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WON JAMES WON is a sort of creative laboratory which is run by a medley of absurdist chaos. They have got Tikhon “Hee-Haw” Kubov (of JAZZLOBSTER, I.F.K., WOMBA, etc.), Danila “Muscular” Smirnov (of KIRPICHI, PRAVDA, SPERMADONARZ, MUX, etc.), Ivan “Mandwill” Ljudewig (of KIRPICHI, PRAVDA, etc.), Alexander “Edward” Telpook (of MUX, PRAVDA, etc.), and uncertain number of associate-minded communards on board. There are some confusing things to know about this formation. The first one is that all musicians have a permanent job in nationally acclaimed professional rock-groups and, in certain respects, are parts of the Russian show-business. The second fact is that not only all of them live in accordance with concert-schedules of the corresponding groups but, moreover, they live in diverse cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Still and all, WJW feel and act as a single whole organism making rare but regular stage appearances, studio sessions, and album productions.
WON JAMES WON is a major creative act of the ZveZdaZ art-movement. Some skeptics may argue that this is nothing more than another side project compiled by the popular musicians who got tied from public expectations, engagements, restrictions, limitations, etc. It’s not unlikely, but don’t expect to hear them intelligible or fashionable. WJW touch upon almost every musical style imaginable and cynically perverts everything in their own infinite manner. Defiant freaks of noisy rock-instrumentations, sampled electronics, wild vocalizations, ambiguous texts, eccentric shows – you can’t puzzle out what they meant till the last drop – this is the best experimental rock music ever produced in Russia! Try WON JAMES WON page at MyspaceMusic.
Won James Won / Corpus Unhearmeticum (2010) / pro-duplicated CD-R & MC w/ art-object - $33.00
On a new round of their “shizeodrome” gaming, this time entitled Corpus Unhearmeticum, WON JAMES WON are the duo of Daniel Smirnov and Tikhon Kubov supported by a number of friends (Alexei Taroutz and LEBENS-trio among others). The album comes in a special “cardboard player for recycled music”, hand-crafted container for storage: the audio-disc (18 tracks - 75 min.) in a craft-envelope, audio-cassette with extras, A2-size full-color poster, earplugs, and colored paper-noodles. “Piece Goods Line” series by RAIG/ZonderZond (44 pieces manufactured).
The album was reviewed at: Ondarock (Italy).
won JAMES won / The Hollow Grail (2007) / CD $13.00
The basic tracks for the third official release by WJW were recorded live in the course band’s performances in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow in 2005-2007. None of these pieces appeared on their two previous studio-outfits, and most of them were spontaneously improvised on stage. Apart from the acting core members – Alexander Bochagov (guitars, piano, samples), Tikhon Kubov (voice, samplers, turntable, keyboards, guitars), Daniel Smirnov (bass, voice, keyboards, programming) and Ivan Ludewig (guitar) – the album features a breed of delegados from the most popular Moscow underground bands I AM ABOVE ON THE LEFT and FOOJITSU – Artem Galkin (bass) and Alexei Taroutz (devices), Vasily Nikitin (drums, horn) and Ilya Borodin (voice) to name a few. The live recordings were seriously re-worked and re-shaped in the studio under the watchful eye of Eugene Lastochkin, a stuff-sound-producer-engineer with WJW. And here it is... the proto-studio album which communicates the wild and defiant energy of WJW shows very well. It works perfectly as a whole thing and could be described as an artificially conceptual avant-garde noise-experimental rock-opus with distorted vocals and live-generated electronic back-up... Something that an open-minded and adventurous listener should definitely enjoy. (20 tracks - 79 min.)
PRESS CLIPS
"Over the course of the twenty songs featured here, which almost all segue into each other giving the listener the feeling of one seamless composition, the band does venture out into some very adventurous and strange musical terrain with their abrasive, industrial style assault. Samplers, turntables along with modified vocals provide a good majority of the sonic backdrop as the guitars, keyboards and electronic-acoustic percussion all weave in and out of the mix. The band delivers an inspired balance between twisted ambience and cacophonic, explosive industrial mayhem... If industrial, avant-garde sounds are what you seek then Won James Won have got all the bases covered on The Hollow Grail. (Score: 4/5)" – by Ryan Sparks of Sea Of Tranquility (USA) (February 2008).
"The live, improvised and sample-based The Hollow Grail is about as close to modern Dadaism one can get without being Marcel Duchamp's reincarnation. Won James Won’s use of feedback, samples, melodies and synths are mixed randomly; atmospheres are created seamlessly and even pointlessly; the rhythms are not precisely normal. It's a deconstruction of noise rock, lounge, drone, pure noise and punk... It's all about chance and playing something unexpected. Instruments come and go with little to no reason as to why, the vocals are there just to give an illusion of there being songs, and everything is replaceable, but also integral to the experience... If total incoherency appeals to you, then get it. (Score: 9.2/10)" – by Ignacio Coluccio of Maelstrom (USA) (January 2009).
