On Soundmatters, Canadian sound artist Jean-Francois Laporte magnifies life in unexpected places. Wind noises cut through roof shingles and skin in his recordings of a Montreal ice storm in the mesmerizing “electro-Prana,” while on “Ventre du Dragon” he uncovers 15 seconds of natural reverb inside an empty cargo ship, where droning brass horns sound like boats being swallowed up by fog. Laporte also indulges in dissonant excursions that challenge attention spans, namely the shrill 26 minutes of a skating rink’s cooling compressor on “Mantra,” and the sax and drums that struggle to fly in the nightmarish closer “Plentitude du Vide.” Fortunately, his noises that whisper still speak louder to the soul.