RIVER TONES: An Interactive Soundwalk
River Tones excerpt with Melody Chua, Constanza Pellicci and Andres Bosshard, Audio and video mp4, 4 mins 42 secs
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River Tones was a sonic walk along Zurich’s Wehrenbach. Led by sound artist Andres Bosshard, flutist Melody Chua, and vocalist Constanza Pellicci, the workshop invited participants to listen with and through the river. Chua wove delicate flute lines through the riverscape, while Pellicci responded with breath and voice; humming, whispering, echoing the current. Bosshard guided the act of listening, tracing the river’s histories and eddies; revealing how sound and movement merge into a fleeting fabric of stories, tones, and water. Participants recorded and reflected on these resonances, tracing vibrations so that words could flow to the rhythm of the river. What emerged was not a composition, but a dialogue of presence; a shared act of attunement where human and river voices intertwined. The walk became a living conversation; a way of sensing the river’s agency and co-creating meaning beyond language. From these encounters, a co-created glossary entry emerged; woven from videos, sounds, words, and gestures, offering a living trace of how humans and rivers think and move together.
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„Wenn ihr jetzt losgeht, dann macht ihr eine Transformation nicht nur vom Strom, vom Stadtlärm in den Murmelsturm. Unsere Zellen singen. Wenn wir den hören, kann uns nichts mehr passieren. Das ist eine starke Energie.“​
Teilnehmer River Tones
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“When you start walking, a transformation begins not only from the flow, from city noise into a murmuring storm. Our cells are singing. When we hear that, nothing can harm us anymore. It is a powerful energy.”
Participant River Tones
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„Der Fluss war lange vor mir schon da und wird lange nach mir noch da sein. Teil dieses Kreislaufs zu sein hat mit Demut zu tun.“
Teilnehmer River Tones
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“The river was here long before me and will still be here long after me. Being part of this cycle has to do with humility.”
Participant River Tones
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„Für mich ist der Fluss Unendlichkeit. Ich bin früher am Fluss entlanggelaufen und hatte das Gefühl, ewig weitergehen zu können. Der Fluss setzt seinen Lauf fort und mit ihm das Gefühl, dass er immer weiterfliesst und dass ich so weit gehen kann, wie ich möchte, mit dem Fluss an meiner Seite.“
Teilnehmer River Tones
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“For me, the river is infinity. I used to run along it, feeling I could go on forever. The river continues, carrying the sense that it will always move forward, and that I can go as far as I want, with the river going with me.”
Participant River Tones
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„Dieser Fluss fühlt sich wie ein geschlossener Ort an, an dem ich mich vollständig erholen kann. Wenn ich dem Wasser zuhöre, verbinde ich seinen Klang mit Widerstand, mit Steinen, mit Blubbern.“
Teilnehmer River Tones
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“This river feels like a closed place where I can fully recover. Listening to the sound of the water, I associate it with resistance, with stones, with bubbling.”
Participant River Tones
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Contributors:
Musicians: Constanza Pellicci, Melody Chua, Andres Bosshard
Video Credit: Nicolas Petit
Video Cut: Joslyne Ramazani
Photo Credits: Nicolas Petit, Hiromi Gut
Facilitating Institution: WE ARE AIA I Awareness in Art in collaboration with Guerilla Classics: Severine Antille, Alexandra Eichenauer, Hiromi Gut
Participants and Co-Creators:
Selin K., Eva K., Lis M., Grace R., Madalina M., Yasmin K., Anke Caroline B., Christopher S., Michelle R., Julieta S., Seleha L., Tina W., Anushka P., Gweneth M., Paloma A., Sabine G., Sharon De S., Laura D., Daniel S., Isabell E., Neklan U., Stefan P., Emdadlloh L., Verena J.
Curator: Martina Huber
Martina Huber is founder and curator of the cultural institution WE ARE AIA in Zurich and lco-lead of the River Landscapes research project. She established WE ARE AIA to develop transdisciplinary exhibitions and research that engage complex ecological, social and political questions through collaborative artistic practice. Her curatorial projects include exhibitions such as The Mouth Is for Speaking, Back to the Roots, and Experimental Ecology, which build bridges between art, science and public discourse. Huber’s work is grounded in expanding awareness through art and fostering new forms of collective knowledge production. ​
WE ARE AIA is a Zurich based cultural institution working at the intersection of art and science. We believe that contemporary art can create spaces in which the urgent ecological and sociopolitical questions humanity faces today can be negotiated through artistic research, exhibitions, and public programs.