Estonian Artist Kristjan Kannukene Talks about Improvisation and HetkFest
- Nikita Menkov
- Sep 30
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 4
When I sat down with Estonian intermedia artist Kristjan Kannukene, I knew this conversation would be something special. Kristjan is not only the head of HetkFest, a young but already vital festival for improvised arts in Estonia, but also a musician whose work bridges sound installations, improvisation, and academic research. Currently pursuing his doctoral studies on the symbiosis of viola and voice, he has been exploring ways to merge different sound worlds into something entirely new. In our talk today, we delved into his artistic journey, the philosophy of improvisation, his collaborations, and of course, the story behind HetkFest and their release "Live at HETKfEST".
Nikita (Me): So, regarding creating in the moment — could you briefly explain what contemporary improvisation is? And let’s see, how is it different from other types of improvisation, for example, jazz?
Kristjan: Well, the term contemporary improvisation actually encompasses or has different types of improvisations. Every performance is right now, and we can use tools from different eras. Although, if you think of contemporary improvisation, we usually think of it as free improvisation, coming from the 60s in the US and Europe, connected also to free jazz in a way. But yeah, free improvisation and especially free jazz are social practices and also a little bit political. The free world is connected to different political thoughts of freedom, and especially in jazz, freedom of different groups of humans. When thinking of contemporary improvisation, for me, it's creation in the moment and with all the different tools we can use, different expressions. The word "improvisation" has some connotations to it; people sometimes think differently of this word, and it sometimes frightens people, or at least it seems to.
N: People don't like to meet with something unpredictable, right?
K: Sometimes that's true, yeah. And also, if there is complete freedom, then it seems like, you know, is it legit, or like anyone can do it? Which, of course, is the case — that everyone can do it. It's the meaning of improvisation.
N: Yeah. We cannot, like, judge it in the same way as we would judge, for example, classical performance, right?
K: Yes, definitely. And also, still there are people who focus more on improvising and their tools and vocabulary, and also reaction and listening. It really develops. And improvisation as a practice is really developing the human abilities, I would say, and musical abilities and interaction abilities, and especially listening — that we have to be really actively aware of everything around us. And there are different types of listening: the global listening, or focused, or listening for timbre, or interaction. So, yeah, I think in music especially, it's like an art form. It's like, of course, we can connect to chamber music as well, which is communication in music, but in free improvisation it's even more democratic. I would say that everybody can really express themselves freely at any moment. That should be the aim.
K: There are also types of improvisation that still focus on something, or when there's a big group, there is sometimes a conductor, and it actually helps. There are different improvising orchestras and also improvising choirs around the world. And I've also had a chance to be part of the London Improvisers Orchestra, which is a big group of people and very mixed backgrounds. And also some of the greatest improvisers are part of the orchestra. There is basically the conductor that gives signs; they use the conduction signs. It's a system developed by Patch Morris, who was an American brass player and improviser. They take the sign as a guidance; if they don't want to react to it, they don't have to do it. So there is always this personal freedom to choose whether to go with the guidance or just express yourself as you feel it's right.
N: I had classes focusing on that kind of improvisation. I especially loved playing the role of conductor.
K: Where was it?
N: A year ago I studied that for the whole two semesters in Lithuania.
K: Oh, yeah. Was it with Liudas (Liudas Mickunas) and Arnas (Arnas Mikalkenas)?
N: With Arnas. We also collaborated as composer and performer. We had like a percussion residency with him, four other performers, and three other composers, and I was writing music which was something in between improvisation and composition.
K: Ah, so comprovisation.
N: Yeah, comprovisation.
K: Comprovisation, yeah, which is actually a term. In the early 2000s there was one German researcher, Sandeep Bhagwati. He made the term. And this is what my doctoral creation is also about — all the concerts in four years are all comprovisations. So it's, yeah, we can use anything as a source of inspiration or take it as a score.
N: For example, John Cage scores with like funny drawings.
