Tuesday 28 January (6 - 8pm)

@ Haunch of Venison, 6 Haunch of Venison Yard, W1 (020.7495.5050) Tube: Bond St.

Robert Ryman is quite simply the coolest thing since sliced-square, white-bread. Since his late thirties, the septuagenarian has been improvising, renovating and meditating on the square(ish), white canvas; his oeuvre is at once ultra-nerdy and super-scientific. In the sixties, they were thick and gushy, seventies, investigative and eighties, high-tech. His nineties peak being breath-taking combinations of eloquent brushwork juxtaposed against high-tech supports and painterly semantics... make sense? Simply, it's a bunch of white paint on a somewhat square, canvas. For afficionados, there's the zen-like focus on the one thing, for the rest this is cerebral, yet emotive abstraction practised at the highest level. Cool, eh? Either you're gonna think it's been a boringly repetitive 50 year career, or it's Real Madrid... gooaaaalll!

NB: Ryman hasn't exhibited in London in ten years so make sure you catch these twenty odd new paintings (2001-2002) at the Haunch. Private view is from 6-8pm. (Show closes Saturday 01/03.)

Giveaway: We have two catalogues (essay by Yve-Alain Bois) from the show to give away. They'll go to two randomly picked subscribers who can tell us who represents him in NYC.

Tuesday 28 January (8pm)

@ The Buffalo Bar, 259 Upper St., N1 (020.7359.6191) Tube: Highbury & Islington

Hot on the heels of a sweaty One Live crowd-surfing extravaganza, and a blood-soaked UK tour with bearded Estrus mentalists Federation X, the Grips return to Highbury's Buffalo Bar this evening (supporting Boston's Mr. Airplane Man) courtesy of the esteemed Artrocker Club. They are Notorious on home turf for their energetic, unpredictable onstage shenanigans, and blistering "DC Hardcore meets Detroit Soul" post-punk dynamics. 2002 saw the Nottingham five-piece championed by everyone from the ubiquitous John Peel to legendary U.S. producer and Mudhoney cohort Tim Keer. Proof positive -- judging by the dwindling popularity of last year's slew of over hyped rock 'n' roll barrel-scrapers -- that the deadliest assassins bide time for the perfect kill. Dig in deep and hold on tight... the Grips are in town.

Tuesday 28 January (8.30pm & Sun 6:30pm)

@ Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, SW11 (020.7326.8200)

If you've never seen or heard of Ralf Ralf before, here's a tip: they're unlike anything you have ever seen. Yes OK, you've probably heard this phrase a good many times but honestly, it's true. Ralf Ralf are Jonathon and Barnaby Stone: one slyly cute, the other perturbingly impassive but both electric and together, utterly peculiar. Us Boys We Multi-Task is the latest piece of work from the Stone brothers, which breaks a long silence from their work together. The brothers communicate with each other by means of half understood languages and febrile rhythms, which are at times very funny. They walk an effortless line between acute physical syncronisation and gawky bewilderment, through a landscape roughly sketched by beats and sounds that could almost be familiar. The Stone's invite us to "bear witness" to this parallax world, which to be honest sounds a bit dodgy, that is until you come out the other side. There literally is no other way to describe the experience of watching their play. They are unique and mystifying, and you must see them.

NB: Run ends Sunday 16/02.

Wednesday 29 January (7pm - 11pm)

@ Mean Fiddler, 157 Charing Cross Rd., WC2 (020.7434.9592) Tube: Tottenham Court Rd.

A celebration of the hardcore indie record scene to promote bulging Rough Trade Counter Culture compilation album... From the pleasingly lazy meanderings of James Yorkston, through the yapping intensity of the Mountain Goats and the guitar battery of Pink Grease, to the sugary lazer-kitsch tang of loveable popsters Bis, this show promises to be representatively eclectic like the CD itself. Ideal for indie junkies, and anyone who desires a conveniently packaged review of 2002's indie music.

