How the Cortège app teases your ears with Montreal's city sounds

Imagine walking through Montreal's Old Port on a sunny fall day. What do you hear? Maybe it's the clip-clop of horseshoes on cobblestone streets or tourists chattering behind their clicking camera shutters.

But what if the Old Port instead sounded more like the futuristic world of Tron than the familiar sounds of New France?

That's the idea behind Cortège, a new app developed by media collective Projet EVA as part of Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations.

Using GPS technology, a robotic voice from the app leads users to select locations in the city, where they'll hear unique soundscapes by Quebec composer Roger Tellier-Craig.

So, how does it work?

Let's say a user is on McGill University's busy downtown Montreal campus, where the sounds of construction, traffic, and chatting students fill the air.

Through the app, bustling McTavish Street sounds like a wonderland filled with running streams, dream-like music and chirping birds.

You can have a listen here:

Students near McGill said Cortège's track was a welcome change.

"[It sounds like] a lot of people are working, but there's some like, magical vibe to it. I feel like it's straight from a fairy tale, kind of," said Gautam Mohanlal, a computer science student.

"It sounds like somewhere where there's water and birds and animals... sounds like a tropical environment maybe," said student Emma Long.

I, Robot will be your guide...

If following a robotic voice around sounds a little dystopian to you — well, that's part of the point.

The creators wanted Cortège to play on the idea of users allowing apps like Tinder and functions like a phone's GPS tell them what to do.

"What we wanted people to experience is to enter a fiction where they feel a bit manipulated, and will be a bit critical of all these applications we use to make decisions in our place," said Étienne Grenier, who created the app alonsgide co-founder Simon Laroche.

How can you use Cortège?

Cortège can be downloaded for free, on iPhone or Android devices. The app requires a Wi-Fi or a data connection, as well as headphones.

It will be active for the next five years, and updated with new features and interactive missions for players over the next three years.