Lumina takes on a new form this autumn as the audiobook version of the novel is released on digital streaming services. The audiobook is narrated by voice actor and singer Christina Daous; through her performance, the world of Lumina, Finnish mythology, and the story’s characters can be experienced in full audio for the first time.
However, the journey toward the audiobook did not begin with a conventional production process. Before the current version, we set out to explore a much bigger question: what would Lumina sound like if, instead of a standard audiobook, we created something akin to a movie without visuals?
The concept of a “movie for the ears”
Together with Christoffer Weiss, we began developing the concept for *Lumina – An Immersive Audio Experience*. The goal was to create a next-generation audio drama combining acting, music, sound design, and innovative audio technology.
We wanted to explore just how far a listener could be transported using sound alone. Could the listener feel as though they were right in the middle of *Lumina’s* world—in a Finnish forest, surrounded by spells and mythical creatures—rather than simply listening to a story about it?
Finnish mythology—and specifically the authentic, ancient incantation poems featured in the work—offered particularly compelling material for this project. Through sound, music, and a spatial audio environment, it was possible to imbue them with a whole new kind of power.
We planned the production with an ambitious team. In addition to Weiss and myself, the team included sound engineer Tomas Ihonen (Fortress Soundworks), Atmos mixer and binaural audio specialist Juhana Vihervaara, composer and musician Mikko Heikinpoika, and actors Juha-Pekka Mikkola and Christina Daous.
The production also explored the possibilities of new technologies, such as speech-to-speech technology, Dolby Atmos spatial audio, and binaural mixing. The aim was to construct a three-dimensional soundscape that would envelop the listener when experienced through headphones.
The immersive *Lumina* project resulted in a demo.
From the immersive audio production originally envisioned, a demo emerged that allowed us to experience firsthand what *Lumina* might sound like.
This experiment has been invaluable to us. It offered an opportunity to explore a new form of storytelling and to see how the world of Finnish mythology could be built through sound.
Now, we want to share the demo with the public.
Listen to the *Lumina – Immersive Audio Experience* demo here:
I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the entire production team—and Christoffer Weiss in particular—for the hard work, ideas, and creativity poured into this project. Developing a new type of production always requires people willing to experiment with something where the outcome is not yet known.
The audio journey continues as a traditional audiobook
*Lumina* has now been released as a full audiobook, narrated by Christina Daous. Christina was involved during the development phase of the immersive audio experience, so it is especially wonderful that her voice is the one guiding the listener through the entire *Lumina* story.
In the audiobook, listeners can experience the *Lumina* fantasy adventure—a world drawing on Finnish mythology—and the story’s incantations in a whole new way. The written word transforms into sound, adding yet another layer to the story.
Over the years, *Lumina* has grown into a world that transcends the book itself, and various experiments have been part of that journey. The immersive demo was one of them. Experiments with audio production have been conducted, and the full audiobook—releasing September 2026 —is now available to a wider audience.
And perhaps one day we will return to the original idea:
a movie for the ears.
The *Lumina* audiobook is available in Finnish on audiobook streaming services such as:
English 
Finnish