People are loud and vocal on matters of immigration. Sensationalised tabloid headlines and the U Turn manoeuvres in government policy have kept the topic on a rolling boil. The tighter squeeze on immigration regulations are synonymous with the startling and dangerous lengths people will go to, to gain passage into Britain; two sides of a coin, a pound coin to be specific. For it is economics that drives this debate. For critics, keeping migration numbers down is a move that protects job security, and the wealth and affluence of the British nation. The "More Migrants" lobby cite the role that migrant workers have played in plugging the skills gaps in Britain, and their positive contribution towards economic growth, not to mention the vital social and cultural implications on a multicultural Britain. In an age of globalisation where the exchange of money, trade and commerce is fluidly mobile, the concept of an ever mobile population is often met with furrowed brows. The metaphor of the revolving door borders of Britain is couched in anxious lingo on the ease of entering Britain from Europe. But surely as the metaphor goes, the thing about a revolving door is that it is as just as easy to enter, as it is to leave.

NB: registration is compulsory, email economistdebate@london.gov.uk to secure a spot. Please arrive early to allow time for security checks (doors open at 5:30pm). Speakers include Adam Roberts (Foreign Affairs Correspondent, The Economist), John Ross (Director, Economic & Business Policy, GLA), Sarah Spencer (Assistant Director, Centre of Migration Policy and Society) and Mervyn Stone (Department of Statistical Science, UCL).

With your average Warp release more likely to be a chart topping slice of new wave pop as it is discordant electro these days, last year's Body Riddle album from Clark was like manna from heaven for some of the label's more longstanding fans. One of the best electronica releases of the year on any label, Body Riddle was a nerve shredding wall of heavily processed noise, dense textures and martial drums; technically brilliant it also displayed a depth of emotion and feeling absent from much recent electronic music. Live, Clark augments his barrage of sound with the incredible drumming of Alvin Ryan to provide a spectacle far beyond that of your average laptop jockey and has easily earned his place at the top table alongside the likes of AFX and Squarepusher. Support comes from one of the most inventive DJs you'll get to see this year, Buddy Peace, whose application of hip-hop skills to electronic music was exhibited to incredible effect in 2004's Warp retrospective DVD Warp Vision. Last year's Clark show at The Luminaire was a sell-out and the Ted EP is released on Monday so get there early to avoid missing out.

Animal Collective are one of the world's most inspiring bands -- utterly original, fresh and moving. Eat Your Own Ears offers the rarity of Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox), one of their core members, performing a solo show in support of his new Paw Tracks release Person Pitch. Mixing triumphant, life-affirming melodies and pitch perfect vocals sung humbly over ambient rhythms and electronics, PB represents a genuine attempt to imbue traditional pop music with an experimental and sonically adventurous edge. In reality this gig will mostly appeal to hardcore AC fans, desperate to devour a slice of magic in the absence of the entire band. However, PB's solo output is a good entry point to discovering the AC; and the rarity, exclusivity and "hipster" level of this gig can't really be exaggerated. All set within London's nicest small venue in the heart of Brick Lane; overall there are many good reasons to treat yourself to this one-off show.

It's a fair bet that Pontin's, Norfolk and techno aren't three words that you'd normally expect to find lurking in the vicinity of each other. Yet in almost three weeks from now over 2,000 revellers will be descending on the Pontin's Family Holiday Centre in Hemsby for three days of underground acid, electro, techno and darts at the first ever BLOC Weekend. With the Dedbeat festival still AWOL and All Tomorrow's Parties increasingly guitar driven line-ups, the BLOC organisers have spied a gaping hole in the techno / holiday park market and been duly rewarded with a sell out event. To mark this achievement they're commandeering the T Bar in Shoreditch this week for a celebratory night of back-slapping and minimal techno. And if you're a fan of music that does very little over a very long time then you're in luck as they don't get more minimal than mysterious Berlin producer Sleeparchive, who should feel right at home in the stripped down aesthetic of the T Bar. Joining him are Soma's Repeat Repeat, so good they named themselves twice, and Plex resident James Tec, the perfect appetiser before the main event and not a red coat in sight.

