We're not really that keen on the idea of concept albums, especially when the somewhat fanciful concept is two staid techno producers transforming into superheroes and using an array of instruments to defeat electronic purists who refuse to dance (the press release dept must have struggled on this). This is of course in reference to Supermayer's Save The World, the new album from two of Kompakt's most famous sons, Michael Mayer and Superpitcher. In quite a bold move, the musical direction veers away from the minimal sound Kompakt is known and loved for and rides a cape (sorry) through twee indie pop moments and what can only be described, somewhat worryingly, as cocktail lounge jams before heading square back into familiar dancefloor territory. Whatever you may think of the album, the prospect of catching Mayer and Superpitcher play records uninterrupted all night in an intimate London nightclub is certainly very exciting and also extremely rare these days. Hooray for promoters and tastemakers Allez Allez then, who continue their series of Kompakt showcases at Plastic People this Wednesday evening with an exclusive four hour set from the duo. Let's just hope Supermayer leave the superhero costumes at home for this one.

NB: for more techno this week, on Saturday check out both Richie Hawtin, Marc Houle (live) and Troy Pierce at The End; and Ricardo Villalobos, Robert Hood, Bruno Pronsato (live) and Jamie Jones at Fabric; and on Sunday, secretsundaze 2007's closing party at Canvas with Steve Bug.

In 1967 BBC Radio 4 was born out of the relics of the BBC Home Service. It is now one of Britain's most popular (and expensive) stations. Programmes such as Today, Just A Minute, Woman's Hour, The Archers, PM, The Shipping Forecast and Gardeners' Question Time are regarded as cultural institutions and the famous Radio 4 pips can now be downloaded onto your mobile phone. But the station has not been without its controversy, not least the scrapping of the much-loved UK Theme last year which prompted thousands of complaints. A number of the station's presenters are now household names and their gaffes, as much as their programme's topics, bring both delight to and criticism from the station's listeners. To celebrate the station's 40th birthday, speakers including Mark Damazer, the station's present controller, and David Hendy, a former producer for the station and author of a new book -- Life On Air: A History Of Radio 4 -- examine the station's position in British society yesterday, today and tomorrow. If you wake up to the dulcet tones of John Humphrys and fall asleep to Today In Parliament then this one's for you -- tune in.

NB: this event is free but you must email events@foyles.co.uk to reserve a ticket.

Divisadero is the name of a place but its Spanish origins lie in both the idea of division as well as the sense of seeing things from a distance -- a vantage point. These are the fundamental bases of Michael Ondaatje's new novel which he comes to talk about on the occasion of the 21st birthday of his UK publisher, Bloomsbury. In Divisadero a family, made up of blood relations and adoptions, is divided by a crucial event which then splits the story into different sub plots, as well as different locations, different continents even and different times; in short, different vantage points. And like his famous, Booker-winning The English Patient, Ondaatje's style is non-linear and ponderingly dream-like, revealing a preoccupation with rhythm and language. Ondaatje's original role as a poet and his previous work on a book about editing film is also evident in this novel; as one of his characters states: "The skill of writing offers little to a viewer. There is only this five-centimetre relationship between your eyes and the pen. Any skill in the divining or dreaming is invisible ..." It has taken him seven years to write Divisadero and this talk by Ondaatje should be a rare treat.

Five Bands, from four different countries, embracing an entourage of 39 people. That's what director Jasmine Dellal offers up by way of a fascinating, passionate documentary record of a tour around North America by a group of musicians with one thing in common -- their Gypsy ancestry. There's the sheer power of soloist Esma Redzepova, proclaimed "Queen Of The Gypsies". There's the very Indian sounding Maharaja, and their unique dancer Harish, who supports an entire family with his cross-dressing dance routine, since both parents died. There's the brilliantly skilful musicianship of Taraf de Haidouks, and their elderly leader Nicolae Neacsu, who adheres to the homespun philosophy that a man lives "to work and do something in life". And, boy does Nicolae work, and play, hard and do something almost magical with his life. There's the raw fire and electrifying grace of the flamenco act, Antonio El Pipa and its "diamond in the rough" sounding aunt Juana. There's the irresistible uptempo, ompah-ing of the brass band-based Fanfare Ciocarlia. And, there's ever-present guiding influence, contributing to the camerawork, of top US documentarian Albert Maysles and the very personal burning social conscience of Dellal driving everything along. Have a look. You just might see the beauty in Gypsy culture as opposed to the same old negative stereotypes.

