but their last comeback - QUEEN, was definitely a hit. One may say that they disbanded at the peak of their success and when they finally started to receive the recognition they deserved all along. 

Pity or not, life goes on and being a K-pop idol is a profession like any other. And professions do change, career paths take turns. HISTORY are the first K-pop group that I discovered and loved so I am still keeping an eye on them. In this article you will see all the information I have gathered over time about their lives now. Hopefully I can help some STORIA that might have lost their traces.

Here is what the members of HISTORY are up to now:

​Among the reasons for HISTORY`s disbandment is most likely also the absence of the leader of the group Song Kuyng-il. At December 8th 2016 he entered the military to serve his duty. There he is working as a policeman and his stay in the army will probably last around 21 months, which means he should be discharged around September 2018.

While in the army Kyung-il participated in several concerts organized by his department. In the videos from one of those events below you can enjoy seeing him sing and dance once again. 

​Kyung-il is the only member of the group who still has the same Instagram name, so you can follow him at @_ilstagram. Even while in the military he still often posts pictures.

​While HISTORY still excised but was inactive and a long time after that, member Sihyoung constantly posted paintings and sketches of his on Instagram. That got me thinking that maybe he is occupied in the field of arts now, but I did not find any information in confirmation of this. Also he later deleted all of those post and now they can be found only in some fan pages. Below you will find some of his art.

A few months ago he started appearing regularly on AfreecaTV. You can follow Sihyoung at @k_s2_h0.

​Months before the disbandment Jaeho deleted all of his Instagram posts and after a long absence from the social medias he came back with a new pseudonym - NANO. In mid 2017 he released his first solo mixtape in Soundcoud. With 3 tracks in it, [!] showed Jaeho not only as a singer, but also a producer with a wide range of influences. 

In February 2018 he also made his solo debut with the song Forever You and I. We also found out where NANO comes from - the sentence 나는 노래하는 사람입니다 or „I am a person who sings”. From it the took 나 („NA” - meaning I) and 노 („NO”- the first syllable from the word 노래, meaning song).

We also didn`t wait long for a second comeback - with the song Pusnishment, and a third one - with two songs combined in the album &. In & we meet some familiar names - the song Maladjustment is a collaboration with the rapper Yezi from the former girl group Fiestar and is produced by J.Pearl. The track Walkin` is produced by HSND, who also created the other solo songs of Jaeho.

​Besides a solo career in singing, Jaeho is also making his way with being a producer. Together with Yiejeong he created the song Anck Su Namum of Yezi and among his other projects are the songs Time of Sorrow by Viction and Ain`t No Time from the first solo album of Kim Dong Han from JBJ.

Follow him on Instagram at @nnano92, so that you can get all the news directly from him. He also often does live streams in which he sometimes sings for the fans...

If you are a K-pop fan then undoubtedly after HISTORY`s disbandment you have continued to hear works of the member Yiejeong, but you might have not realized it. The maknae of the group was also the one behind their most successful songs - Might Just Die and Queen, among many other songs of theirs. He not only participated in the writing of the lyrics, but also composed and arranged those songs. 

After HISTORY disbanded Yiejeong joined the team of producers and composers Devine Channel. In their impressive works there are hits like Baby Do not Cry by EXO, Fantasy by VIXX, Fire by BTS and many others. Since joining them Yiejeong participated in the making of The.The.The by Longguo и Sihyun, Jelly by Hotshot, Do Not Wanna Know by JJ Project, I Need U by Lay, I Don`t Like Your Girlfriend by Weki Meki, Honestly by Eric Nam and many, really many other songs.

His biggest success till now is probably the track DDAENG by RM, Suga and J-Hope from BTS. With the release of the song Yiejeong also announced his new artistic pseudonym: J.pearl. We are certainly about to hear more and more from J.pearl so go follow him at @jpearl.masterpiexe. Here are some of his latest posts for extra motivation.

The Japanese band Crystal Lake will land in seven European cities in total this summer. Who exactly are Crystal Lake, what type of music do they create and why is it worth it to book a ticket for their show? I'll try to give them a rather brief but still proper review, if you, however, are already familiar with the guys and want the tour dates straight away - just one scroll down keeps you from them!

