Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis

Laonikos is a Greek artist and shakuhachi musician based in London. The shakuhachi is a Japanese end-blown bamboo flute and differs from the typical transverse western flute which is played by blowing across a hole at one end. It is perhaps the most popular and renowned of the Japanese flutes. The flute varies in size according to the type of sound sought after, for instance, the longer the shakuhachi the lower the pitch. It is however, limited to five holes which prevents it from accessing the range of scales that the Western classical flute can play.

Drawing inspiration from Japanese philosophy and the Finnish wilderness, Laonikos identifies a focus on listening and being present across both, reflecting this in his commitment to improvisation.

Laonikos, whilst working primarily with sound, is also concerned with movement, dance and poetry. He believes that art is a transformative social process of connection and community. To this end he is one of the artistic directors of artArctica, a festival hosted in Helsiniki that aims to gather and showcase art from across the Arctic world.