Thursday 30 January (7pm - 1am)

@ Cargo, Kingsland Viaduct, 83 Rivington St., EC2 (020.7739.3440) Tube: Old St./Liverpool St.

To celebrate the release of Ninjatune's second instalment in their Solid Steel Presents... mix series, this time from audio/visual production duo Hexstatic, the legendary label are returning to their recent home Cargo for a Launch party in 3D! Consistently breaking new ground in audio/visual entertainment the Hexstatic shows have been blowing minds in clubs for years. Highly reknowned for synchronising video clips with their sounds, the Hex Two aka Stuart Warren Hill and Robin Brunson will be producing specially spliced visual accompaniments for the evening and at least one track in widescreen technicolor 3-D -- trained Ninja staff will be distributing 3-D glasses on your arrival. To quote them: "Sound has never looked so good."

NB: DJ support on the night comes from Hint, Pest & Bonobo.

Giveaway: We have three copies of Hexstatic's Solid Steel Presents: Listen & Learn CD to give away. They'll go to 3 randomly picked subscribers who can tell us the name of Hexstatic's first completely audio-visual album.

Thursday 30 January (8pm)

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly

Laika, a stray Russian dog, was destined to become the first living thing to be shot into space. Bless her... ahhhhhhh... because four hours later the little mongrel became the first living thing to die in space due to stress and overheating. A brilliant, yet sad, sad story, and yet the mutt lives on some 40 years later as Margaret Fielder, Guy Fixsen, John Frenett and Lou Ciccotelli, a bunch of prolific musicians in London named after the rather tragic Soviet hero. They've worked with brilliant musos: Stereolab, Primal Scream, and PJ Harvey, but in Laika form, inspired by acts like Can, Wire, Captain Beefheart, DJ Shadow and Joni Mitchell, have given birth to the genre "Post Rock". Electronic-based and rock motivated, it earned them a rep for being melancholic and inspirational. The mixture creating poetic lyrics over distinctive beats. They're signed to Too Pure, and have got a 2CD "best of comp" entitled Lost in Space: Vol I released on 27/01 to coincide with the ICA gig... And like the dog, "Laika go where no other band dares to go." (iD Magazine)

NB: Support by The Chap and the Brilliant Klang.

Giveaway: We have one pair tickets for the concert to give away. They'll go to one randomly picked subscriber who can tell us in what year did poor Laika go into space.

Friday 31 January (7pm)

@ Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 (020.7887.8008) Tube: Southwark/Blackfriars

The Chinese are an incredibly superstitious people, and this is good 'cause superstition leads to ritual, and then festival. Well, the Year of the Horse is nearly over... and as all Horse years are turbulent and headstrong, it requires the calm of the Goat to soothe it's passions. You're supposed to see in the Chinese New Year with a bang because it scares away the year-end monster, well Chinese artist Cai Quo-Qiang aka the "Gunpowder artiste" -- last seen in this country as Michael Hue-Williams' entry in the Galleries Show -- is creating a new BANG entitled Ye Gong Hao Long (Mr Ye who loves dragons) for Tate Modern on Chinese New Year's eve. Lasting for exactly one minute, Cai's explosions will be recorded and later, displayed with some gunpowder drawings.

NB: This event happens for exactly one minute at 7pm. Final preparations can be viewed from the Millenium Bridge by 6.30pm, but entry will be closed from 6.45pm. Jasmine tea and fortune cookies will be served in the Museum thereafter. And if you're looking for the real mccoy, there'll be Lion and Dragon dances in Chinatown on Saturday 01/02 at 1pm (these dances occur traditionally to bring in wealth and prosperity to households). And lastly, for authenticity of another kind, the V&A on Saturday 01/02 (11am-5pm) is also ushering in the New Year with it's own Lion dance, festivities and Kung Fu -- but we suspect that Bruce Lee will not be in the building.