K: Yeah. This open notation discourse, which is actually also quite active in Estonia. There is one researcher, Jaak Siik, improvising pianist, who is dealing with it, and he did his doctoral thesis about it and currently teaches it.
N: Okay, let's go to the next question. As a listener, when you come to a contemporary improvisation performance, you often encounter sounds that are not conventionally beautiful, like dissonances, harsh sounds, fragmented motifs, noises. And why do you think that is the case? Why do contemporary performers avoid tonality, harmony in a common way?
K: I think it's really connected to the flow of spontaneous interaction with other musicians, performers, and also with audience and with the room itself. I personally interact quite a lot with the sounds of the audience. I really listen to the audience. And it's also a way of keeping the musical or artistic tension. It's really active listening. But I think using different extended techniques, as we call them, is just finding new ways of expressing. But also, if we only use them and if we get stuck to them, it's good to broaden the personal improvising language to different sides. And I personally think it's good to be able to improvise tonally as well. It's good to be able to do anything as an improviser and to have the tools and to be brave also to use them.
N: I noticed there was one moment in the record that you just released. Yeah, when you introduced this melancholic melody on viola, which really changed the direction of where the rest of the performance went. I think that was a very interesting move, and it kind of broke this chaotic structure a bit and took it to this slower direction. So let's actually switch to talking about your record. So how did you meet Heliä and Anne-Liise, and what brought you together to create this performance?
K: I met Anne-Liise in the music academy. I took voice improvisation lessons with her, and I was so happy that I can actually make all these kinds of sounds with my voice, and that it's actually a real thing to study and to do it academically, which I'm now doing with Anne-Liise. She's my supervisor in doctoral studies. And I had many years of lessons with her, still have. With both of us, Heliä and me. We both were in the improvisation master’s program, and we have just improvised together for years in different settings. Then I had this festival coming, and I really wanted to include my dear friends and colleagues and our dear teacher. It was a big honor for us. So, yeah, we're both voice improvisation children of Anne-Liise; we're part of her legacy in a way. And it was a big joy to perform together.
N: Was there any pre-planning involved in your performance?
K: Our performance at HetkFest was spontaneous. We planned that Anne-Liise uses also little instruments, and she chose these little bells and the ratchet.
N: Oh, the ratchet was very noticeable.
K: Yeah. And actually with Heliä, I thought she would be bringing her flute as well. But she came to Estonia and then she didn't have the flute, but I think it was good. So, just three voices and viola, and that was kind of it. Just the time frame as well that we aimed to perform around 25 minutes. And we had a stopwatch actually as well.
N: That's fascinating because that felt structured. Like, you could find that it starts rather rapidly, then it moves to a slower place. Then the elements of the first part are introduced again in the end, and with all kinds of textures. You could find one texture appearing here but not appearing in the other parts. It felt like a very meaningful delivery.
K: Good to hear. The form appears during the improvisation, and of course, we think with both sides of the brain — like more intuitive and more rational. The balance depends on the moment. But of course, we consciously also think of composition. It is a little bit like a live composition, although it's a little bit different field. I think improvisation is maybe more spontaneous and more interactive and really taking the ideas from each other and trying to develop them. You also need to remember your position in the process: what to do, how to interact. Should I imitate, or variate, or contrast, or start something new, or be silent? These are the five main interaction tools.
N: Deciding to do that with only voices, almost only voices, is an interesting choice. This voice — it's the most unstable instrument that we have. So, what fascinates you about voice?
K: I think it fascinates that it's really connected to ourselves. It's our true voice. We can express ourselves quite intuitively through voice. With instruments, it's outside of ourselves, but voice is inside. And the fact that it's fragile and always constantly changing, it's also interesting and good for improvisation. In the festival, there was Maggie Nicols, who is a legendary Scottish improviser — she was in the first generation of improvisers in London. She was the first lady who was part of the scene. And she's really important for the history of improvisation and also the practice of improvisation today. She does different workshops for all types of people: from the street or from the care homes or for musicians. And her voice is her instrument. When I had her workshop in Wales, I was visiting her then.
