Henry James is back in style, and not just for being the last really important celibate before Morrissey. But surely he deserves some better fate than to end up as a character in novels by various all-too-respectable later practitioners. James spent long hard years cultivating his image as "the master" and it takes a certain untoward presumptuousness to appropriate that image directly in a new work of fiction like Colm Toibin's The Master or David Lodge's Author, Author. A greater, that is, more Jamesian delicacy might be shown by limiting oneself to the role of commentator, though even there difficulties abound, since James' greatest stories are already virtual aesthetic treatises plumbing the concepts of form and authorship more deeply than your common or garden variety theorist could ever imagine. If anyone has a chance at surviving the encounter with James' fables of authorship, it's probably Princeton's Michael Wood, the most stylishly substantial of today's literary scholar/reviewers.

Popular opinion is divided on Princess Superstar -- there are those who adore her and those who find her entirely irksome following the moderate success of the (admittedly stinking) single "Bad Babysitter". Her career, it's true, has taken a curious trajectory -- underground records about filthy sex with Kool Keith gave way to Top Of The Pops, and then appearances DJing at the likes of the Miami Winter Music Conference -- but rather than going cod-rap on us, Concetta (for that is she) used the opportunity to promote the then-nascent electroclash scene, with DJ Alexander Technique, paying the bills by high-profile collaborations with the likes of Prodigy (on "Memphis Bells"). So, forget helium-voiced paeans about the virtues of raiding liquor cabinets -- this Cargo appearance will presumably be more along the lines of recent booty bass single "F*ck Me On The Dancefloor". She's joined by local heroes The Loose Cannons -- the band who have now claimed, from Campag Velocet and The Psychonauts, the sobriquet "Band Who You Would Most Likely Imagine To See Playing At Cargo".

When the Western world caught onto chocolate from the Aztecs in the 15th century little did it know the obsession and effect this little bitter bean would cause. Yet one woman is on a mission to educate our palates and turn us away from the mass produced chocolate of the household brands and tempt us into being more discerning and trying varieties in the same way as we sample wine. Chloe Doutre-Roussel always had a passion for chocolate ever since her childhood, and in 2003 turned what had been a hobby into a career by being chosen over 3,500 applicants to be Fortnum & Mason's taster. On Thursday, to launch her new guide to chocolates from around the world -- from the rare and obscure to the expensive and luxurious -- Doutre-Roussel will talk those in attendance through the best way to get the most from this most romantic of cocoa bean derivatives. There will of course be examples on hand to taste!

NB: each ticket includes a free copy of the book, The Chocolate Connoisseur (Piatkus).

Cecil Balmond: read even the tiniest bumph of info on the guy and you can pretty much guarantee they will use the words "innovative", "inspired", "mathematics" and "music", stopping just short of genius. A former flamenco guitar player, Balmond is now a super engineer slash architect with a penchant for deputy chairing ARUP, getting involved with projects like Battersea Power Station redevelopment, various Serpentine Pavilions and New York City's WTC, winning awards whilst also writing some architectural textual staples. A few words from him may help you think outside of that blasted box while never forgetting there's a reason for the box in the first place.

Like a marauding band of pirates, Test Icicles tumble around the stage like they're on the high seas, stealing '80s hair metal, melding it to hip-hop breaks then deconstructing it all with a punk aesthetic. The last single "Boa Vs Python" garnered much press attention but failed to encapsulate the essence of Test Icicles. New album For Screening Purposes Only, out on Domino (31/10), may go further to describe their sound but nothing compares to their live performance; recently at the Garage they turned a staid audience into a seething mass with their shared vocal powers, iconic rock poses and self-deprecating humour. Flamboyant, endearing, chaotic and intelligent, Test Icicles are a visual and aural feast that shouldn't be missed.

If architecture is as much about creating places as it is about bricks and mortar, then can a building be real if it only exists in a virtual domain? Marcos Novak would respond with a definite "yes". Describing himself as a "trans-architect", he came to prominence in the early nineties as a notable theorist and could be described as the godfather of virtual architecture: constructs that are conceived, and more to the point inhabited, entirely in cyberspace. And once there, why be limited by the constraints that have historically applied, such as the laws of gravity? Novak has dubbed his work "liquid architecture"; his 3-dimensional forms are created from abstract mathematics which "bend, rotate, and mutate in interaction with the person who inhabits them". Some would argue that the very essence of architecture is the collision of theory with reality. Novak might respond that in our increasingly on-line world, "reality" exists as much in cyberspace as it does on the street.