"It's all over the fucking place, a dadaist mindfuck of electronically warped noise rock and deranged Russian space rock, early industrial worship a la Cabaret Voltaire, Mr Bungle-style genrehopping, crushing industrial rock, free jazz, brain-damaged techno, plunderphonic cut-ups, whacked out turntable soundscapes, super silly vocal processing, awesome psychedelic guitars streaking through the druggy, surrealist insanity of Won James Won's world of sound. Far out, and MEGA fucked avant-rock from one of R.A.I.G.'s weirdest bands." – by Adam Wright of Crucial Blast (USA) (May 2009).
The album was also reviewed at: Nota-Bena (Russia), Rate Your Music (USA), Monochrom-Cracked (Austria), Sonic Frontiers (USA), ProgressiveEars (USA), Heathen Harvest (USA), Cosmos Gaming (USA), Ondarock's interview with WJW (Italy).
won JAMES won / Theorist Attack (2005) / CD $13.00
The second stunning studio album by Moscow-St.Petersburg freak-noise-rock experimentalists WON JAMES WON. The most sophisticated and deep-wounded work of the band to the date. Hard to define. Inconceivable mixture of styles and influences. Megatons of surprises... CD comes with ultra cool 24-page hardcovered book of existential texts and graphics by Hee-Haw Kubov. Collectable edition only! 444 copies. (15 tracks - 70 min.)
PRESS CLIPS
"Theorist Attack is what I would consider the second zeitgeist-defining, ground-shaking piece of recorded art for the new millennium. Won James Won seem to be conscious of the myriad possibilities inherent in the breakdown of society and they make creative use of the open-ended nature of instability. In other words, this album is an absolute riot, in both senses of the term. (Rating: 4,5/5)" – by Fallingman of Soundsect (USA) (November 2007).
"This is one of those albums, that very much like the work of a spastic ADD riddled artist manifests itself through pure change, through songs that musically bear no relation within each other... From lush pop to ambient rock, from mechanical noise and grinding metal with surging triumphant choruses and industrial technocore to drum and bass with a touch of the gentle melodies. It’s all literally insane, but it also flows... (Rate: 4/5)" – by Deaf Sparrow (USA) (March 2008).
"Russia's answer to frenzied Mr.Bungle or Naked City style genre... The music itself is pretty weird, a mixture of just about every musical style you can imagine all collaged together, but these musicians are imaginiative enough and talented enough to stitch it all together into a surreal medley-like effect with defiantly political-social undertones... From quirky industrial rock to looped collages of 60's brass fanfares and porno samples, surreal pop to soundscapes of broken machinery and melted vinyl loops reminiscent of Nurse With Wound, strange hybrids of industrial music and jazz noir and soulful singing, throbbing Dead Minds style dance-noise, mindblowing fusions of digital grindcore and sunny pop music, funeral parlor organs and blasts of terrifying white noise, fleeting glimpses of deeply emotive singing, amazing melodic guitar soloing, and more." – by Adam Wright of Crucial Blast (USA) (March 2008).
The album was also reviewed at: Rate Your Music (USA), MADZ-zine (Russia), Ondarock (Italy).
won JAMES won / Tol's Toy (2004) / CD $13.00
Though utilizing a love to the 80-90s alternative rock as inspiration, they move well beyond exploring territory uniquely their own with no boundaries between various music genres: rock, avant-garde, electronic, jazz and pop-music. Their collective approach is a tight knit of the experimental, the abstract, and the absurd. Their sarcasm and caustic sense of humor keep things unruly and absolutely unpredictable. There are tracks rooted in conventional song structures, free improvised pieces, and tons of intricate manipulations with speech samples and found noises throughout the album. Overall, “Tol’s Toy” reminds surreal soundtracks for one of those shock-horror-movies that leave audiences eerie though wanting for more. (27 tracks - 78 min.)
PRESS CLIPS
"Confusional avant-rock thrash noise punk hip-hop collage from this Russian ensemble that's been putting out some wonderfully weird music over the past few years, which we are just now starting to discover... Won James Won pieces together 26 mostly-instrumental tracks of abstract computer noise, blasts of powerful stadium punk, electronic sample cut-up, Mike Patton/ Eye Yamatsuka style avant vocal stylings, some genuinely intoxicating passages of electronic pop and folk, harsh noise, unbelieveably beautiful overmodulated post-rock, free jazz, martial-drone soundscapes. In the end, it sounds like the soundtrack for some surreal, avant garde 80's coming of age movie, and it's really amazing, probably our favorite release from the increasingly curious R.A.I.G. label. Recommended!" – by Adam Wright of Crucial Blast (USA) (July 2006).
The album was also reviewed at: Aural Innovations (USA), Rate Your Music (USA).
| Artist/Title | Media | Price |
| CD | $13.00 | |
| pro-duplicated CD-R | N/A | |
| CD | $13.00 | |
| DVD / mp3-EP | N/A / free download | |
| CD | $13.00 | |
| mp3-EP | free download | |
| mp3-LP | free download | |
| pro-duplicated CD-R & MC | $33.00 |
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