NB: this screening will be introduced and followed by a Q&A with the director Jasmine Dellal. Gypsy Caravan is released in London via the ICA on 28/09 and screens there till 21/10. On 05/10 catch the Roots & Shoots Gypsy Caravan Party which celebrates the best in Gypsy culture.

Right now anyone could be excused for feeling a little fatigued by the heavy electronic assaults of Justice and their many followers. It seems like, amongst all the mid range and distortion, everybody's forgetting to dance. Enter stage left In Flagranti. Throw out your leather jackets and Gauloises, adopt a '70s disco strut and throw on some porno. You'll have little choice once Brooklyn based Swiss duo Alex Gloor and Sasha Crnobnja start a pandemic of disco beats and meld them with some gorgeous no wave and punk riffs. This is the perfect answer to formulaic, digicentric anti-pop made by bedroom blog house DJs: luscious analogue fuzz, smooth drum breaks and the touches of off-centre sonics that will send you over the edge. If you've heard even a few minutes of last year's Wronger Than Anyone Else, you'll be jumping at the chance to spin around to it while the funk booms from the Hub's mighty soundsystem. What could top it off? This time they're doing the whole thing completely live, for the first time in the UK. Anyone with an ounce of taste in house music will be there for this one.

What little steps might lead us into a dystopian state that George Orwell might recognise as Big Brother? Perhaps ubiquitous surveillance cameras armed with face recognition software. A cashless society powered only by mobile phone credit. Government prohibition of anything bad for you, starting with a ban on smoking in public places. Public health care as a lottery. Are we there yet? Award-winning Vanishing Point envision our society a generation from now, as prodigal son Scruggs returns to his old stamping ground Leith to make quality time with his father before it's too late. It could be any place where marching yuppification overwhelms old social structures, although you'll enjoy the jokes more if you know Edinburgh. There, Scruggs is drawn into a revolution led by his father and friends. Subway's manifesto is finding strength through small acts. True as that is, coupled with our hero's reluctance to embrace the struggle it means the story takes time to accumulate its emotional punch. But the virtuosity of the staging overcomes resistance, with a brilliant seven-piece Kosovan band playing every step of the way, Sandy Grierson elegant and electric as Scruggs, and well-matched by Rosalind Sydney as... everyone else.

NB: Subway's run ends on 29/09.

Be's events at the Proud Galleries won a lot of friends by breaking in indie new croppers like Mystery Jets and the Black Lips while also dragging in local boy Johnny Borrell. Now relocated to the nascent music neighbourhood of Bloomsbury (which grows as people demand better music to bowl by), they've scored two remixers par excellence in David E Sugar and Whitey. Sure, Pete & The Pirates and Blondelle will get NME readers hot under the collar, but it's a rare delight to see Sugar cowering over a laptop -- especially given the name he's been building for himself by hanging out with Hot Chip and remixing everybody else in sight. Whitey is returning to the homeland since freaking out half of Hollywood and supporting grande femme fatale Peaches. This is also the biggest peep from him since the jagged grooves and riffs of The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is A Train got tongues wagging almost two years ago. This is a night to dance like a maniac.

NB: also on the same night catch the Insomniacs Ball at seOne with Uffie + Feadz, Pull Tiger Tail, SebastiAn, These New Puritans and many other acts.

