Throughout the Fringe and hopefully continuing afterwards, Heldeke!’s been host to weekly Wednesday night Cellar Sessions, which runs alongside the first sauna session of the evening. These improvised sets pair Leo Sibul‘s electric guitar and effects pedals with Raptorjesus42‘s live mixing of synths and a variety-show of instruments. Part of the intent, according to the duo, was to inventively combine their shared musical interests to create a live experience; both performers have other projects, and wanted to “capture something interesting” in a space that developed their listening and responding more than songwriting and rehearsing. After a couple of private jam sessions, they devised the concept to take advantage of their relative newness at playing together, allowing the Tallinn Fringe Festival to be their lab for experimentation.
I dropped by a couple of sessions throughout the Fringe, beginning with the first, to see what they had cooking. Supplementing their music with ceiling-projected visualisations and real-time adjustments to audience feedback, the pair drew out soundscapes of showmanship and restraint as they played music like a game, trading spotlights, styles, and tempos. On the fly and off the cuff, Raptorjesus42’s genre switches challenged and responded to challenge from Lebo Sibul’s growling, ringing guitar. Over the course of the Fringe their stage style has evolved as much as their sound, fashion and technique gelling and morphing over time from pop to techno, upbeat then uptempo. Crowd requests range from increasing speed to darkening the tone, adding an instrument and making up lyrics, and the two keep up then go beyond, their instincts increasingly in sync.
On both nights there are more hits than misses, but even the misses reinforce the fact that this is made live and unrehearsed, two artists displaying fine musicianship as they play and interplay. Recordings may become available online, and it’s yet to be confirmed whether the sessions themselves will continue throughout the year. The final Cellar Session of the 2025 Tallinn Fringe is this Wednesday, 17 September at 1800. The festival itself ends 18 September, with three or more shows every night across town until then.
Author: Laurie
Laurie likes alliteration, ambiance, and lists with three things.
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