Director Susanne Bier came late to the shaky camera work of the Dogme movement, making the ruminative Open Hearts in 2002, the 28th film in the series. After The Wedding is a far more accomplished affair, conveniently bolstered by the deep tanned appearance of recent Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen. The story initially focuses on a businessman returning to his native Denmark to secure money from a wealthy millionaire and then subjecting himself to a series of family revelations that push the conclusion skywards like an impatient geyser. The closest cousin to this is the imperious Festen and both films twitch with familial tensions that soon escalate out of control. It's incredibly well acted and makes British films look like remedial amateur dramatics in comparison.

NB: After The Wedding is released in London on 09/03. Another film of note released on the same day is David Lynch's Inland Empire.

Lungfish was formed in the late '80s in Baltimore and has released over 10 albums led by the crazy uniqueness of singer, lyricist, writer and tattoo artist Daniel Higgs. Lungfish now defunct, he has re-emerged -- as "Daniel (Arcus Incus Ululat) Higgs, Interdimensional Song-Seamstress and Corpse - Dancer of the Mystic Crags" -- and released his first full album on US dark label Holy Mountain. It features mantra-like acid folk songs, old fashioned banjo hymns, toy piano and Jewish harp improvisations. His solo set -- first seen last weekend at Belgium's KRAAK Festival -- is of profound and passionate warmth, using only a banjo and mouth harp. London-based Guapo is an avant-garde progressive rock trio that have been around for over 10 years, yielding several albums, which mix jazz fusion, krautrock, post-punk, and late '60s hard rock. Alexander Tucker will open the evening in a venue suiting his dark-doom approach. Having begun as a vocalist in a post-rock hardcore band, he developed his interest in using detuned guitars, tape loops, pedals and vocals. With three solo albums, he is setting new ground in the folk-doom scene.

Secret locations are a standard teaser for East End parties, but And Did We Mention Our Disco are now turning out secret line-ups. The logic is fairly sound: keeping the location secret might demagnetise the commitment-phobic and the overspill, but keeping the talent under wraps also sheds the more irksome layer of star seekers. Nadia Ksaiba, Rory Phillips, Glyn Campbell and Den Odell must be very confident there will be plenty of good people left over to turn up. Having dropped in 2manydjs and Gomma Records' Tomboy in the past couple of weeks, they've reason to be. And worst case, if the mystery guests turn out to be below par -- as a few Uffie fans have experienced lately -- or non-existent, they're still be able to put on a few mean records themselves. Don't believe us? Have a look at their back-catalogue of podcasts, which are a heavy-duty list of electro's leading lights: the latest instalment from Simian Mobile Disco also demonstrates they're not afraid to keep the tunes to the point and largely electro-techno; there's little desire to satisfy punters' appetite for hits. This week's offering? It's probably fair to say they and their labelmates can't seem to avoid making anthems at the moment, but expect plenty of hair-raising bangers to keep you dancing.

Every so often there is a designer who has such a profound impact on visual culture that his work dissolves completely into the "ocular popular", becoming representative of design as a whole. In many cases, creators of groundbreaking design features are swallowed by their fields, their identities lost in the very popularity and accessibility of their work. Otl Aicher is one of those figures in the design world whose impact continues to make waves in the way we use design as a form of communication. Elements from his prolific 1972 Olympic campaign initiated a novel approach to rendering the dynamic human form that were so effective, they continue to appear en masse in our daily transaction in the form of public signage. His simplified and high-contrast style made his work ideal for impact-branding, and Lufthansa's logo has changed precious little since he created it in 1969. An impressive overview of Aicher's work can be seen at the Bibliotheque design consultancy, highlighting the continued relevance of his work in the contemporary design world. The exhibition coincides with the publication of Phaidon's monograph that traces his career through the farthest reaches of design and typography, and reveals the origins of so many visual cues we have come to take for granted.

NB: runs till 15/03.