Older guy (dodgy dress sense, rather misshapen, no oil painting) charms younger (lithe, gorgeous, sparky) woman -- as we all know, a wholly plausible daily occurrence, not to mention the plot that launched a thousand Woody Allen films. So has Gerard Depardieu, as French provincial dancehall crooner Alain Moreau, just gone all Woody on us, or are there hidden depths to big Gerry as The Singer? The answer: unquestionably. Not only can he really sing, but he is totally believable as the chanteur of choice for Clermont-Ferrand's housewives, soldiering on in a career perennially on the brink of something bigger and trying to hold back the threat of death by karaoke. Neither an oily lounge lizard nor a cynical has-been, Depardieu portrays Moreau as a true craftsman, not ashamed of his slushy lyrics, satin shirts or highlighted hair. However, falling in love with the younger (and elusive) Marion (Cecile de France) prompts them both to examine their lives a bit more closely. The chemistry between them is natural, the outcome undecided, and when he sings "Save The Last Dance For Me" you hope she really does.

NB: The Singer is released in London on 28/09. Other films of note released on the same day are Gypsy Caravan and Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9.

Two young Berlin-based architects come together for this Royal Academy of Arts architecture lecture entitled Contemporary German Architects. They have spoken together many times in places ranging from Berkeley to Copenhagen, so the chemistry promises to be easy even if the facade-driven, organic and materials-loving architecture is not so simple. Jurgen Mayer H, the co-designer of the Serpentine Pavilion 2007 with Kjetil Thorsen (whose firm Snohetta recently lost the Turner Contemporary commission to David Chipperfield Architects), and Frank Barkow of Barkow Leibinger Architects will each present a series of projects and discuss how their works combines art and architecture. If you're in the mood to see what's coming out of Berlin (a city which provides more heat and light for architecture than London does, and whose consumption of cranes is yet higher), it's a must-see.

NB: on 22/10 (6:30pm) also at the Geological Society catch another architectural lecture entitled New Tendencies In German Architecture with Nikolaus Hirsch, Jan Liesegang and Matthias Sauerbruch.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that "the season" is kicking off in London: art fairs, design fairs and exhibitions are opening right, left and centre. For enthusiasts and optimists, this is a veritable wellspring of inspiration -- the best and brightest artists and designers competing in the public eye on behalf of their various products, or simply trying to sell an idea -- whether that means luring us in with an impossibly conceptual chair or bottle opener, or providing the conceptual groundwork upon which we may catch a glimpse of the future. For pessimists, it is just more junk. Disgruntled locals make way for the tsunami of plywood, fibreglass and high-gloss veneer that sweeps into London every year. So, are designers innovators or are they in denial? Is design leading society into a new way of thinking, or is it responsible for maintaining the status quo while teetering atop an ever growing mountain of junk and consumables? Artists and designers today face a complex series of ethical dilemmas around the realisation of their ideas, and Jonathan Barnbrook, Clive Grinyer (Orange France Telecom), Patrick Cox (Wolff Olins), Tom Dunmore (Stuff) and Austin Williams (Future Cities Project) discuss the responsibility of designers, the hysteria around ethical consumption and the duplicitous nature of design as it struggles to marry innovation with caution.

NB: this discussion has been programmed in conjunction with the Design Museum's Jonathan Barnbrook retrospective (ends 10/10).

Next week marks the beginning of the Southbank's retrospective of work by Luigi Nono, one of the most prominent forces in 20th-century classical music. Despite the fact that Nono's politics and allegiances have been the subject of much criticism and speculation, his situation must be understood within its historical context. A restless spirit in a country struggling with notions of identity after the war, Nono was one of a loosely associated group of musical idealists who sprung up in Italy in the latter half of the 20th century, a list that included Luciano Berio and Ennio Morricone. Determined to avenge the cultural exodus brought on by Fascism, Nono and his compatriots forged the way for a completely new kind of musical expression in Europe, where nothing was excluded. Nono himself was one of the greatest exponents of this diversity, refusing to tie his music to any one formula or stylistic attribute and actively seeking confrontations that might fuel new epiphanies. It was an approach that was paralleled in Britain by composers such as Cornelius Cardew and that informed movements such as non-idiomatic improvisation and ultimately the LMC.

NB: the festival takes place mainly in October of this year but culminates next year in May with the UK premiere of Luigi Nono's Prometeo.