The tour dates and cities around Europe are as follows:
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• June 28–30, 2018 - JERA ON AIR 2018 - Ysselsteyn, The Netherlands  Tickets
• June 30–July 1, 2018 - Dissonance Festival - Milan,Italy  Tickets
• July 5–7, 2018 - ROCK DEN SEE 2018 - Sankt Andrä, Austria  Tickets
• July 5, 2018 - UK TECH-FEST 2018 - Newark, UK  Tickets
• July 6, 2018 - JAPAN EXPO 2018 - Paris, France   Tickets
• July 13, 2018 - RESURRECTION FEST 2018 - Viveiro, Galicia, Spain   Tickets
• July 14, 2018 - Fajtfest 2018 - Velké Meziříčí, Czech Republic   Tickets
  

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Official site of Crystal Lake
Official Facebook page of Crystal Lake

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​At the end of February, Kim Jaeho from the unfortunately now disbanded group History made his solo debut with the song Forever You and I under the pseudonym NANO. The song has a pop beat mixed with retro electronic elements. Jaeho's voice glides smoothly over the melody and reminds us why he was one of the vocalists of the band. Unpretentious, but very fresh and cheerful, the song highlights the romantic side of Jaeho and his beautiful voice. In the lyrics, he tells of the little things that make him fall in love with his girl over and over again. The music video is minimalistic, but manages to perfectly combine bright colors, small symbolic details and Jaheo`s romantic smile.

​If while History existed you missed the fact that Jaeho is a strong vocalist with a wide vocal spectrum, it's not too late to catch up. Most of History`s songs are fast paced, while his strength is in the slower and more sensual vocals. You can clearly hear them in songs like Blue Moon, Easy and Liar. His rapping is also not to be understimated - his parts in their last song Queen and their Japanese comeback Lost are an example of his excellent skills.

With the release of the song Jaeho also revealed the meaning behing his pseudonym NANO. It comes from the sentence 나는 노래 하는 사람 입니다 or "I am a person who sings". He took 나 ("NA" - meaning I) and 노 ("NO" - the first syllable of the word 노래, meaning song).

If all this information came out of the blue for you because you didn`t know what Jaeho was doing after the disbandment of History, I will fill the gaps for you. Some months before History disbanded Jaeho deleted all of his previous Instagram posts and after a long absence from the social medias, he returned with a new name - nnano92. Until then, his account in Instagram was named jaehogram (similar to the ones of two other members of the group - Kuyngil and Sihyoung, respectively ilstagram and sihyoungram). Then it was not clear whether it was a new artistic nickname or just a new name for his account that would no longer associate him with the band.

Although not very active, he occasionally treated us with short covers, such as those of the song Two Melodies by Zion.T and Friends by Justin Bieber. He continues to uplaod such covers so if you do not follow him at Instagram, quickly correct yourself @nnano92.

In the middle of 2017 Jaeho released his first mixtape in Soundcloud. With a total of three songs, [!] shows Jaeho as a producer with a wide range of influences. The first song from the mixtape Bubbly Girl is made in collaboration with the korean-american singer Yaeji, popular with her distinctive combination of country music and hip-hop. The song is an energetic pop song, and while you listen to it you will unconsciously start to shake your head in tact. The second song so so so is in the genres of jazz and blues, which we hear for the first time from Jaeho. Undoubtedly, however, he feels perfectly comfortable in these genres and even raps confidently along. The third song Don`t go is a successful mix of RnB and Soul and also has a very rich sound. Its weak part is in the fact that at some places his voice is modified for a stronger effect, but to me it is unnecessary and does only harm to the song.

PS. These are actually not Jaeho's first independent projects... Even before the disbandment of History and before choosing the name NANO, he was involved in the first digital single of the singer 달(D.A.L) under the pseudonym Bignose. Various sources claim that the rest of History's members gave him this nickname because his nose was very large and plump after sleep. I would have been pleased even if he kept this nickname, but as he NANO seems much more aware of herself and the direction he wants to follow in his career.

♥

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Author: Emilia Kircheva

Arlequin are on the visual kei stage since 2013 and they have behind them 2 full-lenght albums and 13 singles. More about the boys from Arlequin you can find down in the following links:  

Official website of the group
Youtube channel of GOEMON Records
Official Twitter

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All these facts and biography lessons, all though interesting and needed, I've always found to be rather cold. Who is Sa DingDing? During the interview for The Independent, she reveals that there is not one specific moment that changes her path but she forged it over time with every single one of her decisions. Music has always been her freedom and allows her to express emotion, to even build the world around her. Reading even a small fraction of her speech and thoughts, I can't help but admire her and her way of making art with attention and soul. The genres that can be loosely attached to her songs are world, electronic, ethnic, even folkloric, at the same time even pop. For the fans of such amalgama of sounds, she can be put next to huge names like Dead Can Dance, Azam Ali, and Niyaz. She even reminds me of a similar Bulgarian band - Irfan.

Sa DingDing reached the European media and public in 2008 by winning the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award. I was surprised to find that after the win and initial media coverage - she was still famous mainly in China and East Asia, not so much in Europe or the Americas.