Developed as part of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, US indie director Hilary Brougher's latest film Stephanie Daley premieres in London as part of the Bird's Eye View Festival. Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn) is a well-behaved, God-fearing small-town teenager, accused of murdering her newborn daughter. The result of an unplanned and unacknowledged pregnancy, the baby is born during a high school ski trip. Lydie (Tilda Swinton) is a forensic psychologist -- heavily pregnant herself after having suffered an earlier stillbirth -- who is called in to assess the girl and unravel what really happened. Alternating between emotional flashbacks and clinical counselling sessions, the film charts how, despite their differences in age, experience and life overall, the place that both women find themselves is disturbingly similar. Tamblyn and Swinton are excellent, as is the complex and subtle script. The film is a sensitive examination of the overwhelming power of biology over our physical and psychological lives, and shows the seductive attraction that concealment and denial holds when individuals are faced with the onrush and loss of control that can characterise pregnancy and birth.

NB: this screening + Q&A / masterclass has been programmed in conjunction with the Bird's Eye View Festival, which profiles women filmmakers from around the world (runs from 08/03 to 14/03).

Omar-S takes a break from car racing Theo Parrish and "Mad" Mike Banks of UR in Detroit to drop his signature sound in a very rare UK debut four-hour DJ performance for Shrunken Head. Omar-S, known to his mom as Alex O Smith, has received a lot of attention lately, especially in minimal wunderland Germany with a slew of quality releases and collaborations on his own label FXHE Records. Moodyman and Parrish have described his sound engineering as like nothing else they've heard before, and even Basic Channel might be handy frames of references before deep diving into the Omar-S sound universe. Using no computers in his productions he manages to create a stripped down, looped and very raw sound which develops a richness on repeat listening that is really quite astonishing given the minimal means he employs. As Omar-S states: "I am very talented and don't need to work day and night to finish a track." Expect Detroit house as dry and raw as it can be, stripped of any cheesy vocals or disco references until just hypnotic rolling monster grooves are left.

Runsounds and After-Dinner join forces to bring you live sets from two of tech-house's key players. Andy Vaz has quietly been emitting 4/4 messages via his Dusseldorf based label for Background Records the best part of nine years now. From the sonic tomfoolery of Frivolous to the African loopism of Portable. His own productions are lithe, efficient and to-the-point. Geoff White has been a hive of activity since his debut release on the legendary Force Inc label back in 2000. Since then he's released premium quality techno on a flurry of labels, whether it's the exploration of the low-end on his dubbier releases (we'd have to recommend his series of 12"s on his own Edit label for that) or the more glitch-ridden style that seemed to run rampant in house music a few years back (neatly compiled on 2006's Nevertheless long player on Background). Everything seems to stand out head and shoulders above the competition and we're expecting his live set to be nothing short of stunning, backed up by a posse of DJs from both the Runsounds and After-Dinner camps. Add to that, the unusual north London location and you have the makings of an evening that other house promoters are gonna find hard to trounce.

In Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Brave Tin Soldier, a young boy's toys come to life as soon as he goes to sleep or leaves the room. This fantastical idea has been replicated in stories many times over, such as in the 1995 Pixar film, Toy Story. We couldn't help but think of this story when we left Gary Stevens' new work at Matt's Gallery. What were the protagonists in the two projected films doing whilst KultureFlash wasn't in the room? One screen, Wake Up, shows a room of various characters who appear on the screen asleep in various poses. Their sudden appearance into the view of the camera seems to jolt them awake, before they scatter out of frame. The second projection, Hide, in the same room seems empty, until one notices different actors starting to peer out from behind various pieces of furniture. Whilst we were trying to work out just what was going on someone else entered the gallery and all of the screen characters scattered! Here was the twist to the tale, but we don't want to ruin it for all you readers, as this is an exhibition definitely worth going to experience.

NB: runs till 18/03. Matt's Gallery faces an uncertain future. Diminishing sources of public funding and a significant increase in its rent mean it needs new sponsors. To help and find out more click here.

