Based in the deconsecrated parish church of St Mary-at-Lambeth on the south bank of the River Thames, The Museum of Garden History is one of London's well-kept secrets. Exploring the social and practical history of gardening it's also a remarkable location for the Atmospheres festival, a series of talks and performances focusing on field recordings, the ambience that constantly envelops us all. Chris Watson, ex-member of legendary Cabaret Voltaire and now a respected natural sound recordist, will be collaborating with Sweden's BJ Nilsen in recordings of storms in a magnificent 5.1 surround sound system, following a storm across the North Sea, from the north-east of England to Scandinavia. Trailing in this airflow, Norway's Biosphere, an acknowledged precursor of what became known as ambient techno, will present his chillingly measured and moving cinematic soundscapes in performance.

The festival closes with the world premiere performance of Scanner's homage to Derek Jarman, The Garden Is Full Of Metal, a work that summons up a host of tiny sonic triggers and assembles them into an exquisite and fragile tapestry. Jarman's garden at Dungeness was his major preoccupation in his last years: he gathered weather beaten objects from the seashore and the surrounding country and sculpted them, making them beautiful by juxtaposing them harmoniously with the tenacious, muted flora of the coast. Prepare for a series of nights of intimacy, atmosphere and drama.

NB: runs till 26/10. On 25/10 (12pm) make sure you catch Chris Watson and other Touch artists interviewed by Jon Wozencroft and Mike Harding (founders of Touch). For another interesting sound performance check out Pauline Oliveros at the Serpentine on 26/10.

Jenufa by Gabriela Preissova was first performed in Prague in 1890, although its theatrical life was shortly after overshadowed by Leos Janacek's opera. Yet, as proven by Natural Perspective's production, this brutal, naturalistic and earthy play makes for a strong piece of theatre that explores a rich range of feelings and emotions. This UK premiere adapted by Timberlake Wertenbaker and directed by Irina Brown has a fresh and compelling experimental quality to it. Brown places her actors in an exposed space with minimalist set, exploring their ability to engage with their characters to maximum, and giving the production a slightly "Eastern European" theatrical edge. The emotional solidity of the play is underlined by Arcola's cold industrial stage, which seems ideal for this adaptation. The two leading female performances by Paola Dionisotti and Jodie McNee are incredibly convincing and emotionally drowning. When Jenufa (McNee) mourns her personal tragedy her pain almost physically fills the space and the bareness of her cry makes you shiver. Confident theatre by a strong ensemble in a grand style.

NB: runs till 17/11. Also of note is Water at the Lyric (till 03/11).

There's a certain expectation for creative geniuses to be completely batty, and you can't accuse Karl Lagerfeld, creative visionary of today's Chanel, of disappointing on that front. Once you have seen inside his bijou Paris appartement, you know he's a special one (that's if his perma-uniform of sunglasses, gloves, black jacket, white shirt, skinny black trousers, and shock of white hair scraped into an obligatory ponytail, hadn't given the game away). His home displays his obsessive dedication to his own image; crammed full of racks and racks of near identical black jackets and white shirts, bureaus overflowing with shirt collars, mirrored trays piled high with rings, towering stacks of magazines and a kaleidoscope of iPods. His idiosyncrasies are a genuine wonder to behold: he travels in a kimono, always draws in Tipex and permanent marker, is NEVER seen without his shades on... And his pithy personal aphorisms ("for me solitude is a victory" -- eh?) could fill a book. You'd think that this would make for a rather impenetrable semblance of a character, but Lagerfeld is in fact wonderfully funny, and despite the fact that he is an arch schmoozer and fashion dahling, he is no stranger to teasing and self mockery. A witty, brilliantly edited and compelling documentary. Not just for fashionistas.

NB: Lagerfeld Confidential is released in London on 26/10. Also of note is the special Script Factory screening of I'm Not There followed by a Q&A with Todd Haynes on 29/10 (6:10pm) at the Curzon Mayfair. (Programmed in conjunction with this year's LFF.)

An event to celebrate the paperback publication of London: City Of Disappearances, an "anthology of absence" edited by Iain Sinclair, the official chronicler of un-official, unseen, forgotten and lost London, who has written such extraordinary books as London Orbital and Lights Out For The Territory. Sinclair will moderate a discussion whose speakers include a rare urban excursion from the legendary Northampton magus of the graphic novel Alan Moore, and the Texas-exiled creator of the Multiverse and author of Mother London, Michael Moorcock. Brian Catling, a poet, performance artist and sculptor, will perform one of his inimitable interventions, in which he becomes a shamanic presence evoking equal parts Beckett and East End gangster. Kirsten Norrie, member of international performance group The Wolves, performs alongside Catling. This event promises to be a rare intermixing of some of the UK's best veteran underground minds and hearts: a real one-off.