"Dreams are the bright creatures of poem and legend..." said Mr Dickens. Now in its 14th year, 2007 sees National Poetry Day (04/10) celebrating "dreams". Events kick off with Dream Tour. A poet from each of the home countries -- Scottish Robert Crawford, Northern Ireland's Gearoid Mac Lochlainn, Welsh Gwyneth Lewis and from England Patience Agbabi -- will be touring the four capital cities. The first leg takes place in London on 01/10. Sweet dreams are made of these -- the poets are some of the most significant voices in the UK today. Other London based events include the announcement of the winners of Forward Poetry Prizes for 2007 and the publication of The Forward Book Of Poetry 2008, an anthology of the poems highly commended by the Forward judges. The Poetry Society's Foyle Young Poets Of The Year Award will also be announced. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this prize, readings will take place at London's Unicorn Theatre with Juliet Stephenson, Roger Lloyd Pack and the founder of National Poetry Day himself, William Sieghart. Lastly, 2007's National Poetry Day poet-in-residence is Ian McMillan. See the poem he has written for the occasion and catch up with his National Poetry Day blog... dreamy.

It is not always necessary in painting for quantity to trump quality, or for artistic witticism and graphic precision to triumph over what exists beyond the frame. Terminus puts an interesting spin on the group show, presenting Francesca Lowe's large-scale paintings alongside works of fiction by Alasdair Gray. The relationship becomes more interesting as you compare the thrashing figures on the wall and their moralistic outcroppings with the comparatively sedate and ominous story presented as a booklet to accompany the show. The exhibition's fairground theme alludes to the arenas of fantasy and fiction, where we can anonymously identify with the more laudable and convoluted human traits that make an epic of our daily grind. It also allows for some disturbingly juicy bits of eye candy, and the narrative thread that links the themes is snarled around panic-stricken horses, hares and familiar dirty secrets. Lowe's paintings are technically impressive and, despite an approach to imagery and ethics that could have leaned towards the heavy handed, her work comfortably straddles a broad enough stylistic range that allows it to be both heroic and ambiguous.

NB: Terminus runs till 15/12. On 02/10 (6:30pm) catch Alasdair Gray in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist followed by a reading from Terminus and other works. On 08/10 (6:30pm) catch Francesca Lowe when she talks to Sarah Kent about the themes of the show.

The Klaxons' recent foray into the spotlight after their Mercury Music Award success may be viewed as a travesty by some, especially by the legion of fans that Amy Crackhouse seems to have amassed, but the Klaxons' success does seem to have inspired a gamut of bands to have the confidence to make music with a slightly more unique sound than simply aping Babyshambles (even if it does owe a hefty dose of gratitude to the post-punk sound of '80s bands such as Gang Of Four). One such act is Oxford's Foals, who appear to have crammed a lot of exposure into their young lives -- appearing on the fourth edition of French label Kitsune's tastemaking Maison 4 compilation and having the ubiquity of partaking in a MySpace only episode of the risible television series Skins despite only three limited singles to their name. Such is the hype around them that Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio fame has decided to produce their debut album. Make your own mind up when they perform at The Scala next week, ably assisted by another rising act in Brighton's Metronomy, who has enjoyed several impressive remixes and whose recent single "Radio Ladio", with its twisted electronic pop, bodes well for the future.

Two key thinkers and creators, one very much active, the other long since passed on, connect for an evening of film and conversation. From an internationalist perspective John Berger and Pier Paolo Pasolini connect through their diversity, both figures that have distinguished themselves as storytellers, essayists, novelists, screenwriters, critics, painters and political activists. Accompanying Hold Everything Dear, Berger's new publication, an outstanding collection of essays and reflections on the meaning of commitment and resistance, will be an exceptionally rare screening of Pasolini's La Rabbia (1963). This semi-documentary style film attempts to answer the existential question -- why are our lives characterised by discontent, anguish and fear? This prophetic work echoes our war on terror today, as it rages against the worse offences of western culture, whilst searching for hope in our future. After the screening Berger will converse with Gareth Evans, editor of Vertigo.