At the start of Inland Empire, Nikki (Laura Dern) is starring in the remake of a cheesy film, directed by Kingsley (Jeremy Irons), entitled On High In Blue Tomorrows. The original, its explained, was never completed because "something weird happened" during filming. Well, look out Nikki, things are about to get weird again... Welcome to the latest David Lynch film, an unsettling, seductively visual puzzle, once more digging down into those dark hidden places. Overwhelmingly dreamlike (or nightmarish, depending on your psyche) the film roots deep into the unconscious, and like a dream, its narrative refuses to follow what would normally pass as logic. Lynchian imagery abounds -- flickering lights and television static, dark corridors leading to parallel realities, velvet-curtained rooms and ringing phones that go unanswered. And, of course, those "big rabbits". Not one for those who like a beginning, a middle and an end to their films -- but once you decide to "just let go" the story begins to create its own odd coherence. Very surreal, very enigmatic, very sinister -- and absolutely bonkers.

NB: Inland Empire is released in London on 09/03. Another film of note released on the same day is After The Wedding.

It must be an extremely hard call to put on a memorial concert for such an acknowledged pioneer in contemporary music especially given his own admission to a lack of definable procedure and the breadth of inspiration he called upon so passionately within his work. Indeed, Gyorgy Ligeti's output was so prolific and diverse that it would be easy to programme a week long festival and only scrape the surface. However, now more than ever, in a world where orchestras and artistic directors are ruthlessly kept in check by marketing forces, this seems like a pipe dream. Equally, you can bet that Ligeti would rather see something small done well than an overblown fanfare lacking in rigour. As George Benjamin (the conductor for this performance, celebrated composer in his own right and interpreter of choice for Ligeti's work) points out, stories abound of Ligeti backstage after concerts imploring celebrated international conductors and orchestras never again to mutilate his compositions. To this day, he remains one of the great examples of how far music can embody a seemingly limitless passion for life in all its colours and complexities whilst refusing the egoism that is so often associated with these peaks in cultural production.

NB: at 6pm there is a pre-concert workshop on the sound-world of Gyorgy Ligeti led by composer Rachael Leach and two London Sinfonietta players.

What is the future of the city? In a climate of globalisation, where mobility, economic uncertainty and environmental depletion are spiralling upwards, what is the outlook for our urban spaces? In a speed-driven society, how can we create cities that shift the gear away from the functionality of work and engage with the culture and aesthetics of play? Followed by the shadow of our carbon footprint, how do we move towards sustainable architecture? This event brings prominent thinkers from the worlds of architecture, art and design together to map out their visions for the future of urban spaces. Philosopher, filmmaker and Artscape's artistic director, Hilary Lawson will discuss the key concept of bringing the openness of nature into closed urban spaces. Pritzker Prize-winning, Iraqi-born, London-based architect Zaha Hadid, recognised for such innovative buildings as the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Arts in Cincinnati, streamlines function into groundbreaking form. Tomas Saraceno, an Argentinian artist who created a brilliant installation at The Curve, in the Barbican, contributes his inspiring vision. And, Bill Dunster, an environmental architect of ZEDfactory, leads the field in the zero-carbon design and development of UK architecture. This stimulating debate will be illustrated by an exhibition of video and photography.

NB: this talk is part of the Hayward's 100 Ideas series of talks and events.

After this year Optronica should firmly be established as one of London's leading festivals of cutting edge audiovisual art. This year's instalment comprises five days of mixed media delights ranging from state of the art live audiovisual performances to lectures and workshops from some of the scene's leading lights. Curated by veterans of the AV community, Addictive TV and Cinefeel, Optronica gives you the chance to see / hear / experience specially commissioned AV works in outstanding venues like the BFI IMAX.

The below three events are close to selling out so if you want to attend book your tickets now!