Somewhere far in the distance, a faint sound can be heard. Is it Chinese? Is the melody Indian or Mongolian? Or even from the mystical Tibet? We settle, close our eyes and fall into the heavenly symphony of various cultures combined in a masterpiece. There is a soft female voice now but the language is unknown and unclear to me. Somehow tho, I understand it and follow the emotion it brings. Can you hear it?
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The official Facebook page of Sa DingDing
The official blog of Sa DingDing in Chinese

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In his interview for Jing Talk Show, the musician reveals the hardships his family has faced in the past as well as the hardship he faces now as a complete artist. While he talks and smiles ever so subtly I can't shake off the feeling that he is completely honest. His urge to create music out of the k-pop box that has the main audience of young adult girls shines through. Okay and Papillon are connected almost by a plot line in this order. In Okay we see the backstory, the roots to all of his nuanced emotions. In the video for the song, we witness strong symbolism and elements that connect with the video for Papillon. Jackson reveals that both MVs are made with thought and everything in them (especially in Okay) can be food for interpretation.

Both songs I loved immediately. They are just so true to him as an artist and a creator. Music that is made with love and a need - as if it just needed to be sang. The moods in the two songs are completely different and both of them as a whole is absolutely tremendously different than his Wang Puppy alter ego from the past. Jackson Wang used to be just a funny guy. Now, he is a brilliant artist which I come back to not to get a laugh but to get good music.

I told myself that I'll be okay - is a dominant line throughout Okay. Makes me wonder how often all of us need to repeat it to ourselves just so we don't fall apart. Makes me wonder how often he said it to himself? So much, it needed to be sang to the world. 

The official Instagram of Jackson Wang
The songs by Jackson Wang in iTunes

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The full list of songs is available for browsing at the end of the article. For now, we'll look at a few accents among them, although I feel obliged to repeat again that the perfection of Sang hides in its entirety. I can't say any song is vastly better or worse than the others. In the sense of composition and musicality, there is not one weak piece of music on this album. This is the reason why my choice of specific songs to discuss is rather more based on the meaning. Songs that are so very much Kamijo and mark his success as a musician and as a singer.

"Nosferatu"  is the third song by the original order. You may have already encountered it during February, as it was released as a single. Just with the name of the song we can already see a connection with the album name and the whole theme (sang from French - blood, and Nosferatu as in the first and most iconic vampire film from 1922). We are very used to seeing the purely aristocratic side of Kamijo even with his career roots with Lareine, followed by a full aristocrat explosion with Versailles. Now we are introduced to a darker side of that nobility. The black color is dominant, dim lit candles and darkness during his live performances, as well as somber themes for many of his songs. Everything, of course, served with the uttermost excellence of a true aristocrat.

"Vampire Rock Star" can be described best as SO Kamijo. Heavier, a bit more aggressive than the others, with a faster tempo but oh so perfectly placed to sprinkle some surprise among the more classicly composed pieces. At a first glance, I wasn't too sure why this song, in particular, grabbed my attention and is slowly climbing to the spot of a favorite one. The energy in Vampire Rock Star brings the album to life, accompanied, of course, by brilliant guitar riffs, Yuki behind the drums and Kamijo... who, let's be honest, is truly a vampire rock star. Brilliant! (And the next song - "Emigre" comes just in time to pick up where we have left.) 

"mademoiselle" is the second single out of the album and we are including it here mainly to note how gentle it is. Probably the most gentle one. The piano and violin blend smoothly with the now calmer drums and guitars. Kamijo softly sings about his probably second biggest love after the roses - the French language.  

The trilogy Sang I, II, III concludes our journey into the dark aristocratic parts of Kamijo's soul. The overuse of this word is real but necessary - a brilliant end to a brilliant album. The combination between classical and metal instruments, the choir in the back, unmistakable vocals - every little tiny element is composed with consideration of all other to birth a perfect symphony for us to enjoy. 

Full track list of the album "Sang":

1. Dead Set World
2. Theme of Sang
3. Nosferatu
4. Bloodcast -Interlude-
5. Vampire Rock Star
6. Emigre
7. Mystery
8. mademoiselle
9. Delta -Interlude-
10. CASTRATO
11. Ambition -Interlude-
12. Sang I
13. Sang II
14. Sang III

There are a few tour dates announced but for now - only around Japan. Next to Kamijo live the audience will have the pleasure to hear Anzi (ex. Matenrou Opera) on guitar, Meku (ex. Galeyd) on guitar, Yuki (ex. Versailles) on drums and Shigure on bass guitar. Further information about Kamijo, the album, the tour and any future projects you can find at the following links:

Official page of Chateau Agency
Official Facebook page of Kamijo

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