Growing up in San Diego, composer Pauline Oliveros was fascinated with the long, continuous sound of freeway noise, with the omnipresent drones of motors and fluorescent lights. She discovered that through processes of relaxation she could listen more closely to drones, and that relaxation also helped her to gain insights into the phenomenology of listening itself. Translating this into improvised music, she was one of the original members of the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the 1960s, and set up the Deep Listening Band and Institute in the 1980s, which performed in especially reverberant spaces such as cathedrals and underground caverns. Profoundly expansive and immersive, her shows offer a sonic awareness of space and location, so a performance in Kjetil Thorsen and Olafur Eliasson's pavilion will be as much about the architectural space as the listening experience. Be prepared for a new path of consciousness through sonic meditation.

NB: for more sound performance art make sure you check out the Atmospheres festival which runs at Museum Of Garden History (till 26/10).

Claude VonStroke has a knack for turning groovy tech house numbers into songs that you end up whistling days later. "The Whistler" was threatening to become the clubber's equivalent of the Crazy Frog until he brought out the equally catchy spook-fest "Who's Afraid Of Detroit", which was many people's pick of the last Miami Music Conference, including one Mr Hawtin. Indeed, the San Franciscan's trademark punchy basslines are slowly becoming the mould for big room house music, around which numerous other producers try and fit. He got his first break in the UK two years ago thanks to Big Daddy, the man behind Playtime Records and one of the earliest exponents of the so-called "wonky sound". Like VonStroke, his percussive basslines and exotic sampling are fast being aped by the rest of the house scene, and amazingly the continuous loop of bleepy hooks turns out to be rather funky rather than insanity-inducing.

With most clubs covered in corporate logos these days it's strange to think that barely 20 years ago loved up kids dancing astonishingly badly to imported American house were considered a threat to society. For all the new rave posturing of the likes of Trash Fashion it's unlikely questions will be asked on the floor of the House of Commons or the tabloids will scream of a "Sinister and Evil Cult" no matter how many eye bleeding leggings Cassette Playa sell. And yet, though the dust may have settled two decades on from that first acid house explosion, the creative sonic boom is still being felt as new generations take up their now vintage 303's (or more likely software emulators) and twist out ever more snaking, throbbing bass-lines that still have the power to shock and awe. I Love Acid at the Corsica Studios brings together the best of the new, such as The Doubtful Guest (Planet Mu) and The AGT Rave Cru, and mixes them up with some veteran knob twiddlers like Luke Vibert and B12 for a heavy, heavy night of bleeps, bass and breaks that would have the marketing men scurrying back to their holes.

Occasionally an artist makes a contribution so profound on the art word that the impact is so broad it becomes invisible, its scale unfathomable. Louise Bourgeois is one of the few artists working today who has not reinvented herself, who has not allowed the fickle tastes of the art market to steer her career. She has stuck steadfastly to her practice and remains, though at times at the periphery of the commercial market, in a league all her own that persistently challenges her methods and audiences alike. Her unique and unabashed approach to memory, intuition and family ties, and distinct stylistic choices in her handling of sculptural materials lends her work an unflinchingly exacting spin on the sentimental, and entices her audience into a paradox of the personal -- specifically of her personal life -- whereby we are drawn in and repelled in equal measure, as both participants and trespassers in the excavation of her psyche. To accompany the current retrospective exhibition of her work at Tate Modern, psychoanalyst Juliet Mitchell, curator Frances Morris and art-historians Linda Nochlin, Briony Fer, Mignon Nixon and Tamar Garb will be speaking on a range of subjects surrounding her work in an interdisciplinary symposium.

NB: this event has been programmed in conjunction with Tate Modern's Louise Bourgeois retrospective that runs till 20/01/08. Also of note is the Hauser & Wirth Colnaghi show of new work by Bourgeois (runs till 17/11).