What better way of kicking off the dance season for this year's Dance Umbrella (read more next week) than bringing together two of Britain's most acclaimed artists. Before taking their show to New York where the work was commissioned by PERFORMA, the London audience will be treated to three epic journeys through dramatically different landscapes. The first part of the show is True North, a signature three-screen film by Isaac Julien inspired by African-American explorer Matthew Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole but somehow forgotten by historians. Russell Maliphant brings his dance interpretation and has invited Vanessa Myrie, also featured on the film, to appear on stage, thereby blending the two experiences into a unique live visual art performance. This piece is followed by the celebrated Fantome Afrique which also features dance as a uniting medium between cinema and architecture. Finally, Maliphant's dancers return both onscreen and off for Small Boats. This piece completes the trilogy and suggests the experiences of African migrants escaping towards a better life, questioning the place of the foreigner in society. Shot on location in Palermo at Palazzo Gangi (set of Visconti's The Leopard) this will certainly be a spectacle to be remembered. So be there!

NB: catch this performance on both 03/10 and 04/10 (part of Dance Umbrella 2007).

In a Radio 3 interview with the Belgian painter Luc Tuymans, John Tusa once stated that "almost any review of contemporary painting would include his work". The fact that The Hayward has included the artist in its upcoming review of figurative painting's recent past and simply billed this talk as a "masterclass", would suggest that most concur with this view. Tuymans arrived on the art scene in the early '80s -- with his washed out, reference-laden vistas, still lifes and acutely sensitive portraits -- as the art world was scratching its head over the relevance of the medium. A fascination with how meaning is constructed from the recording and experience of modern life pervades these images and all subjects are described with the same systematic hand. Tuymans' technically adept palette of muted tones keeps pictorial drama to a minimum, releasing the epic potential of his chosen subjects from personal sentiment. As partial glimpses of real things they feel like fractured moments from a film that if collated and ordered correctly might reveal some vital secret about the time in which we live. What the artist will choose to impart about his practice is anyone's guess, but, as when viewing his mysterious images, don't expect any conceptual ends to be tied.

NB: this talk has been programmed in conjunction with The Hayward's The Painting Of Modern Life exhibition which runs from 04/10 till 30/12.

Peter Doig made history earlier this year when his 1991 painting White Canoe fetched the highest ever price paid for a work by a living European artist at Sotheby's in London. This beat the previous record set by Lucian Freud, a national treasure more than 35 years Doig's senior. White Canoe, a landscape inspired by the cult horror movie Friday The 13th, went for an incredible £5.1 million. The Edinburgh-born artist will give a masterclass at The Hayward, a rare opportunity to gain an insight into the method and mind of this former Turner Prize nominee. Films, photographs and experiences of natural and man-made environments form the multi-layered imagery of Doig's dreamlike paintings. Although born in Edinburgh, a childhood spent in Canada and then Trinidad has shaped his paintings into magical realist landscapes, whose motifs often stimulate a universal sense of memory for a place or image. Doig often works from photographs or film stills, yet the results are more impressionist than realist, and his gentle palette creates a sense of calm and romance evocative of another era.

NB: this talk has been programmed in conjunction with The Hayward's The Painting Of Modern Life exhibition which runs from 04/10 till 30/12.

The tug-o-war between idealism and pragmatism is an intriguing scuffle in Clifford Odets' Awake And Sing!; one where there's no clear winner. Like Big White Fog (also at the Almeida) a few months ago, the focus is on the emotional and physical struggles of an extended, ethnic minority family (here Jewish rather than black) in Depression-era America. Written in 1935, however, Odets' play is blissfully free of polemical hindsight, and has a troubling (but powerful) oblique finale. Stockard Channing plays Bronx matriarch Bessie, who with one hand pushes her rebellious, pregnant daughter into a marriage of convenience, and with the other draws her disillusioned, frustrated son away from a relationship with a dead-end girl. All the while she vocally reins in her Marxist father's sententious preaching, her dithering husband's fussing and curries favour with her capitalist fat cat brother to secure handouts. It's a juggling act indeed, but a daily rigmarole. As capitalism crushes the family from above, Marxism rumbles from below but, sitting uneasily in their allotted economic limbo, the only certainty for the family is that money matters, big time, whether you worship it or despise it. Despite these weighty materialistic musings, the play never loses its humorous tone, and, combined with the fact that it clocks in at a palatable two hours, it's a good'un.

NB: runs till 20/10.

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