Friday 31 January (7.30pm)

@ Shepherds Bush Empire, Shepherds Bush Green, W12 (020.7771.2000) Tube: Shepherds Bush

Watching the Delgados play is a chance to experience some high quality, genuine and occasionally darkly amusing songwriting... in addition to Chemikal Underground's eternal mission of indie righteousness (and of course, "if anyone else likes it, it's a bonus"). This is a band that displays solid musical integrity, without pandering to the style and classification proported by much of the media (what better way to see this through than to run your own record label?). They can also be credited with forming the backbone of much of the Scottish music scene in the mid to late nineties; aiding and abetting the likes of Mogwai and Arab Strap. Their current album Hate, presents lush, well arranged tune-mongering that reveals a strong musical maturity. Catch them before they zip off to tour (almost) THE WORLD. (Support from label-mates Aereogramme.)

Giveaway: We have two tickets for this show to give away. They'll go to one randomly picked subscriber who can tell us how the band came up with their name.

Friday 31 January (8pm)

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly

The bespectacled Norwegian Erlend Øye is better known as one half of acclaimed acoustic duo Kings Of Convenience and two-time Röyksopp collaborator, but for now he has decided to temporarily abandon his melancholic acoustic strumming for a more beautiful, fluttering electronic sound. Jetting around the world to ten different cities and collaborating with ten of the most innovative producers, Erlend has recorded an incredible solo album of catchy electronic-pop ditties. With this first exclusive UK appearance of his new band, he will be performing tracks from his genre-bending album -- Unrest (released on 11/02). Charming, funny and warm, the performance should mirror Øye's desire for travel and adventure.

NB: Special guests My Computer, new signings to David Holmes' 13 Amp label, provide support.

Friday 31 January (8pm)

@ Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, SE1 (020.7960.4203 or 4242) Tube: Embankment/Rail Waterloo

We were once told that when one rents an apartment in NYC's East Village, along with the key one should be given a copy of Acme-- that quintessentially dirty Rock 'n' Roll album from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The JSBX are the inheritors of a musical legacy that has passed straight down from the fathers of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll to land smack in the middle of a contemporary music scene that barely seems able to contain their frenetic energy. The music is sexy and driven with an unrelenting back beat over which Spencer writhes, screams and sobs his way through passionate lyrics about the things that matter: lovin' and livin' the blues. This concert at the RFH brings the JSBX together with Solomon Burke the original King of Soul. Burke, one of the early legends on the Atlantic label, is still keeping it real with his album, Don't Give Up On Me; the 2002 release has already been nominated as Mojo's critics choice album of the year and is up for an award in this year's Grammys.

Friday 31 January (10:30pm - 6am)

@ Secret London location

SCAND are back at their secret central London location for their third party and bringing along two great headliners -- Mr Velcro Fastener and Point 7. Mr. Velcro Fastener (who recently collaborated with on Erlend Øye's new album) are back from Finland following their immense electro set at Fabric in November. Point 7 is Chris Cunningham (not the video director), best known as one half of Abfahrt Hinwil who have been responsible for some of the most heartwarming tunes of the last couple of years on Toytronic amongst others. As this is Cunningham's techno guise, it will be interesting to see how those trademark melodies are twisted to keep the crowd going well into the early hours. This promises to be a great night of beautiful electronics...

NB:Tickets are available in advance from 07866.483.858 / 07814.575.232 / 07771. 824.628, email scand@kai-zen.co.uk, or in person from Sister Ray and Smallfish.

Saturday 1 February (8 - 8:30pm)

@ Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1 (020.7887.8008) Tube: Pimlico

With his unique fusion of sampled sound, video image and live performance, British artist Mark Leckey treads the line between art and underground club culture. By re-configuring and collaging fragments from a diverse array of sources including electronic music, film soundtracks and the recorded sounds of the city streets against visual and art historical references, Leckey creates raw, all-encompassing sensory experiences which expose the energy between artwork and audience. Leckey's works have been included in the exhibitions, Crash! at the ICA in 1999, and Century City, at the Tate Modern in 2001, as well as recent performances with the artist collaborative, donatella, at the Barbican in London, and at Gavin Brown's Enterprise in New York. Here, Leckey will show his newest work: a 30 minute live event, featuring his new Sound System "in conversation" with Jacob Epstein's monumental alabaster sculpture, Jacob and the Angel. This piece promises not only to respond to Epstein's work, but also to the acoustics of the Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain... intriguing.

