Installation
Spectra Harp
An interactive installation where periodic elements become spectral lines through sound and image.
Inquire →
MEHMET ÜNAL · COSMIC SYMPHONY
The universe.
In concert.
Atomic light becomes music. Music becomes a world you can step inside.
On stage & beyond · 04 projects
Selected Performances
From concert stages to immersive worlds. Discover the music, instruments, and collaborations behind each project.
Ankara · 2026
CSO Concert Hall
Cosmic Symphony's debut at Ankara's CSO Concert Hall. Performed live with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra, custom-built instruments, projection mapping, and a score composed specifically for the room's acoustics.
Orchestra size100+
Audience4,000+
TicketsSold out
A UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES
Cosmic Symphony
An exploration of the universe through sound. Created by Mehmet Ünal, the project translates the light of atoms into music: frequencies into notes, elements into voices, built in collaboration with NASA through the Beyond the Light exhibition.
The name echoes Johannes Kepler's Harmonices Mundi (1619), where the orbits of the planets were first described as a silent music. Four centuries later, the same idea returns: this time the song is audible, and the instrument is the periodic table.
Renditions
Solo, chamber, symphony.
The same work, performed in three forms, shaped by the room, the night, the audience. Move the slider to see each rendition.
1
Solo
Mehmet Ünal alone with his custom instruments. An intimate hour, close to the audience.
NASA x ARTECHOUSE · Houston · 2024
NASA Collaboration
A 26 minute immersive journey created in collaboration with ARTECHOUSE and built with NASA data, cinematic visuals, and multidimensional sound, focused on the perception of light. Honored with the Red Dot Design Award for its approach at the intersection of science and art.
Research
The accompanying paper.
Cosmic Symphony is practice-based research. We document what we make as we make it. The paper records the methods, instruments and choices behind the work. The research is ongoing; this is a release along the way, not a final word.
Revised
Current edition
Title
The Sound of Light: Sonification of Atomic Emission Spectra into Musical Scales and Timbres
Author
Mehmet Ünal
Sound Technologies, Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul
Version
V2
Revised edition
Version 2 supersedes the earlier draft. Revised throughout and edited for clarity. New releases follow as the practice unfolds.
20M+ Views Across Social
Instruments, performances, and behind-the-scenes work built for Cosmic Symphony, drawing over twenty million views across social media in the past six months. More work releasing this season.
The Cosmic Symphony App
Turn every atom into a playable instrument. Available now inside Togg, Turkey's smart vehicle. Mobile launch later this year.
Selected Installations
Three ways to experience the relationship between matter, light, and sound. Explore each work or get in touch to bring it to your space.
Installation
Resonance
A sound experience where tones unique to atoms transform into ambient and meditative soundscapes.
Inquire →Installation
Phase
Discover how atomic light transforms into sound; connect with the fundamental rhythm of the universe.
Inquire →M4L Devices
Tools from the studio.
Max for Live devices built while making the work. Soon to be released so anyone can use these methods inside Ableton Live. Stay tuned.
Microtonal ScalerCosmic ScalePick any element from the periodic table and Cosmic Scale turns its spectrum into a playable scale, pitch-shifting every connected MPE instrument to match. One device, every element's microtonal gamut.
Additive SynthesizerCosmic TimbreBuilds each element's timbre from its NIST emission wavelengths. Additive synthesis stacks the partials so you hear the sound of the element itself: hydrogen, neon, gold.
Microtonal InterfacePhaseA custom Max for Live device that maps a circle onto a stretched cloth, so the performer plays element-based microtonal scales by touching the fabric. One ring, many notes.
Artworks for Rooms
Limited canvases composed from the same atomic spectra and field patterns that drive the live work. Available as commissions and collectible pieces for hotels, residences, and private collectors.
Mehmet Ünal
Istanbul-based composer, sound designer, and software developer working at the intersection of music, physics, and technology. He turns atomic spectral lines into timbre, translating the building blocks of matter into music.
Through Beyond the Light, his collaboration with NASA, Ünal converts emission spectra into microtonal compositions performed on instruments he designs himself. Recipient of the Red Dot Design Award, International Design Awards, Codawards, German Design Awards, and the Aesthetica Art Prize.
The Ensemble
One score, many voices
Mehmet Ünal's vision reaches the stage through a tight ensemble of artists, technologists and producers. Each performance is shaped by the people behind it.
Melodi ToprakArtist Manager
Melike ÖzkanUI/UX Designer
Eser ÇobanUX Researcher / Art Licensing
Alican OkanCreative Director / Stage Manager
Barış KıratlıCreative Producer
Taha C. YıldırımMotion Graphic Designer
Süleyman YılmazCreative Technologist
Egemen ErtuğrulCreative Technologist
Berkay DelibaşDesign Technologist
Riccardo SellanTechnical Sound Designer
Boran BaşarTechnical Director
Kerem DemirayakBusiness Manager
Reha HendemTour Manager