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

The installation opened on 5 April and will remain in operation for a full year until April 2027, coinciding with the cathedral’s 250th anniversary.

Every day at midday, 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 that last only a few milliseconds and originate 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 20262027, 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.

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).

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.

Further information here.