New releases last two weeks: Leftfield

Review: To mark the one-year anniversary of Reveries, Sonic Cathedral drops a new two-tracker that brings a Detroit reimagining to 'Vale' and 'Cadere'. Produced by John Hanson, aka Saltbreaker, the project features live improvisations by saxophonists Yali Rivlin and Thalamus Morris and cellist Jordan Hamilton. Each of them did their thing in a single take with Hanson composing around their performances, and the result is a graceful blend of serene melancholy and rhythmic sophistication. Oodles of warmth and organic textured is added to the originals and these interpretations act as a fine tribute to Detroit's enduring uniqueness.

Review: Ezekiel Honig is a New York City-based artist who founded two vital labels, Anticipate Recordings and Microcosm, and now he is back with a new album on 12K. Unmapping The Distance Keeps Getting Closer is a tender and honest work of art that wears its heart on its sleeve with piano, horns and broken rhythms all characterising the palette. Field recordings are also worked into the arrangements to add a real narrative and to really evoke a sense of place. Add in plenty of textural and tactile motives and you have a journeying album full of melancholy but also a sense of hope.

Review: Hyldipi's impressive and immersive debut album Heilun distils Iceland's stark natural grandeur into 90 minutes of superb ambient soundscapes. Every piece is a spontaneous expression improvised through meditative states using only guitar and basic hardware. Textured and emotionally rich, the album invites you into an internal voyage of discovery. 'Vor' opens with solemn warmth, while 'Sorg' embraces imperfection in the form of tape hiss, fretboard creaks and subtle dissonance, which all lend it a human touch. Hyldipi's approach treats sound as something to be channelled, not owned. Heilun is one of those albums that is not just heard-it's felt, like mist hanging over a quiet fjord, gently shifting with each breath.

Review: Hadley Roe is a UK-based artist whose debut album on peerless ambient label Past Inside The Present adds up to a healing sonic journey crafted with electric guitar, synths and software trickery. Themes are drawn from Roe's personal struggles with mental health, trauma and isolation so make for sounds that blend melancholy, bliss and moments of calm and comfort. Take the serene 'The First Day' or the evolving 'No One Ever Touched Me Before You' - both are hugely emotive and absorbing for the way they patiently unfurl. Roe's ability to express herself through intuitive, wordless music is truly standout.

Review: Deep Valley is a new collaborative work by Australian artists Seaworthy aka Cameron Webb and Matt Rosner and they came together for it during a week-long residency at Bundanon Art Museum in New South Wales. The property which was gifted to the Australian public by artists Arthur and Yvonne Boyd in the 1990s offers a unique landscape along the Shoalhaven River and is surrounded by sandstone cliffs and diverse wildlife. Drawing inspiration from Boyd's belief that "you can't own a landscape," Deep Valley combines the inspiration of that setting with environmental recordings, guitars, piano, and electronic processing all of which aim to highlight the transient nature of ecosystems and encourage you to reconnect with the sounds of nature.