Africa Centre

With: Rui Sorero (turntables); Paulo Chibanga (turntables)

WHERE/ WHEN: the Assembly in District 6 (Wed Oct 1, from 8pm); the Assembly (Fri Oct 3, from 8pm)

As the riddim providers behind acclaimed bands such as 340ml, Tumi & Volume and Levi pon the Mic, the Mozambique born, Johannesburg based Rui Sorero (bass) and Paulo Chibanga (drums) are the contemporary South African equivalent to the famed riddim factory Sly & Robbie. And like their Jamaican heroes, Rui and Paolo are also dub producers. As a selector, Rui has also produced the acclaimed Dub Vaults I &II compilations, focused on contemporary South African dub. During their DJ sets at PASS, Rui and Paulo will select a mashup of local and international reggae, dub, dancehall and dubstep.

With: Anthony Joseph (voice); Andrew John (bass); Colin Webster (sax, flute); Adrian Owusu (guitars); Paul Brett, Paul Zimmerman and Craig Tamlin (percussions)

WHERE/ WHEN: the Assembly in District 6 (Thurs Oct 2, from 9pm); Mowbray Town Hall (Sat Oct 4, from 6pm)

Anthony Joseph is one of the leading writers of his generation. Born in Trinidad, his experimental poetry, fiction, music and spoken word performances fuse Calypso rhythms with a postmodern eye, creating what he calls ‘liquid textology’. Joseph is the author of two poetry collections, Desafinado and Teragaton, a novel African Origins of UFOs, in addition to releases featuring his Jazz septet The Spasm Band. The band’s debut album Leggo de Lion has echoes of dub poets, Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra cosmic visions, but the Spasm Band definitely has a sound of its own. Joseph’s new collection of poetry Bird Head Son is due in 2008 followed by a new Spasm Band album with the same title.

Watch the performances from the Spier Contemporary 2007 from 16h00 this Saturday afternoon at the Spier Estate. Arrive early and explore the Spier Contemporary art exhibition, spectacularly housed in 88 shipping containers. Only on until 20 February – don’t miss it! Tel: 021 881 3116

Does poetry make you sigh, cry, smile, ask why? The Spier Poetry Exchange brings you a potent mix of poets on the 1st and 2nd February. Savour the sound of poetry from Indonesia, Trinidad, Surinam, Holland and the USA, merging with powerful South African voices! Book your ticket at computicket and let the poets do the rest.

Rain, rain, go away, don’t come again until 21 February 2008. The roof on the Spier Contemporary building is unfortunately not performing as designed. What this means is that when it rains the exhibition will be closed. If it has been raining, to ensure you are not inconvenienced, please call 021 881 3116 or 083 680 1057 to check opening times.