Field Test: Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 II M-Mount Lens

Overview
The Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 II M-Mount lens is a fast, manual focus lens. When used with the VM-E close-focus adapter, and with a camera such as the Sony A7s, the lens can produce some stunning images at low light levels.

Note that without the close-focus adapter, the lens is limited to a 50cm minimum focus distance. With the close-focus adapter, the minimum focus distance is extended to 27.7cm. This difference is massive, and the close focusing with the adapter makes for a much more versatile lens. In my opinion, this lens is not worth using without the inclusion of the VM-E close focus adapter if supported by the camera body.

I was recently in Bali, and used this lens exclusively for the duration of the trip. I was very happy with many of the pictures, however the lens did have some quirks.

The dream-like rendering of the lens sits in strong contrast with the almost sterile output of some of the native FE lenses (the brilliant Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens comes to mind). I was expecting the bokeh to be more "swirly", judging some photos by others; however, I was pleasantly surprised in this regard.

The lens does not feel too large or too heavy on the A7s; in my opinion, it balances nicely. However, it is heavier than many native FE lenses.

The lens seems a little soft at times. This appears to be a trade-off against the beautiful way the colours and transition from in-focus to out-of-focus areas are rendered.



Pros: 
- Dream-like rendering and beautiful bokeh
- Excellent subject isolation
- Great for low-light photography
- Manual focusing feels very smooth
- Solid construction
- Perfect for close and mid-range shots


Cons: 
- A little soft at times
- VM-E adapter takes some getting used to, as there are essentially two focus rings
- Not so good for long-range and landscape shots
- Obvious vignetting
- Some chromatic aberration
- Only worth it if shooting extensively at f1.2; not so worth it if extensively shooting at f2 and below



Examples: 

Octablog Reviews 222222 A.D.

"If you’re into music that sounds like its made by chill robots from another dimension then little-scale has got your fix."

Read here: http://octalblog.com/little-scale-222222-a-d/

I'm On Pyongyang Plastics

http://pyongyangplastics.wikispaces.com/home

Matt Nida on Recent little-scale Releases

http://mattnida.tumblr.com/post/80516551135/listen-purchase-a-part-of-me-is-a-part-of-you-by

Andrew Kilpatrick Writes About little-scale

http://www.8bitx.com/chiptuneswin/andrew-kilpatrick-talks-chiptune-and-hiatuses/

Lost City 2013 Highlight: Robin Fox

Robin Fox's audio visual performance was transcendental and the audience hypnotised, and emotionally and physically purified.

Lost City 2013 Highlight: Sleep ∞ Over

Forever by Sleep ∞ Over is an amazing album, and Stefanie Franciotti's live performance did not disappoint.

Anti Laptop Music Event #1 Review by Aplord

"The sounds are the important thing, not how they get made and these sounds were excellent. Deep, rich sounds that were clearly electronic, warm and a long way away from some atmospheric pad that you find tucked in amongst the presets."


Read more here: http://aplord.com/?p=325

Merzbow, Live in Sydney on 11/5 and 13/5

11/5

13/5

Transcendental. Moving. Physical. Experiential. Emotional.

Blip Festival Australia 2012 Retrospekt Write Up

David Kudrev has written about his time at Blip Festival Australia 2012 on the Retrospekt website.

"I consider Melbourne to be a home away from home. The vibrancy of the city and what it has to offer just astounds me! From the smallest of things like the great breakfast places and putting kebabs in Turkish bread to the eclectic choice of gigs, venues and music festivals in which to participate, perform and attend."

Read more here: http://www.retrospekt.com.au/2012/03/blip-festival-australia-2012-write-up/

I Am Still Breathing Mini-review on Baby Soft Murder Hands

Here: http://babysoftmurderhands.com/2012/01/breathing-little-scale/

Disquiet.com on Improvisation WIth Field Recordings - Volume 1

Marc Weidenbaum of Disquiet.com has posted a review of my recent collaboration with Tristan Louth-Robins.

"The duo did a solid job of locating moments when the unique properties of their improvisation come to distinguish themselves, when the field recordings are prevalent versus when the relative artificiality of the introduced synthesis is more apparent, and when beats give way to a misty atmosphere."

Read the full write up here.

Review: New Music At Emu #2: Robert Curgenven and Tristan Louth-Robins

Last Sunday I went to the second concert in the New Music At EMU series. The sound artist Robert Curgenven presented his only concert in Adelaide and was supported by EMU's own Tristan Louth-Robins.

Tristan performed first, presenting a pleasant mix of field recordings, sonic manipulations and slow-moving, thoughtful melodic elements within the context of laptop performance. I have seen Tristan perform a number of times, and I have to say that the material he presented in this set (all of which was new) is my favourite of his work so far. Very well composed and executed, his work has a strong sense of sonic subtlety whereby beautiful audio landscapes are built up over time, and straddle the lines between sound art, performance and pop aesthetic.