K: Just letting go evoked so many sounds and ways of expression I never could have done with a conscious mind. I was conscious of this happening, but I wasn't controlling it fully. And this kind of balance between the subconscious and conscious and also controlling, which we tend to do in music — we want to control everything in a way. Or just letting go and seeing what happens. I think in that sense voice can be really surprising and good for improvisation. I think voice is good because it's closest to us, and it's our own individual sound.
N: It's maybe a bit more philosophical discussion, but the idea of improvisation is something that only exists in the moment, at the same time you're making recordings, which is sort of encapsulation of the moment. What do you think about this duality?
K: I think this duality is really good because, yeah, we can never repeat any performance in any music exactly the same. And improvisation in that sense is the most unique — we cannot recreate it, and we shouldn't as well. If we try to recreate it, then it doesn't have the same energy or the same spontaneity or this activeness because we try to memorize something or interpret something. I think it's good to record improvisations personally, also for learning or for getting feedback. Of course, in the history of free improvisation, there were some people saying that improvisation should never be recorded. Fundamentally, it should not be. But there still appeared record labels focusing on improvising music. And people also change their minds too. They still record it.
N: Let's talk about HetkFest itself. What inspired you to organize it?
K: I was just thinking of the Estonian improvised music scene. Before, there was an improvised music festival which was active around seven years, I think. But after that, from 2010 or 2011, it's been quite empty; there wasn't an improvised music festival. So, I wanted to fill the gap and also create opportunities and bring people together. It all started with a phone call to Maggie Nicols, legendary Scottish improviser, two days before KultuuriKapital endowment application last November. I found the main artist of the festival and then two of my friends in Switzerland, Bosons duo. It was quite last minute; I wasn't sure if I would do it or not. And then I sent the application and got some little funding. It started really small, and then I just invited more people. Also, at first I thought of it as an improvised music festival, but I'm also part of one, a theatre group called Nähtamatu Theatre Invisible Theater — we do blindfolded performances. I've met my friend from there, and she said that maybe we could also perform at the festival. Then I realized that it should be an improvised arts festival that connects all different kinds of artwork together. The first edition, which happened this March, was connected to music performance and also more traditional or physical theater performance. Also, poetic performance.
N: I see. So, mostly you invited people that you were somehow already connected to.
K: Yeah.
N: As contemporary improvisation is already a big part of what you do anyway.
K: Yeah. I was organizing it all by myself. Also, half the funding I did myself, I also did all the design and the websites and everything. It was easier for me at first to invite people that I know, but in the future I would love to have open calls as well. I think it would be good and fruitful. Definitely.
N: And better funding.
K: Yes, yes. We are hoping for next year.
N: So, next year we can expect HetkFest 2026.
K: Yes. Actually, it's already in the calendar. It's from 13 to 15 March, hopefully in the Estonian Center of Contemporary Music. And now in the program there are already musical artists, dancers, a poet, and also hopefully theater will be part of it. And finding connections with visual art. Yeah, I'm open to suggestions as well. If people have ideas, they can just write to the HetkFest website.
N: Now, my last question for today would be, what kind of audience are you trying to attract?
K: That was the question for the first edition and after the first edition. I wanted to include the improvised music scene, which is maybe not so formed in Estonia. There were people from the scene, but there were also a lot of people who were completely new to contemporary improvisation, and their reaction and their comments were really positive.
N: Estonian people are struggling with creating connections between each other. But I think that this kind of festival could be a good glue between people, and it would be really nice to see it developing and growing.
K: For sure.
Speaking with Kristjan offered a glimpse into an artist who lives and breathes improvisation — not just as a musical practice but as a way of connecting people, disciplines, and ideas. With HetkFest already preparing for its next edition, it’s clear that Kristjan’s vision goes far beyond his own artistic path, it’s about creating spaces where voices, instruments, and stories can meet in the moment. I, for one, am excited to see how this festival and his work will continue to grow.
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