In the 1970s, the British film industry was in danger of disappearing. However, we still had the likes of Ken Russell, Derek Jarman, Terence Davies and the outstanding Bill Douglas flying the flag for exciting home grown cinema. Douglas made his Trilogy during this decade and the impact was immense. The first part, My Childhood (1972), tells of the struggles of a young boy (Jamie played by Stephen Archibald) to survive against a background of cultural, emotional and financial deprivation in an impoverished Scottish mining village during WWII. My Childhood went on to take the Silver Bear at Venice that year and establish Douglas' reputation as a unique talent. As a result, the second part of his Trilogy, My Ain Folk (1973), had London film-fans packing out its debut screening at the NFT. The third film, My Way Home (1978), rounds off Jamie's story as he breaks away from the shackles of his background and discovers the inspirational powers of friendship and the arts. For a handle on Douglas, think of the stillness of Bresson, the light and shade of Dreyer and the swirling inner emotions of a 1962 Italian film called Il Mare. It's a rare, moving experience.

THE SOFT PINK TRUTH + STRATEGY + REANIMATOR @ THE ROCKET (27/10)
Opening weekend nights of the awaited XXV -- The Wire music magazine long month festival -- a series of events celebrating 25 years of covering most of the obscure, challenging and generally whatever it categorises as interesting and genuinely good music. Matmos' Drew Daniel's The Soft Pink Truth solo disco trash party machine headlines The Rocket, supported by Portland's analogue house Strategy and heavy beats from Reanimator, both on Community Library. The event will also see Soul Jazz 100% Dynamite DJs and visuals by Weirdcore. Probably what you would expect and need on a Saturday night out.

MATMOS + LAUB @ BUSH HALL (28/10)
The Sunday night of XXV will shift towards a special seated performance at the beautiful Bush Hall. MC Schmidt and Drew Daniel, aka Matmos, are once again back in town and again you can't guess what they'll have in mind. Music based on sound sources with the like of amplified surgery, sampled rabbit pelts, Elizabethan folk and "sound portraits" of people they admire, gathering objects important to these people, making noises with them, and built melodies from there. Laub -- electronic artist Antye Greie-Fuchs, aka AGF, and Jurgen Kuhn -- have been around since 1996, releasing their first four albums on the German label Kitty-Yo. After five years of abstinence Deinetwegen has been released on AGF producktion.

NB: The Wire 25 runs from 26/10 till 22/11. On 30/10 (8pm) make sure you catch Cinema For The Eyes And Ears, the first of three free experimental screenings at the Roxy Bar & Screen curated by Mark Webber -- in charge of the London Film Festival's Experimenta programme.

Matt Edwards' numerous monikers span most of the sub genres that have helped reinvent electronic music in recent years, having dabbled in jackin' house, deep funk and electropop. However, it's his memorable re-edits of chart pop hits as Radio Slave that have most captured the imagination, putting Kylie, Justin Timberlake and Britney under a brutal knife. Most recently Edwards been rolling up his sleeves with M.A.N.D.Y., Trentemoller and Cagedbaby (who is also one half of Sea Devils). The live highlight of the night will be Brazilian bright spark Gui Boratto, who is flying over hot on the heels of his much vaunted Chromophobia, another release that further inflates Kompakt's Midas complex. The Paulista has a very strong claim to musical pedigree, having played for artists as diverse as Manu Chao, Chico Buarque and Pato Banton. The channelling of that musical energy into techno and minimal is giving music lovers besides baile funk another reason to hop on a plane to Brazil. Finally, Damian Lazarus a true phoenix of dirty and electro house, has risen from the ashes of electroclash, and now justifiably finds himself mentioned in the same breath as Ivan Smagghe, Tiga and Ewan Pearson.

NB: this week sees the launch of Fabric's podcast series.

David Cronenberg is doubtless a master of the divided mind, and, having come a long way stylistically from his early days, when sheer gluttony of sex and violence earned him a uniquely shocking (and yet strangely intellectual) reputation, his signature take on body-horror seems to have comfortably metamorphosed into identity horror. The ever-present menace that lurks in one's mind -- the threat of imminent violence -- delivers taut and piercing social commentary with a deadly accuracy perhaps lost in pursuit of abandon in his earlier films. Set in London and encircling the movements of a handful of key players in the Russian mob, Eastern Promises brings together a dangerous clutch of violent criminals and an altruistic midwife, whose delivery of a baby to a teenage girl who died in childbirth leads to the discovery of a diary that contains unspeakable and incriminating truths. The film oscillates between a grim and classic noir and a gentler acceptance of transgression, both seen and unseen. Timelessly tragic Eastern European melodrama is peppered with jarring scenes of contemporary London, and the potentially saccharine storyline is checked by stunning performances by Viggo Mortensen and Armin Mueller-Stahl.