"Murder is never perfect. It always comes apart sooner or later. When two people are involved, it's usually sooner." Adapted from the novel by James M. Cain, from a script co-written with Raymond Chandler, Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) is often cited as the quintessential film noir. And no wonder. In a sordid tale of adultery, conspiracy and murder, all the tricks of the genre -- flashback, confessional voice over, hard-boiled dialogue -- are employed to great effect. For his cast, Wilder went against type, hiring Fred MacMurray, until then known as a light comedian, as the doomed insurance salesman Walter Neff, Barbara Stanwyck as the ruthless femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson, and Edward G. Robinson as her betrayed husband. It paid off, in all three giving outstanding performances. Now recognised as a masterpiece, the film has gone on to influence generations of filmmakers.

NB: Double Indemnity is part of NFT's Billy Wilder retrospective, which runs from 04/11 to 30/11 (Double Indemnity screens from 11/11 to 24.11).

Pumpkins are in season, kids with fireworks too, and already down Oxford Street 'tis the season to be jolly, but for the non-religious, the anti-pagans and the damn right cynical there's a special season for you -- a Mike Leigh Season. A retrospective at the NFT to celebrate the demi-Brit-flick god. Leigh is finally, after Oscar friendly Vera Drake, getting the kind of attention he deserved for modern classics like Secrets & Lies. Now with a National Theatre play under his belt, are we staring at the Peter Hall of the 21st century? If you have anything to do with film, and you are not Mike Leigh you have no excuse not to be there.

NB: this retrospective runs till 30/11 (also running during this time is a Bill Wilder retrospective). On 09/11 at 8:45pm catch Mike Leigh in conversation with Michael Coveney as they discuss both his career and his highly distinctive approach to filmmaking.

High on the agenda of architects is the way the cityscape is transforming in view of technological advances as the network of wireless connections between ourselves and our surroundings is changing how we navigate the city. What they really mean is looking at what public space means when we can access personal information publicly. Future Cities: The Cyborg and the City promises to be a heated debate as William J. Mitchell, Head of Media Arts at MIT, and the controversial Kevin Warwick, professor of cybernetics at Reading University, meet head to head. Warwick is also considered an expert in robotics, artificial intelligence and neuroscience and has become a regular fixture on British TV and in newspapers and magazines around the globe. A group of British technology journalists, suspicious of Warwick's elevated position in terms of his promotion of the robotic and his doomsday predictions, have launched Kevin Warwick Watch, a site devoted to making fun of Warwick's "media junkie" reputation by tracking his movements across the media landscape. Beware, The Cyborg and the City will not be for the technologically faint hearted.

We don't know, kids these days... we remember when a warehouse party used to involve traipsing around the seedier areas of London, before finally finding a crumbling rat infested slum, necking some dodgy speed, trying to ignore the terrible hardcore and waiting for the Old Bill to turn up and turf you all out into the wet streets. It seems that such simple pleasures are not good enough for the youth of today. Digital City boasts a fine selection of short films, a cocktail hour, a venue that is not only clean and safe but easy to get to and a selection of DJs that would be the envy of many a regular club. Visual treats include the film The Bays In Mexico, following the band on their journey round, you guessed it, Mexico; Four Tet's Smile Around the Face, and a brace of VJs. Musical highlights take in a party set from occasional ambient chart botherer Alex Paterson of The Orb, Liberation Jumpsuit, Infinite Scale and Zilla, whose "Watch And Repeat Play" mix for the recent Warp DVD retrospective redefined DJing and whose latest mix "Grinted Teeth", an astonishing collision between crunk and electronica, looks set to raise the bar even higher.

NB: the promoters advise you to email digitalcity@hotmail.co.uk for further information, passwords and guest list access.