Deakin & Franglen + Trevor Jackson
Wed 14/03 (7:30pm) @ BFI IMAX
Kicking off the festival in fine style is a sensational double bill world premiere. First up is former Output Records boss, music producer and graphic designer Trevor Jackson with RGBPM, a work featuring digitally generated abstract images manipulated in real time, soundtracked by a score of entirely new music. Following on from this are the Lemon Jelly duo of Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen who present IOTA: Inventions Of The Abstract, an exploration of abstract audio and visual patterns that draws upon their sample based music and Deakin's iconic work with the design agency Airside.

Christian Fennesz & Charles Atlas + Semiconductor
Thu 15/03 (8:30pm) @ BFI IMAX
The second day sees another double bill. First off is the world premiere of a unique live collaboration between Austrian electronica artist Christian Fennesz and American award winning filmmaker Charles Atlas. Fennesz, renowned for his dense, heavily processed soundscapes of digital noise, is the perfect foil to Atlas' live mixing of "sampled" film footage, especially prepared video and on the fly filming. Next up are Semiconductor who present a live re-working of their critically acclaimed Brilliant Noise, a film that mixes grainy raw footage of the chaotic surface of the Sun with an eerie electronic soundscape.

Peter Greenaway (lecture + Tulsa Lupper Suitcases screenings)
Fri 16/03 (6:20pm) NFT1 / Sun 18/03 (3:50 - 10:30pm) @ NFT3
A rare treat is this sumptuous Peter Greenaway feast -- for starters, on Friday (Have We Seen Cinema Yet?) Greenaway plays devil's advocate as he questions whether we have taken cinema anywhere even close to its limits, and asks "What's next?" for moving image. But the real banquet is in the screening of the very rarely seen (outside of festivals) The Tulse Luper Suitcases. Part of a whole multimedia project, the three films (The Moab Story, Vaux To The Sea and From Sark To Finish) chart the history of Tulse Luper -- a longtime peripheral character of Greenaway's -- deconstructing his life through the contents of his 92 suitcases. Screened over three nights, the truly hardcore can also devour the full whack on Sunday.

Overtly politicised exhibitions can be a little overwhelming for the uninitiated and those au fait with polemical art alike, but the Tate once again comes to the rescue with this talk by agent provocateur Mark Wallinger. Wallinger's installation at Tate Britain toys with anarchism, and aims to explore and provide a commentary on the raping of political activism by the state, but if you need a bit of light shedding on the work, definitely come to this talk. Whether it be questions about his choice of expression, the way he engages with his audiences, queries about past work (his 1999 sculpture of Christ in Trafalgar Square, his 2001 Whitechapel exhibition or his work for the Venice Biennale for starters), this is the moment to pose them. Trust us, the responses are unlikely to be censored. This is a rare opportunity, and not to be missed.

NB: Mark Wallinger: State Britain runs at Tate Britain till 27/08.

Part of the Hayward Gallery's 100 Ideas series of talks and events this panel discussion is made up of Alain de Botton (atypical architectural and philosophical writer), Alice Rawsthorn (ex-director of the Design Museum), Ricky Burdett (LSE Cities lecturer), Hilary Cottam (design strategist with a specialism in public sector design), Alejandro Zaera Polo (one of the two FOA founders), Jamie Fobert (ex-David Chipperfield architect who now has his own practice) and Sukhdev Sandhu (literary lecturer and culture writer). The unique thing about these talks is that they're an effort to engage not just with the multidisciplinary nature of current practice in all of these disciplines, but to draw their relevance back to everyday life and its experiences. At the end of the series, the curators will distil the debates down to 100 ideas you can then have a say on, rather than leaving the debate with a buzz but feeling somehow let down by its "drop-in-the-water" nature.

If Mike Kelley were a fish, he'd be a Clownfish, the colourful reef creature that can switch from male to female for reproduction purposes. His objects, performances and installations have for many years explored funhouse-like worlds, inspired by underground rock music, philosophy, history, television, rendered through a perverse humour, and dealing with such issues as class, gender, normality and criminality. His new collection, Hermaphrodite Drawings, presents a monstrously alluring world of amputated bodies. Often naively drawn, sexualised, distorted, this is a sublime imaginary place where deformed figures take main stage; it's freakishly seductive. These grotesque drawings combine a Beuysian delicacy in their detail, with the heightened colour and expressive quality of de Kooning's work. Meanwhile, a series of Kelley's recent sculptures -- straw filled, cushioned, abject, warped Wizard Of Oz creatures -- inhabit the adjacent gallery. Follow the Yellow Brick Road and see this show.