NB: Eastern Promises is released in London on 26/10. Also of note is the special Script Factory screening of I'm Not There followed by a Q&A with Todd Haynes on 29/10 (6:10pm) at the Curzon Mayfair. (Programmed in conjunction with this year's LFF.)

It's hard not to feel more than a tad jealous of Soulwax, known to most for inflicting the massively popular bastard pop genre on our ears a few years back with their 2ManyDjs mixtapes. Instead of milking this cow they brushed their shoulders off and embarked on an impressive and lucrative career as recording artists and remixers. This month has seen a dual assault by Soulwax with the release of a ridiculously long titled remix retrospective (we could fill up the whole article with it) and a Nite Versions European Tour that pulls into London this week. In this modern age of dance music where some kid perched over his PowerBook on a stage is classed a live performance, there are perhaps a handful of acts which fall in the must see live category and Soulwax fit snugly in there. Predictably the KOKO show is long sold out, but who cares because you get a chance to catch them in much more intimate surroundings with a secret party at Durrr this Monday. Picking up where Trash ended, Durrr has played host to several impressive guests and a music loving crowd. Be sure to get your best fashion look on and get queuing early, it's gonna be a busy one.

Jung Chang's Wild Swans sold over 10 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 30 different languages. Yet like her most recent book, a biography of Mao, it is still officially banned in China. By the time the Great Leader died in 1976 he was responsible for over 70 million Chinese deaths. In its bid for the 2008 Olympics authorities promised improvements in human rights but serious violations continue across the country. Its use of torture and the death penalty is prevalent. Books are banned, the media is censored and internet access is restricted. In 2004 Amnesty accused Microsoft of selling technology to China which was used to censor the internet and resulted in the jailing of political dissidents. Now Yahoo is being sued by the World Organization For Human Rights for sharing information about its users with the Chinese government that has led to more arrests. China continues to grow as an economic superpower but will freedom of speech ever be a reality for its people? Chang discusses her life, her work and her own perception of the People's Republic of China.

NB: this event is free but you have to book via Amnesty International's booking form.

For those in thrall to the vicissitudes of theatrical wizardry, it's time to swoop down on Sadler's Wells for an autumnal offering from the innovative visionary that is James Thierree. Thierree, like his sister Aurelia, whose show Aureila's Oratorio enchanted at the Lyric last year, shakes off the manacles of traditional theatrical realism and bounds forth into the realm of the imagination in his stage shows, which draw a physical poetry from mimed antics. By turns an acrobat, Pierrot, poet and ringmaster, the grandson of Charlie Chaplin brings an ethereal magic, yet powerful force, to the physicalities of his performances (the last of which in London was 2005's La Veillee des Abysses at the Peacock Theatre). Magical in an emotional, regress-to-childhood sort of way (as opposed to gaudy showmanship), this is set to be a genuinely moving, dreamlike spectacle.

NB: runs till 10/11.

Just when you thought you had become immune to the branding power of the corporate symbol, along came a "how to" of what not to do, in the form of that bright bouncing Olympic logo. Cynics among you, be silenced by a special appearance by a true veteran of the design industry and branding business, Ivan Chermayeff. His prolific career hales from the era of Mies van der Rohe, Abstract Expressionism and '50s New York dazzle, and he has been long been re-inventing the wheel, giving meaning and depth to the giants of cooperate America -- think Mobil, Pepsi and NBC, to name a few. His design agency run with Tom Geismar has been producing imaginative design solutions for over 40 years. The duo work to problem solve, through a process driven by philosophy that seeks above all to communicate. There is no Chermayeff and Geismar aesthetic; every project pertains to its own logic and system, which culminates in work that transcends fashions and fads, and that stands the test of time.

Iron & Wine is the recording name of singer-songwriter Sam Bean, a man who makes deafeningly quiet country-folk, replete with strummed acoustics, twanged banjos and slide guitars, influenced by Nick Drake, Elliott Smith and Will Oldham amongst others. Despite having only put out music for the last five years and recently releasing his third album. Bean has acquired an almost mythical and legendary status. Aside from his albums and array of EPs he rose to prominence particularly after recording a cover of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights", which was then used during the Zach Braff film Garden State. His 2005 EP In The Reins, a collaboration with Calexico, illustrated the depth of his songwriting -- embellishing the usually acoustic minimalist mix with Mexican sounds, jazz and brass. Bean described recently released album The Shepherd's Dog as "not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected". Iron & Wine already has hoards of devoted fans and this gig will be another long-awaited opportunity to experience Bean's magic in the flesh, for those who have yet to be converted, this is a great opportunity.

