Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis (Greece) is a shakuhachi (traditional Japanese bamboo flute) player and improviser. Laonikos studied composition in London, where he first heard the shakuhachi. He then spent six years in Finland, where he trained as a wilderness guide, founded artArctica (an arts organisation supporting artists in the Arctic) and completed a masters dissertation at Sibelius Academy (Helsinki) exploring how being in wild natural environments affects group improvisation. Inspired by his wilderness experiences, Laonikos now seeks to explore the overlaps between wilderness experiences and music-making.