NB: runs till 17/03.

For 20 years East London Dance has brought high quality dance experience to east London and, to mark this anniversary, they are putting on an electrifying line-up as part of Dance Currents. Celebrated for nurturing hip-hop artists, ELD brings Blueprint to Stratford Circus, a night of new work by young choreographers. ELD has also commissioned Small Dances, featuring pieces by Avant Garde, Sean Graham & D*Physics, Vicki Igbokwe, Charlene Low and Kenrick "H2O" Sandy (Blue Boy). But the season wouldn't be complete without one of KF faves: Impact Dance and their Xtreme Circumstances. And if you too want to find out about hip-hop or simply check out what these cool guys have to say join them for Talking Dance, an after show discussion with the artists (on both 16/03 and 17/03). Following a trip to Kenya, Kiki Gale, ELD's Artistic Director, has invited two North and East African companies to join Freddie Opoku-Addaie and Kenrick Sandy for Local International, a night that promises to transport you into yet unmarked territories. This season of dance for everyone is concluded by ELD's very own fully accessible club night, Kickin' Kangaroo Club.

NB: Dance Currents runs till 30/03.

"I took her to a supermarket, I don't know why but I had to start it somewhere, so it started there," sang Jarvis Cocker in Pulp's hit song of 1995, "Common People". Since the 1950s, it's true that the supermarket has been as much a source of inspiration for artists as literature, landscapes and religion. Writer and artist, Harland Miller finds inspiration in all aspects of popular culture. Miller has a book coming out in April, International Lonely Guy, featuring, amongst other things, an interview with Cocker and Miller's wry humoured large paintings of imaginary Penguin Books dust-jackets. Cocker has long had plans to direct a film based on Miller's appraised novel Slow Down Arthur, Stick To Thirty, which follows the friendship of a young Yorkshire lad and the charismatic Ziggy Hero, a David Bowie impersonator. Miller wrote sleeve notes for Pulp's final album in 2002, Hits. Click here to read Miller's wonderful musings on Jimmy Saville being the prime inspiration for hip-hop fashion. Miller and Cocker obviously share a passion for music and iconic British culture. They are teaming up to discuss this, and to show how the everyday and the popular can be an inspiration for creativity.

Marissa Nadler has the kind of voice you could become obsessed with. "Haunting" would be too mild a word for it; it seeps into your soul like sweet poison. Artistically speaking, this could be a mixed blessing, if it means your singing always has the same effect no matter what you're singing. For now, Nadler can go either way. Yes, the sheer beauty of her instrument sometimes overwhelms its ability to communicate, and her cover of "Famous Blue Raincoat", the best-ever song by Leonard Cohen -- Mr No Pipes himself -- would seem calculated to prove it. That's a shame because her ballads of doomed and death-haunted love have real substance, though (like Joanna Newsom's good but overrated Ys) not unburdened by the self-conscious archaism of lords and ladies and "eyes as deep as brandy wine". Still, when that gorgeous voice (its discreet settings provided by producer Greg Weeks of Espers) serves the song rather than the other way round -- as in the album's opening and closing tracks, "Diamond Heart" and "Leather Made Shoes" -- Nadler can be as good as anyone coming out of America's fertile new folk scene these days.

NB: catch Marissa Nadler next week as she plays at the Spitz on 12/03.

To buy Songs III: Bird on the Water online click here.

KultureFlash is a free, weekly newsletter covering contemporary culture in and around London. Each week we track down some of the more unusual and interesting events taking place in the capital and deliver them straight to your inbox. Featuring art, gigs, films, talks, clubs and more -- we are committed to bringing you an eclectic mix of the most stimulating events in London.

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