Laonikos Psimikakis Chalkokondylis is a London-based shakuhachi player who creates patient, expansive soundscapes at the intersection of acoustic ecology and ambient music. He performs traditional honkyoku music, min'yo (folk) and contemporary music.

Laonikos Psimikakis Chalkokondylis is a shakuhachi player and teacher based in London. He is Head of Programmes at Sound and Music and on the board of the European Shakuhachi Society. Laonikos performs traditional honkyoku music as well as min'yo (folk) and contemporary music. In his own work, he creates expansive soundscapes rooted in dialogue with the natural world. His debut album loess (Slow Tone Collages, 2022) captures two years of improvised shakuhachi and electronics recordings along River Lea, described as "some of the slowest music you've heard" (BAMBOO Magazine).

He has performed at Barbican Centre, Kings Place, and internationally across Malaysia and Finland, with features on BBC Radio 3 and Resonance FM. Recently, he recorded shakuhachi for Midori Komachi's composition for the Japan Pavilion at London Design Biennale 2025, designed by SEKISUI HOUSE - KUMA LAB and curated by Clare Farrow, and performed at HYPER Japan 2025.

Laonikos Psimikakis Chalkokondylis (b. 1989) is a composer, shakuhachi player and arts leader in London. He is Head of Programmes at Sound and Music and a board member of the European Shakuhachi Society. Laonikos works at the intersection of acoustic ecology, ambient music and improvisation, creating patient, expansive soundscapes that invite listeners into deeper dialogue with the natural world.

His debut album loess (Slow Tone Collages, 2022) captures two years of improvised recordings for shakuhachi and electronics along the banks of River Lea. Described as "very patient music… some of the slowest music you've heard" (Clive Bell, BAMBOO Magazine), the work demonstrates his commitment to adopting the timescale of the more-than-human world—listening, blending and reimagining our place within the biosphere.

Laonikos has performed at venues such as Barbican Centre, Kings Place, The Place, and internationally across Malaysia and Finland, and his work has been featured on BBC Radio 3 and Resonance FM. Recently, he recorded shakuhachi for the Japan Pavilion at London Design Biennale 2025, composed by Midori Komachi as part of an installation by SEKISUI HOUSE - KUMA LAB curated by Clare Farrow and performed at HYPER Japan 2025.

A Making Tracks Fellow (2020) and recipient of an Arts Council England DYCP Grant (2022-23), Laonikos studied under Kakizakai Kaoru. He holds a Global Music MA from Sibelius Academy (University of the Arts Helsinki), where he studied with Nathan Riki Thomson and Outi Pulkkinen, and trained in composition with Paul Newland at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

His creative practice is informed by his training as a wilderness guide and years living in Finland, rooted in exploring how we might blend into the natural world in playful, creative, and nourishing ways. Laonikos is an accredited professional coach and also supports artists in their personal and creative growth. At the heart of his work is a belief in music as a force for peace, connection, and transformation.

"This is very patient music. Calm, as you might expect, and expansive - our ears expand to listen along with and through the musician, as he attempts to adopt the timescale of the creatures that inhabit this environment. The player's attention is steady and his stamina impressive, in what may be some of the slowest music you've heard."

- Clive Bell (BAMBOO Magazine, 2023)

The shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese bamboo flute known for its rich, breathy tone and wide expressive range. Originally used by Zen Buddhist monks as a tool for meditation, it has a long history in both classical and contemporary music. Traditional honkyoku repertoire often explores the threshold between the controlled and the uncontrolled, inviting so-called "non-musical" sounds—breath, silence, ambient noise—into the fabric of the music.