Lord help us. It comes to something when V/Vm is probably the most chilled out act on the bill. Suitably named, Overkill London is a triple header wherein Wrong Music, LittleBig and Adaadat carve up Electrowerkz like rave warlords, trying to out-do each other in an "I'm-more-hardcore-than-you" pissing contest. This really does have it all; from headliners Mistress (black metal grindcore) to DJ/Rupture (electronic dancehall) to Charlottefield (Fugazi-style hardcore) with 50 (that's FIFTY) acts in between. Go see 'em all! Then wander from room to pummelling room wondering if it was The Phil Collins 3, Yoko Oh No, or Kunt that finally smashf*cked your dome. Not somewhere to take a first date. (Unless it's Genesis P. Orridge.)

Interesting that the ICA have chosen a label called Accidental to host a night called Indoor Fireworks Night -- maybe best to wear them mittens and fireproof knitwear! Seriously, though, you will be too clammy in jumpers! This will be a hot night, with decks burning from one of the UK's most innovative record labels. Performers among others on this fine night are Brooks, Mara Carlyle, Max de Wardener, Beckett & Taylor (all play live) and Dani Siciliano (DJ set). Basically they will all be there playing forward-thinking music and generally messing it up. On the one night we do celebrate an act of terrorism gone wrong Guy Fawkes never had it so good.

Mish Mash have recently reached the venerable age of four, which, were they horses, would probably see them put to stud before being quickly shipped off to the glue factory. Luckily for all concerned they're not, but to push the already dubious allegory one step further, whilst their peers may be resting on their laurels, Mish Mash continue to canter around the field, nostrils flaring, champing at the bit. So why the rather laboured equine introduction you ask? Well simple, really. This Saturday sees a live performance from the really rather fabulous New Young Pony Club, who have captured our hearts this year with two 7"s of near perfect jerky electro punk-funk pop. They're signed to Tirk, sound like Debbie Harry produced by DFA and that's about all we know, but when they sound this good nothing else matters. The night's entertainment is completed by a live set from Fujiya & Miyagi, who are sure to entertain with their own unique brand of electro pop and Mish Mash residents Oscar Fullone and Rev Milo Speedwagon.

"Art" has become a kind of catch-all phrase used to describe the myriad of creative things that are not as easily marketable as those "commercial arts" that use technology to encourage us all to spend more money. London's smaller galleries are a veritable hotbed of this new multiplicitous cross-pollination of all creative genres -- for better or for worse, to be fair. Temporarycontemporary is currently hosting a collective feast of multi-media manifestations of sight and sound. Played off each other to create a sort of "artscape" scenario, and examining the anxieties surrounding technology and its offshoots, this group of artists explore the germinal quality of one idea traced through a spectrum of technological media. These events can be hit-or-miss, often losing the filament that follows the theme through its representations and spiralling out of control into a multi-media free-for-all, despite the best of intentions. This is not one of those shows. While there is a definite and obvious disparity between media, there remains a genuine and intelligent study of interactive processes, both psychological and prosthetic, and this particular fusion manages a rare balance between cerebral witticism and silliness. A well-ordered mix to entice and unsettle. (Runs till 20/11.)

NB: artists taking part in this exhibition are among others Faiyaz Jafri, Miltos Manetas, DJ/Rupture and Daniel Perlin.

The Beat That My Heart Skipped is a dark, fast-paced thriller about a real-estate debt-collector called Tom. Based on the '70s American independent film Fingers, starring Harvey Keitel, director Jacques Audiard (of Read My Lips fame) successfully swaps the New York Mafia setting for the nasty world of modern-day Paris property developers. Tom is played with incredible intensity by Romain Duris, who convincingly portrays the 28-year-old's unusual struggle from being a professional thug to concert pianist, a metamorphosis driven by his desire to follow in the footsteps of his deceased mother. Every scene of director Jacques Audiard's outstanding film is shot in one long take, giving the narrative an addictive, poetic rhythm. A cleverly layered soundtrack, mixing the original score with the eclectic sounds of whatever Tom happens to be listening to or playing (a mixture of anything from Bach or Bloc Party to The Kills) adds to the sensation that Audiard's film is able to be everything great cinema can be -- exciting, emotive, funny, compelling and provocative.

