Our executive director, Darek Mazzone, met with Duo Ruut—two extraordinary Estonian musicians whose work feels like a living thread between tradition and experimentation. They sat down in a vegan café tucked inside Telliskivi Creative City, a repurposed industrial district that now pulses with the creative energy of Tallinn’s new generation. @duoruut builds their music around a shared zither—a single instrument they play together, seated face-to-face, creating intricate harmonies with voice and hand. Rooted in Estonian folk tradition, their sound is minimalist but emotionally expansive. It’s the kind of music that doesn’t just reflect history—it reinterprets it with sensitivity and invention. They spoke about Estonia’s layered past, its cultural resilience, and the way music, particularly communal singing, has been a force of identity and survival in Estonia. Their practice, intimate and meditative, feels like a continuation of that story. At SAMA, we seek out artists like Duo Ruut—those who carry the sacred and the contemporary in equal measure.