THE LOGOS: 4,000 COSMIC SIGNALS TRANSFORMED INTO SOUND INSIDE A FINNISH CATHEDRAL

OULU, FINLAND — A new sound installation opening at Oulu Cathedral on Easter Sunday will transform more than 4,000 mysterious cosmic signals into immersive spatial audio.

Created by British-German artist and creative technologist Andrew Melchior in collaboration with Kiyoshi Masui of the MIT Kavli Institute, philosopher Timothy Morton of Rice University, and cathedral dean Satu Saarinen, The Logos turns real astrophysical data into a daily sonic ritual inside the historic cathedral.

The installation opens April 5 and will run for a full year until April 2027, coinciding with the cathedral’s 250th anniversary.

Each day at noon, The Logos presents a one-hour procedural composition, filling the neoclassical cathedral — designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1832 — with sonified data from the CHIME radio telescope in British Columbia, Canada, the most prolific detector of Fast Radio Bursts.

Cosmic signals from billions of light years away

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are intense flashes of radio energy lasting only milliseconds, originating from sources billions of light years away. First detected in 2007, their origins remain one of astrophysics’ great mysteries.

The CHIME/FRB collaboration now detects several bursts per day and has catalogued more than 4,000 to date. The Logos represents one of the most extensive artistic sonifications of Fast Radio Burst data ever undertaken.

“The fast flashes will echo as snare-like beats bouncing through the cathedral,” said Masui. “The sweeping dispersion of the signal — where different radio frequencies arrive at slightly different times — creates harmonies between high and low tones. It should feel rich and layered, while also revealing something real about how these signals travel across billions of years of cosmic space before reaching Earth.”

Listening across deep time

For Melchior, the installation explores how humans encounter phenomena that vastly exceed ordinary scales of time and perception.

“These signals have travelled billions of years through space before reaching Earth,” Melchior said. “The Logos brings these extraordinary ancient signals into this inner space — not to explain them, but to listen with them.”

“Listening across billions of years might sound abstract,” Morton said. “But when we actually hear something, it becomes intimate. The vastness of cosmic time doesn’t push us away — it reminds us of our own bodies, our own capacity to listen, here on Earth.”

A shared space for listening

“People are in the same cathedral space, listening to the same sound, yet each experiences it in their own unique way,” Saarinen said. “It is wonderful to welcome a work like this to Oulu Cathedral — a place that has gathered people together for centuries. Bringing the sounds of the universe into this space invites us to reflect on both the vastness beyond us and the shared human experience of listening.”

Year-long programme of performances and public events

Alongside the daily noon ritual, The Logos will host performances and public events throughout 2026–2027, including appearances by Helsinki-based artist Heli Hartikainen and ambient music pioneer Alex Paterson of The Orb, as well as community choirs and talks exploring the intersection of art and astrophysics.

A new work titled Requiem for the Air That Held Us by Andrew Melchior and Miikka Lehtoaho will also premiere as part of the programme.

An interactive VST instrument allowing musicians and audiences to experiment with sonified Fast Radio Burst data will be available as a free download at www.thelogos.art.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About The Logos

The Logos is a year-long immersive sound installation at Oulu Cathedral (5 April 2026 – April 2027) commissioned as part of Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture. It transforms astrophysical data from more than 4,000 Fast Radio Bursts detected by the CHIME radio telescope into daily one-hour procedural compositions. The installation also features in the Lumo Art & Tech Festival (November 2026). Further information: www.thelogos.art

About Andrew Melchior

Andrew Melchior is a British-German artist and creative technologist whose practice spans sound art, film and emerging technology. Previous work includes pioneering BowieNet with David Bowie, serving as Technical Advisor for Björk Digital at MoMA, and encoding Massive Attack’s Mezzanine into synthetic DNA with ETH Zürich. He is Founder and Director of Genotone Ltd and CTO of Massive Attack.

About Oulu2026 

Oulu2026, European Capital of Culture in 2026, invites Europe to find inspiration in the brave hinterlands of northern Finland. The year-long programme awakens the entire region, including Oulu and its 39 partner municipalities, through cultural events from all over Europe that bring joy and creativity into people’s lives every day. From near, far, and everywhere in between, Oulu2026 offers the chance to experience world-class culture like never before. 

From unique winter ceremonies and Sámi culture to summer’s wild urban culture, local culinary delights, and autumn’s dazzling light art, Oulu2026 transforms the region into a stage for international art, technology, northern contrasts, and Arctic flavours. Residents and visitors alike will discover culture thriving everywhere – in nature, on waterways, and in urban life. www.oulu2026.eu 

Join the conversation: @oulu2026official #oulu2026 #culturalclimatechange 

Key collaborators

Professor Kiyoshi Masui — Astrophysicist, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research; member of the CHIME/FRB collaboration

Professor Timothy Morton — Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English, Rice University; author of Hyperobjects and Being Ecological

Dean Satu Saarinen — Dean of Oulu Cathedral

Available for interview

Andrew Melchior (artist/creator); Professor Kiyoshi Masui (MIT astrophysicist); Professor Timothy Morton (philosopher, Rice University); Dean Satu Saarinen (Oulu Cathedral).

● International press contacts:

• Henri Turunen, Oulu2026 Programme Manager – Henri.Turunen@oulu2026.eu
• Lasse Launimaa, Oulu2026 Marketing & Communications Specialist – Lasse.Launimaa@oulu2026.eu

● Media kit here.