NB: The Beat That My Heart Skipped is released in London on 04/11.

Source material can provide a unique understanding of an event previously received from our teachers, history books, and endless renditions of historical "moments" mediated through our television sets. Although with all documentation there is a question of reliability, it inevitably adds a dimension to the official story and can transfer history to personal tragedy, as is the case in Sophie Scholl: The Last Days. Following Downfall, Sophie Scholl is a reflection of the time during the Third Reich from the German perspective. Acknowledging that a reason for this being the third film about Scholl and the White Rose Society is the discovery of documents after the reunification of Germany is reason enough to rethink WWII in the context of contemporary culture. With much of the dialogue taking place between Scholl and Nazi Officer Mohr, an intense relationship between viewer and screen is developed, creating a harrowing encounter with the past. The film offers us the complexity of contemporary German experience and, in its condensed manner, the ability of a film to re-establish history as living experience. (Screens at the ICA till 24/11.)

NB: to accompany the film, there will be various talks and workshops taking place at the ICA. On 08/11 catch Terry Charman, Chief Historian of the Imperial War Museum; on 15/11 UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies Professor Michael Berkowitz; on 16/11 Anita Palmer from the Holocaust Educational Trust; and on 17/11 a talk by Holocaust survivor.

This year, Dance Umbrella has run a pretty inclusive gamut, from the hypnotic to the philosophical; so a little self-reflection is both needed and welcome as it draws to a close. Hailing from a slightly cheeky, punkish enclave of the British dance scene, Tom Roden and Pete Shenton, with New Art Club, have discovered their own distinct voice by looking inwards at dance and its culture -- a comment on brilliance and daftness, necessary in a discipline which can take itself too seriously. Slide Show is the sardonic result of the choreographers' experience of the festival, as punters, and will hopefully embrace both its artistic and social aspects. This Is Modern was a slightly back-handed retrospective of contemporary dance, but other works have also proved the duo's worth as serious dance-makers -- technically astute with a healthy appetite for good-humoured piss-taking.

NB: Dance Umbrella 2005 runs till 13/11.

This is one of those rare shows when it really is worth getting there early to catch the support groups. Granted, many will be enticed by Four Tet's Kieran Hebden and his strangely compelling way with an onstage laptop (how many electronic performers can you say that about?), but this packed bill promises a veritable panoply of other sonic intrigues. Bristling with electric guitars, drums and climactic wig-out that weld Mogwai dynamics to Morricone moodcasting, Austin's Explosions In The Sky may seem, on paper at least, somewhat antediluvian by comparison with the relentlessly questing sampledelic headliners. In truth their visceral yet atmospheric post-rock soundscapes are a perfect foil for both Four Tet and the more playful postmodern stylings of Canadian, sometime Ninja Tune recording artist, Kid Koala and should make a pleasing symmetry with tonight's openers, Faust. A Krautrock legend active since the dawn of the '70s, it's not too fanciful to claim Faust started the whole avant-rock/electronic/ambient shebang and without them and their fearless, cerebral ilk, the remainder of tonight's bill would probably not have careers at all.

Rodney Graham @ 52-54 Bell Street
Rodney Graham's show is friendly and accessible. In Allegory of Folly, the artist poses as the humanist Erasmus, sitting backwards on a horse in a photo study for a wind vane, bringing smiles of amusement on the faces of passers by. Upstairs, he depicts himself as a Manet-inspired musician, holding a pint in the silkscreen portrait The Glass Of Beer. Like the bohemian world of the Parisian artist, we are pretty familiar with this image in our heady days of drinking. But, beneath the humorous Vancouver-based artist's charm, there is an intellectual rigour which shines through his worldwide shows of photos, films and installations, such as his successful Whitechapel exhibition (2003) and his current North American retrospective (2005). In a brilliant, short, high-speed film, Graham re-creates Isaac Newton's theory of relativity experiment by replacing the water bucket with an ornate chandelier (Torqued Chandelier Release). A series of modernist pen-and-ink drawings and a glittering replica of Elvis Presley's Screen Door are further highlights.