Finally bringing his three-year Stravinsky Project to conclusion, Michael Clark debuts his new work -- I Do -- as the third and final part of what will be an amazing performance of the full project. Set to Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces, it follows Clark's earlier pieces O (based on Apollo) and Mmm... (The Rite Of Spring). With previous collaborations including Leigh Bowery, The Fall, Sarah Lucas, Wire and Laibach; pieces choreographed to Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols and PJ Harvey; ballet inspired by IRA bombs and a dance company supported by auctioning art by Anish Kapoor and Peter Doig -- Clark's approach to ballet has never been boring or remotely predictable. Intensely physical, openly sexual and incredibly exciting, since the '80s his blending of "classical" and "punk" -- in movement, music, costumes and set design -- completely challenged and changed notions of ballet as a dance form, and he still continues to push these today. The project is a resolutely contemporary approach to "classical" works (all three Stravinsky scores will be performed live by Britten Sinfonia and the New London Chamber Choir) and is absolutely unmissable.

NB: runs till 10/11. (This event is part of Dance Umbrella 2007.)

David Portner (aka Avey Tare) and Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) met back in 1992 at high school, starting various musical projects that led eight years later to the grandiose Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished, released on their own label Animal. Joined later by Geologist (Brian Weitz) to perform live, they soon became Animal Collective and recorded Danse Manatee -- both albums reissued later on FatCat. With the addition of Deaken (Josh Dibb), their path to success was sealed after Sung Tongs received rave reviews. They are now one the most creative prog rock bands, intelligently fusing pop and rock experimentation. With a talent for merging sound textures with traditional instruments they have wandered freely from one label to another -- until Domino asked them to join the roster. The outcome? Strawberry Jam being toured around Europe this autumn -- joined by a close friend from the Finnish folk family: the wonderful and unique sound with a breathtaking stage presence of Islaja, aka Merja Kokkonen, now on her third UK presence after her performances at the Fonal Records showcase in 2006 and earlier this summer alongside Tony Conrad after her beautiful Ulual Yyy. A genuinely thrilling live pairing.

It is a brave artist that wears the mantle of another cultural history to make a socio-political point. Saskia Olde Wolbers, though, delights in the lives of others, whether borrowed from news stories or constructed from a wealth of possible sources. The new video Deadline, centred around village stories from The Gambia, follows Olde Wolbers' now characteristic format of otherworldly sets and props accompanied by a voice over; time slowed down to a languorous, sensual movie moment that could extend indefinitely. Olde Wolbers wisely maintains a discreet authorial presence at all times. From the by turns seductive and repellent snake-like and liquescent rabbity props that make up the film to the dulcet tones of the female narrator, it feels as though the artist is facilitating rather than dictating these emotionally charged accounts of hearsay. Downstairs, a modest shelf of photographs under glass could explain Olde Wolbers' real-life connection to the African landscape, or maybe they belong to someone else? By refusing to take up the slack left by the line as it crosses from truth into fiction, Olde Wolbers allows the story to tell itself.

NB: runs till 11/10.

Listening to the new Modular mix CD Light Sound Dance, it's clear that the label has learnt from its mistakes with Leave Them All Behind 2, a previous attempt at a mix CD compilation. Released earlier this year, the tracklist was hopelessly out of date, poorly mixed and came across like Hed Kandi trying to go all blog hype. Since then, several strong releases and a Mercury Music nomination for one of their bands has raised the status of Modular and it pays off with this release.

Spread over two CDs, black and white, it plays like the last year in the more angular clubs condensed into two hours and is put together splendidly by The Bang Gang Deejays, on this evidence a jewel in Modular's crown. The black disc bangs from the off with a jackhammer to the ears that is Bangalter's awesome edit of DJ Mehdi's "Signatune", a signal of intent which is maintained throughout, with rave noise, baile funk and Baltimore house all worked in swiftly. The white disc takes a slightly more subtle approach, building up from a hip-hop tempo (The Avalanches chopping and screwing with Wolfmother) and contains some ingenious mixing, the blend between Justice's "Phantom" and "Sweat" by Juiceboxx standing out. Of the two, the white disc merits more repeat listens, as the black disc's tracklisting reads not unlike a mix you could easily get off Discobelle on any given day. In fact, torrent huggers would probably sneer at LSD (after downloading it, of course), but for people not emotionally attached to Hype Machine it's an impressive glimpse at the future of dance music, for now at least.

To buy Light Sound Dance online click here.

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