Robert's performance was more manual and hands on than Tristan's in the sense that the sound artist did not make use a computer or laptop, and instead relied on technology such as multiple CD players for audio playback of his material. The performance consisted of the mixing and mangling of multiple audio sources in real time. His set was both powerful and somehow soothing, in the sense that the audience can simply 'let go' and surrender to a torrent of sonic energy. An excellent set.


All in all, the evening was inspirational, and I want to thank Robert and Tristan for playing. Adelaide needs more of this!

Save 2! 4! On My Format Festival Performance

Adam Monkhouse, who writes the Adelaide music oriented blog Save Two! Four! has written a brief post on my performance at the Format Festival last Thursday. Includes some photos. Read it here. Make sure to check out the rest of his blog with local happenings and reviews.

Timothy Carroll: The Future of Australian Folk Music?

Two days ago I heard a beautiful song on the radio, Timothy Carroll's Alicia's Song. Intrigued, I purchased the album for Bread & Circuses. Although a few of the songs are a little too mainstream for me (for lack of a better word), there are some amazing tracks that more than make up for it. My personal favourites are Danshyttan, Under the Blackwoods and of course Alicia's Song.

The thought that 'some of the tracks are too mainstream for me' brings up some interesting questions, such as what makes one folk track more mainstream than others? I think that for my tastes, part of what draws me to folk music is the perception on the part of the audience of some sense of authenticity - and how well this sense of authenticity is manufactured by using appropriate production techniques, intelligent songwriting and a convincing performance.

A successful folk music song for me is one where the songwriter is able to create the illusion of authenticity (both in terms of a powerful narrative and emotional content) and convey this sense convincingly through the recorded medium.

Anyway, I digress.

For me, the answer is 'probably yes'.

Carl Testa: Uncertainty

I have needed some new music to get me going, to inspire me. I feel like I've been listening to the same music for too long, it's been stagnating my mind, my thoughts. I'm sure that the majority of the readers of this blog now this feeling as well.

Along came my salvation in the form of Carl Testa's 'Uncertainty' album, his debut recording as improvisation ensemble leader. This set of ten tracks features sparse instrumentation and improvisation that results in music at times delicate and at others brutal. In terms of orchestration, the highlight was the varied and deliberate use of percussion of various kinds.

The highlight of the album is surely the track "Pull" - quite inspirational to say the least.

Everyone go out and get it: http://carltesta.net/uncertainty_CD.htm

Read more about Carl and his works: http://carltesta.net/about.htm

Fringe Festival: The Blue Collection

I went to see an excellent live performance last night which was part of The Blue Collection exhibition at Art Space in the Festival Centre, in Adelaide. This was a part of the ongoing Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Three performers - Eugene Ughetti, with Matthias Schack-Arnott and Fleur Green - played a percussion performance work on a set of blue glass works that were (for the most part) created specifically as glass percussion instruments. Objects such as bowls, cups, plates and saucers as well as more obsure shapes such as domes and a number of 'glass xylophones' occupied Arts Space.

The performance itself was amazing, so congratulations to the percussionists and to Eugene, the composer of the works. Of course, I do have to mention that it was all very serious business, which I'm not sure is always a good thing but that it just my take on it. I suppose an absolute sense of seriousness fits well with certain art music situations, but maybe I'm a tad too sarcastic and cynical these days, I don't know.

The exhibition and the performance were presented stunningly - with an excellent sense of balance and space. I have seen similar percussion and music-type events to this one at various festivals in the past.

However, I do have to say that what sets this one apart from the rest is that the glass and the objects are not treated as a superficial gimmick used to draw in crowds. Instead, the exploration of object and sound is carried out to an intense depth, and this is something that shone through in the musical work as well as the way in which the performers treated their instruments.

To some degree, I am reminded of the idea of focused listening versus textured listening. While a different approach to composition using these objects might have resulted in music that favoured an overall, more general mode of listening, the spacial elements and the mix and voicing of the glass objects definetely encouraged a more focused mode of listening.

In a way, this work reminds me of a sort of anti-musique concrete. What do I mean with this? Well, instead of de-clicheing found objects and their sounds using recording technology, objects that appear to be found objects but are in fact specifically created instruments. Furthermore, the setting of the objects in an exhibition space seems to highlight the idea that many of the objects seem to have a prototypical function, and the visual nature of the performance helps to marry this idea of function with the sounds that are created.

Finally, I have to say that when people come to a concert, they should act like they are coming to a concert. They shouldn't leave halfway through a movement. They shouldn't leave their mobile phones switched on. They shouldn't enter after half an hour.

Whittington performs Triadic Memories

Last Sunday, Stephen Whittington performed Triadic Memories by Morton Feldman at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

This performance had me transfixed with its beauty. What amazed me is that although not very many notes were played (considering the length of the performance), there was no emptiness, nothing lacking. Individual notes were almost meaningless - it was only in the context of the decay of the instrument as a whole, over time, through which they gained importance to me. The acoustic interplay between various decaying frequencies produced colour that i could not have imagined originating from a piano - wonderful.

The silence at the end of the performance sent shivers up my spine.

Thank you for the performance, Stephen.