Thursday – Gonjasufi @ The Rhythm Factory
Friday – Dreadbass @ CLF Art Café
Saturday – Ty @ The Albany
Sunday – Christmas Carol Concert @ Horniman Museum
Monday – Photo Exhibition @ Effra FC
Tuesday – Walid Raad @ Whitechapel Gallery
Wednesday – Movie night @ The Bird’s Nest
Thursday
Described variously as a “hip-hop mystic”, “Method Man aged 95” and “an electro Hendrix” Gonjasufi/Sumach Ecks is an enigmatic guy. The Las Vegas-based DJ and yoga teacher looks like a hippy from the 60s and sounds a little like one too – but one with a 21st century edge. In addition to psychedelic sounds and Eastern spiritual beats, he mixes it up with computer-generated electronica. Even if the music isn’t to your taste, the night will be sure to be rich in mystery and atmosphere.
7.30pm, £12/£15
The Rhythm Factory, 16-18 Whitechapel Road, E1 1EW
Friday
Veteran jungle producer Congo Natty comes to the CLF Art Cafe this Friday for a big one. With over 50k worth of sound system in two massive warehouse rooms, occupying 2,300 square feet, you’ll be sure to get your heart pumping with the amount of bass running through it. Congo Natty aka Conquering Lion aka Rebel Mc will be performing a 6-hour excursion into jungalistic sounds, with guests on live drums, guitar and vocals. Support will come from Rinse FM’s DJ Crises, We Are Dubist, Jazzheadchronic and Lion Pulse Sound System.
This sounds like a perfect way to start the weekend, and with such an impressive line up, make sure you get a ticket in advance.
9.30pm, £7/£10
CLF Art Café, The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane,SE15 4ST
Saturday
Rapper Ty returns to South London, the place where he was born and bred, to round off his European tour. The Mercury-nominated rapper occupies a unique space in the UK hip hop scene, and his spoken word beginnings and work with the likes of Damon Albarn, Talib Kweli, Zion I and De La Soul mark him out as being very different to much of the commercial hip hop that floats around the aural stratosphere. Ty certainly has high ambitions with his latest album Special Kind of Fool: “I want this album to be a time stamp of black music history.” You can judge for yourself on Saturday. Support from Charlie Dark, Conrad the Scoundral, Debris, Aks and Obenew A.
8pm, £10
The Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, SE8 4AG
Sunday
With all this cold weather you need to get that warm fuzzy feeling back in your heart for Christmas. So head to The Horniman Museum Christmas Carol Concert. The location, a Victorian museum, is the hidden gem of South London. From Forest Hill station it is barely visible, but as you edge closer it towers majestically, its mosaic front panel and totem pole proving to be an incongruous sight alongside the busy main road. Their 16-acre gardens are pretty impressive too, and will be the site of the carol concert, where you’ll get to witness the sounds of the English Baroque Choir and the Crystal Palace Band. This is a family friendly event so expect lots of kids running around. But they should be entertained by Santa’s grotto, allowing you to get some festive spirit in time for Christmas.
3-6pm, Free
The Horniman Museum, 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ
Monday
With such an ambiguous name as Effra FC you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m inviting you to a football match. The Effra part is named after the River Effra, which flows from Crystal Palace towards Brixton. The FC bit, I’m not too sure. Foto Club perhaps? The story of how Effra FC formed is a friendship story for the 21st century. These individuals met in 2008, thanks to photo sharing website, flickr. Now, they are a mini army of 80 members. This is their first exhibition featuring the work of 16 members. With photos ranging from funny animals to sublime nature shots, there’s a photo to please everyone. And with an opportunity to buy work, the exhibition doubles up as a means of getting Christmas presents.
Until January 25, Free
Sun and Doves, 61-63 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, SE5 9NS
Tuesday
When we talk about conflict in the Middle East, Palestine, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan are normally the countries that spring to mind. Often we forget about Lebanon, which has also witnessed its share of violence, invasion and destruction. Films like Waltz with Bashir and Lebanon have educated people about this country’s turbulent history. Walid Raad’s exhibition is another educative aid, exploring the effect of conflict on the body, the mind and art.
This exhibition is great as an introduction to Raad, bringing together works including Secrets in the open sea, Let’s be honest the weather helped and the premiere of Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut). Although the gritty black and white scenes of Beirut have a journalistic, matter of fact air about them, you soon realise that Raad’s work blurs the line between fact and fiction. Raad makes us confront the ‘reality’ of the seemingly straightforward pictures we view. Do photographs depict the truth or are they a semblance of reality?
Until January 2, Free
Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, City of London E1 7QX
Wednesday
One of the pathetic things about the London borough of Lewisham is that it lacks a cinema. Thankfully, the Deptford Film Club is here, screening amazing British, foreign and classic films at a meagre £3. Based in the backroom of the Bird’s Nest, the Film Club shows films fortnightly. In the past, they have shown films like Dogtooth, Thirst, Bronco Bullfrog and I’m Gonna Explode. This Wednesday, it will be showing the award winning French film Lourdes.
Wheelchair-bound Christine joins a group of pilgrims to Lourdes, the iconic Catholic site in the Pyrenees Mountain. During her stay she begins to regain the use of he limbs, with her fellow pilgrims calling it a miracle. But is it really divine intervention or something else? This film, with its moments of black comedy and scenes of poignancy, manages to admire faith, whilst also questioning and undermining it, producing an enigmatic and compelling masterpiece.
7.30pm, £3
Bird’s Nest Pub, Deptford Church Street, SE8 4RZ
