Explore by audio with Soundtrails new app

Plugged in ... Soundtrails uses GPS to track your location so, as you walk, you trigger site-specific stories.

If you’ve got a smartphone, you’ve probably got an app that uses GPS mapping to help you get around.

Now that same mapping technology has been adapted for a whole other use — story telling.

Founder Hamish Sewell conducts an interview for Soundtrails.

The initiative is called Soundtrails, and a new version of Soundtrails is being launched at the Old Ambo Station in Nambour tomorrow night (March 18).

Soundtrails began on the Sunshine Coast to bring to life streets and regions of Australia through compellingly produced audio experiences. It uses GPS to track your location so, as you walk, you trigger site-specific stories.

The app contains stories of significance and presents them in a way that is deeply and emotionally engaging as well as being educational.

Now in its 8th year Soundtrails has become an iconic presence in many communities and has set a benchmark for cultural tourism in Australia.

Founder Hamish Sewell says the new app raises the bar even further.

“We have been working hard to allow users to go even deeper beneath the surface and to better connect to a location through audio storytelling. The added functionality and user experience enlivens and enriches our Soundtrails stories. This ensures those plugging in with Soundtrails have a fully immersive and authentic cultural experience which reflects that community, its stories and its characters.

“At a time when Australians are being encouraged to travel locally, Soundtrails V2 is perfectly timed to provide a rich and rewarding experience for all.”

Along with Maleny-based developers CoCreations, Soundtrails helps provide communities with a unique means of reaching visitors to their destinations. “With the new version, we are marrying sophisticated and contemporary technology with good old fashioned storytelling to provide user friendly and cost-effective cultural tourism options for Australian communities and their visitors.

“We are keen to work with communities and producers and to continue to add to our Soundtrails family with the new version of the app.”