Saturday 1 February (10pm - 6am)

@ The Premises, 201-205 Hackney Rd., E2 (020.7729.7593 ) Tube: Old St.

If you prefer parties to clubs then this is a good weekend to be going out dancing -- there's SCAND on Friday while on Saturday Electric Elvis and Lula will host another WANG party down at The Premises. Having just about recovered from this New Year's WANG, they've sorted out a good lineup for this their first party of 2003. Headliners are K-Rock (Rephlex) -- some-time Aphex Twin dancer and purveyor of dirty electro and techno mixed with funk, disco and a sprinkling of two-step -- and a Guy Called Gerald (who is said to have performed an epic 15-minute rendition of his seminal sampler track Voodoo Ray at the NYE WANG party!) Whether Gerald will be playing Detroit techno, acid house, electro, hardcore techno, drum 'n' bass, or all of the above in his set at this WANG is anyone's guess, but it'll be worth hearing whatever he plays! Plus there'll be sets from Dave Blankpage (blankpage + process), Disco Dave (electrophonic), and Laurence 'monzoid' Day (Analogue:Digital) amongst others, across several rooms. Nice venue, friendly faces, good music...

Sunday 2 February (4pm)

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly

There was no word bandied around intellectual and academic circles in the eighties more often than "deconstruction" and "difference." If you published a book then with the word "deconstruction" in the title, it got noticed. Can you believe it, twenty years later they've made a movie about Jacques Derrida. Prepare yourself to be mind-numbed and brain-stimulated both already at the same time. If you like your intellectuals served French style in a delicate post-structuralist sauce, then JD's your man. Having deconstructed the meaning in signifiers as diverse as Russian novels and road signs, stressed the importance of one letter on a page, dedicated a footnote to James Joyce's relations, the man is discussed tonight as the subject of this new film. It is directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick (SICK) and Amy Ziering Kofman, and will be screened both before and after the talk (on Sunday 1/02 at 2pm, 6pm & 8pm). Given his dedication to exploring representation and meaning around the arts, the very issue of Derrida as subject becomes engaging. Nicholas Royle (the cheekiest "deconstructor" around) and Robert Smith (author of Derrida and Autobiography) will be "disseminating" their ideas with the film-makers around philosophy and the cinematic language, JD's work and biography in film.

NB: Just to put you off-center, remember that the film will be screened before and after the talk (2pm, 6pm & 8pm). Also of note: Ryuichi Sakamoto provides a mesmerizng score to add to the film's visual style and innovative editing. (Derrida will be screened at the ICA until Thu 27/02.)

Ends Saturday 8 February (Wed to Fri 4-8pm; Sat & Sun 2-6pm )

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly

Joshua Davis is possibly the most famous web designer out there, and for a good reason. Since 1998 he has single-handedly developed the praystation.com website which showcases his groundbreaking experiments in web design, predominantly via the medium of Macromedia Flash/ActionScript. The results are often stunning, sometimes humorous, always fascinating. The New York-based designer pushes the technology to its limits, in the process creating works that blur the boundaries between digital design and art, thus betraying his background as an illustrator and student of art history. The aforementioned website won him the highest honor in international net art and design in 2001, namely the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica in the category "Net Excellence." He has also honoured as one of the IPPA's 2000 / 2001 "Ten Most Creative People", and carried out work for big-name clients like Sony and Diesel, via the Kioken agency where he's a Senior Design Technologist. And last year, he was one of the 5 web designers making up the successful Web Wizards exhibition at the Design Museum. This ICA retrospective is then a deserved spotlight on his influential work, a must-see for anyone interested in the fields of web, design, art, or communication.