Lawrence Weiner @ 29 Bell Street
Cool conceptualism is always the theme of Lawrence Weiner's, especially here in his first exhibition at Lisson. An equally established multi-media artist, he plays with visual image and language, together with the definition of the artist/viewer relationship, in books, films, videos, performances and audio works. In this show, he has stencilled words in each gallery room onto neat blocks of colour: red, yellow, blue and black leap from the white walls. "At a Distance to the Foreground", meditates one; "Within a Realm of Relative Form", shouts another; "All Together Now", sings a final line. These words appear simple, bold and provocative. But, what do they all mean? Weiner's statement of intent (1969), explains: "The Artist may construct the work [but] the decision as to condition rests with the receiver upon the occasion of receivership." These works are open texts, and it's fun to interpret such shiny and outspoken graphics.

NB: both shows run till 23/11.

Sure, the six new paintings in the show are "decent", but Albert Oehlen really is the Great Master of Collage. He knows the art of putting pieces together without making them look too loaded or too explicit. There is just enough to present a multitude of open ends that makes the collages talkative as well as aesthetic. Does collage grow of laziness? Why produce more pictures when we are already soaked from visual culture. There are so many interesting images in the world so why not just recycle. Even the backdrops of the collages are recycled, like a flattened paper box or the back of a poster or some print. Oehlen's collage work is like curating a show or casting performers with contrasting characters: the individual image pieces -- and sometimes there are just three of them -- are not worked on. The act of placing them next to one another alone makes a proper collage. This way of working is interesting in comparison to a young collage artist like Kirstine Roepstorff who uses collage pieces like brush strokes in the tradition of other great masters of photomontage like Martha Rosler.

NB: runs till 26/11.

What is a Mogwai? Well it's a Gremlin, a cute creature which upon contact with water turns into a nasty monster. Mogwai are Scottish, and it always pisses it down up there, which is why the Scottish, normally very cute creatures, are often to be found stabbing each other in the head after eight bottles of Buckfast and four wraps of speed. Had Gremlins the movie been made in Scotland, the transformation would have occurred not upon contact with water, but with Whisky, a fine drink which when consumed responsibly leaves one in a happy reverie but when drunk to excess, leaves one liable to stab the nearest passer by in the ear for having Catholic eyes or something. Indeed the effect of Whisky sums up the Scottish national character; at once passionate and rational, romantic and ironic, mystical and sceptical, heroic and craven, full of laughter and despair. Which rather neatly sums up the sound of Mogwai. We'd go and see them if we were you. Leave the Buckfast at home though.

NB: Mogwai play five consecutive live shows. Each night will feature special support bands, DJs and films programmed by Mogwai. Gets your tickets asap as next week all five nights will be sold out.

Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva Noto, is a German artist who uses electronic sound and visual art as a form of hybrid tool to create his own microscopic view of creative processes. Closely aligned with geometry, mathematics and science, his work has the quality of a fractal object, focusing on the shape and materiality of our world. Since 1996, with the establishment of his collective label, Raster-Noton, he has been producing his own recordings and collaborations. Nicolai has won two Golden Nicas at Ars Electronica (both in 2000 in the music category for 20' to 2000 and in 2001 in the interactive category for polar). He has shown his work throughout the globe, most recently at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin with syn chron (2005). Following his Insen CD release with composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, he has been touring Europe with their live collaboration.

To read the interview click here.

It amazes us that labels actually bother to release mix CDs. With the proliferation of the DIY ethic perpetuated by the Internet, do people really still listen to them? Artists, blog writers and bedroom DJs have relegated the art of the mix down to free MP3s. But Mr. Hawtin is different: he digitally boils down loads of carefully selected loops of minimal techno/house into a tight 97-minute lesson in reductionism using Ableton Live's software. Part mix, part software show-off. It moves through the motions; snippets of disco, pulse-driven techno and machine coded percussion. Construction parts supplied by the likes of Sleeparchive, Thomas Brinkmann and his mate Ricardo Villalobos. The CD knocks the mix down to 74 minutes, but the DVD contains the full mix as a movie and as an MP3. The extra content is just that: extra, but this release is more about sonic purity and Hawtin's exploration of getting even closer to the edit.

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