Joker James (also known as “JJ”) is the musical project of independent journalist and musician Alexey Ponomarev. It is a showcase of a completely unique “bard–rap” genre that blends hip-hop groove, legacy of the Russian rock scene, and echoes of the British 60s.
Songs of Joker James find their origin in the emotions accumulated by Alexey over years of work for independent media. These emotions spill out into biting and sometimes angry songs, as well as melancholic ballads about the vanity of virtually everything in the world and the futility of existence.
Moreover, the lyrical protagonist of JJ often merges entirely with the author: many of Alexey’s friends are indeed considered to be “foreign agents” in Russia. In his work for the media he has followed the war Russia started in Ukraine since 2014. And for just as long he took every chance to mock so–called Russian “patriots”, and “guardians”. Alexey proudly counts himself among the “fifth column”.
At live shows Joker James is all about experiment. Running the vocals and guitar sounds through chains of audio effects, putting layers of music on top of each other, he weaves an immersive sonic tapestry – the kind that would leave no one in the audience untouched. The «Rodina Tour» setlist is built around tracks from the brand new album of the same name, but also features JJ’s greatest hits.