NB: The restrospective is on at the ICA's New Media Centre until Saturday 08/02.

Ends Saturday 8 February (Tue to Sat 10am - 6pm)

@ Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Rd., N1 (020.7336.8109) Tube: Old St.

What do local paint-heros Tim Stoner and Michael Raedecker have in common? Both did time at Amsterdam's Rijksakademie. Founded by King William III, and well known for it's collection of "old" art, it's also artworld renowned for a research program that provides young artists with the opportunity to carry on their work. From Hans Broek's slick Los Angeles cityscapes to Thomas Demand's photographic dioramas to Hans Op De Beeck's "notes", a video projection of highly orchestrated life passing-by, this star-studded Rijksalumnus demonstrate the diversity and wit of their selection. Here, it is Lars Arrhenius's hilarious DVD of the life of a stick-figure sign -- note the bonking, barfing and final death -- but it's Jennifer Tee's indescribable object Mountain Lullaillaco and DVD that take the cake. The former, a diorama of a mountainscape with cactus replacing trees in scale, and lake/crater made from a bag drooping down. All this built on one table stacked upon another. Beside this, a DVD plays a recording of a Latin traditional band... All very errie...

NB: This show also includes work by: Carla Klein, Meschac Gaba, Kiki Lamers, Moshekwa Langa, Jacco Olivier, De Rijke/De Rooij, Fiona Tan and Slyvie Zijlmans.(Show ends Saturday 08/02.)

Ends Saturday 8 February (Fri 10am - 6pm; Sat 12 - 5pm; Or by appointment)

@ MW Projects, 43B Mitchell St., EC1 (020.7251.3194) Tube: Old St.

At a time when contemporary photography continues to evolve into ever-more sensational arrangements of digital manipulation, it is refreshing to see the work of Nigel Shafran: a photographic straight shooter who relies purely on his intuition, compositional skill and perceptual insight. Across this mini-retrospective of works, from 1993 to 2002, Shafran reveals a secret history of those mundane places and quotidian details that make up the fabric of personal memory, while at the same time touching on those, sometimes absurd, details of a distinctly British cultural identity. Unlike that other warts-and-all British photographer, Martin Parr, Shafran's work always exposes an unusual, if melancholy beauty in those overlooked details of the everyday. In the series Dad's Office (1996-1998), cast-off furniture, old papers and piles of household items are transfigured into poignant, perfectly balanced still-lives. To Shafran, these random arrangements are representative of the order of things: objects fall into naturally evolving compositions of balance, light and structure. This premise is extended into his most recent series (commissioned by friend, Rachel Whiteread) to encompass architecture and the natural world. Here, Shafran finds an urban poetry in the hidden corners of streets and gardens. And, what better metaphor for the fragility of our lives than a bird's nest balanced amongst the branches of a tree?

Giveaway: We have two copies of the Shafran's book Dad's Office to give away. They'll go to two randomly picked subscribers who can tell us the name of the most recent photographer to win the Turner Prize (hint: he's not English).

Ends Thursday 27 February

@ Various cinemas all over London

If you do not care for Jack Nicholson, then you will not care for About Schimdt. This movie may as well have been named All About Jack. However, depending on the eyes that see, About Schmidt has assets... it's quirky, it's sad, funny (though clearly not a comedy) sometimes clever, and occasionally extraordinarily painful in the most positive of ways. Writer and director Alexander Payne also directed the incredibly underrated, funny and dark satire Election, but this his new film, cannot keep up with the ingenuity of his earlier work. Some of the supporting characters belong in a different movie and their purpose as comic relief is minimal at best, distracting and pathetic at worst. However, the beauty and honesty of Schmidt is genuine -- and everyone is talking about it so if you want to join in, you have to see it...