• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Apr 11, 2025 By Irina Shtreis Photography by Grete Teigamägi (Lead Photo) Web Exclusive

In the dark space of D-3, formerly a rail car depot converted into a music venue, the upfront electronic beat conjures up Jimi Tenor’s dancefloor hit “Take Me Baby”. The sonic narrative, however, diverts to a folky territory when the flutes take over. Two young Estonian flute players Kärt Pihlap & Katariina Tirmaste call their project Kuula Hetke, which translates as “listen to the moment”. This mantra falls into place during their minimalist and all-inclusive live show where a well-tempered form of Eurodance meets quirky and disobedient traditional music. This encounter inevitably ends with labajalg, an impromptu flatfoot dance or chain dance with the audience members holding hands and moving across the room in a snake-like manner.

Over the years, Tallinn Music Week, one of the biggest international showcase festivals in Northern Europe, has provided a platform for contrasting cultures and creative approaches to walk hand in hand. This year, the geography of the participants from thirty-six countries spanned across a few continents, connecting distant dots such as Iceland, Tanzania and Taiwan. Such impressive diversity is a trademark feature of the event celebrating local culture and showcasing international talents. The focus is also on places and spaces where smaller communities strive to maintain the regional music scene. Hence, this year, the programme features showcase events pertaining to the culture of a specific region: Taiwan Music Flight, Africa NOW! and Fenno-Ugria Night. The latter traditionally presents collectives connected to Finno-Ugric heritage embracing ethnic groups who speak the Uralic languages. Although folk collectives are at the forefront, the most recent edition of Fenno-Ugria Night features unconventional examples. Tartu-based Langenu are a black metal band with lyrics composed in the Seto language, spoken, according to Statistics Estonia, by approximately 25,000 people. Though dressed in traditional shirts and singing in an unfamiliar language, Langenu transmit heavy guitar riff-driven uproar of universal energy. One might imagine them playing alongside first-wave black metal pioneers Venom and easily delivering the message despite a linguistic barrier. The band’s name translates as the Fallen.

Another showcase foregrounding the regional element is the Viljandi Folk Music Festival stage introducing acts of the eponymous openair. With black-and-white archival footage on the screens as if by magic matching their tempo, quartet Hraybery plays traditional tunes of Galicia, a territory along the southeastern border of Poland and the western border of Ukraine. The restored compositions are part of the mixed Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish heritage. The music casts a spell evoking a strong sense of homecoming.

Ultimately, three days of Tallinn Music Week are a reminder that things, no matter how different and distant, are intertwined. Tallinn and Estonia are not only about unique local culture deeply ingrained in the Finno-Ugric tradition but also about the historical connection and exchange with neighbouring countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Russia. Perhaps, this is why the Baltic state label doesn’t suit Estonia. The longtime co-existence of paganism and Christianity, as well as the presence of rulers (Denmark in the 13th-14th centuries, the Russian Empire and later the USSR), have infused the land with memories emerging like spectral beings in Tarkovsky’s Solaris.

Drawing from the direct source of her homeland, Estonian artist Mari Kalkun tells the Stories of Stonia, also the name of her album, released by the UK label Real World Records in 2023. In this work, musical instruments and textures seemingly interpret the dialogue between the ancient pagan traditions and the spirit of modernity. Based in Võru county, Southeastern Estonia, Kalkun masterfully conveys the message of the songs in the Võro dialect through powerful emotive vocals and ringing kannel arrangement (kannel is an Estonian version of zither). Augmented with soft synth pads and a murmur of electronic beats, this music encompasses various temporal and spatial realms. In the intimate cinema-like Erinevate Tubade Klubi (Club of Different Rooms), Kalkun takes her listeners on this journey.

Just like Estonia, the Balkan countries have been on the cultural crossroads. Hence, the idiosyncratic nature of the music from this region. North Macedonian duo Alembic seems to draw from mythical realms similar to those conjured by the Pensylvanian psychedelic unit Bardo Pond. The evocative nature of this music, comprising Fender Telecaster guitar, modular Korg, theremin and adventurous vocals, connects juxtaposing imagery: from Soviet avant-garde films to Kubla Khan-esque hazy scenery of the Middle East. At the dim space of F-Hoone, Iva Damjanovski (vocals, keyboards, theremin) and Viktor Tanaskovski (guitar, bass, mandola, vocals) effortlessly transfix the audience — the effect which ties in with the name of the collective. Alembic is an alchemical still that was in use during the classical antiquity era for the distillation of liquids.

A few blocks away from F-Hoone, Tanzanian duo Sisso&Maiko practice alchemy with the opposite effect. Nobody can stand still during this high-octane performance where the sound of traditional Taarab tunes is converted into chip music. Reciprocated by the younger members of the audience first, the contagious energy of this boisterous rhythm later overpowers the rest. To make their performance even more animated, the duo leaves their laptop station and shows a variation of a traditional dance while one of them holds a computer keyboard (utilised as a midi controller) on the back of his neck.

While the strong traditional component is evident, the festival’s programme embraces all imaginable music genres. Jazz Stage and Funk Embassy, Classical: NEXT and Metal Stage, you name it. A few venues focus on indie sound with broader references to shoegaze and dream pop. Despite the ubiquitous nature of the categories, Tallinn-based collective Mariin K has a fresh take on both. With an obvious penchant for melody, the four members navigate through tunes suffused in pink noise with joy and lightness. It’s hard to take the eyes away from guitarist and singer Mariin Kallikorm who brings intense tenderness to her well-executed Stratocaster riffs and intonations.

At the Backstage Records showcase, hosted by art gallery and music venue Fotografiska Tallinn, Icelandic five-piece band Oyama entered a similar realm. Playing songs from their recent album Everyone Left, the Reykjavík-based collective balances lush transparency of dream-pop with sonic build-up akin to Ágætis Byrjun-era Sigur Rós. Operating two guitars, bass, drums and Microkorg, the five know how to elicit moving and all-pervading sound.

The focus on the local culture and outward-looking approach is a combination that makes Tallinn Music Week a unique and rewarding experience. If such an attitude was taken as a role model in the world of politics, many current issues would be avoided.

Additional Photo Credits:

Langenu - Henri-Kristian Kirsip

Sisso&Maiko – Maria Tyutina

Oyama – Richie Yates

Alembic – Kaarel Antonov

Hraybery – ETK

Mari Kalkun – ETK