Andrew Melchior
Oulu Cathedral
April 2026-April 2027
Oulu 2026
in association with
MIT Kavli Institute
The Logos sonifies Fast Radio Burst data, preserving the structure of each signal in its translation from radio frequency to audible sound
We built instruments to detect what our bodies cannot. Radio telescopes such as CHIME in Canada receive signals that have crossed billions of light-years, compressing cosmic timescales into fractions of a second.
But detection is not the same as encounter. The Logos closes that gap, translating the structure of each burst from radio frequency into sound, so that what was merely data becomes something felt, something present in the room with you.
Oulu Cathedral, 2026
The Logos is installed at Oulu Cathedral, Finland, as part of the European Capital of Culture 2026 programme. The cathedral acts as both venue and instrument — its stone walls and resonant interior giving physical dimension to signals that have travelled further than anything else we have ever heard.
Audio System Inventory
12-channel spatial audio system (4.4.4)
Compute
1 × Apple Mac mini
1 × Dante Virtual Soundcard
Network
2 × Gigabit Ethernet switches
Cat6 Ethernet infrastructure
Dante I/O
12 × Dante AVIO analogue outputs
Loudspeakers
4 × Genelec 4040A
max SPL 112 dB
45 Hz – 20 kHz
dispersion 100° × 100°
4 × Genelec S360
max SPL 118 dB
36 Hz – 20 kHz
dispersion 95° × 75°
4 × Genelec 7382A
max SPL 130 dB
15 Hz – 100 Hz
dual 15″ drivers
Total loudspeakers: 12
Total LF drivers: 16
Total amplifier power: ≈ 4.5 kW
Maximum system output
≈ 136 dB peak (combined sub array)
System frequency range
15 Hz – 20 kHz
Effective spatial coverage
≈ 100° horizontal × 100° vertical (height layer)
≈ 95° horizontal × 75° vertical (main layer)
Spatial format
4.4.4 immersive array
Network audio protocol
Dante